DEL.ICIO.USAtlanta man at center of Earth Hour darkness
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Friday, March 27, 2009
When major cities around the world turn off lights Saturday night to support global action on climate change, a former Atlantan will be in the center.
Carter Roberts is president and chief executive officer of the World Wildlife Fund, originator and promoter of Earth Hour. The WWF is the world’s largest multinational conservator of land and wildlife.
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Starting at 8:30 p.m. Saturday, Atlanta will go dark along with more than 1,500 cities in 80-plus countries. According to WWF, more than 400 metro Atlanta buildings have agreed to flip off their light switches, including the Bank of America, the Fox Theatre and the Varsity.
Atlanta was one of four American flagship cities participating last year, in the first global effort after its start in Sydney, Australia, in 2007.
Roberts, who grew up in Buckhead and in 1978 graduated from The Westminster Schools, a private school in Atlanta, joined Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin last year for the turn-off party. He recently talked to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Q: How did growing up in Atlanta prepare you to lead the WWF?
A: “Anybody who asks me why I do what I do, I always start off by telling them about growing up in Atlanta and disappearing into the woods [in Tanyard Creek Park] near my house and turning over logs looking for salamanders and going fishing in the North Georgia mountains. A big part of my life was being outside. I fell in love with the natural world.”
Q: What is the connection between turning out the lights and conserving wildlife?
A: “The World Wildlife Fund started 50 years ago to save pandas, rhinos, tigers and elephants. We’ll fail unless we also save their habitats. We need really big forests and rivers and big intact coral reefs… We fundamentally have to change the way we use energy in our lives … Earth Hour is an event that is designed to raise people’s consciousness, to show people that they can take positive steps to make a difference and to knit together the global community in taking action at the same time.”
Q: What would you say to people in Georgia who disagree about the science on climate change, or that humans are the primary cause, or that human action can resolve it?
A: They will see [the effects of climate change] more in the future as water becomes less available, as energy prices rise, as energy becomes less available, as spring comes earlier and hunting season occurs on a different timetable. Every business and every community will be affected by climate change. We watched the headlines of what happened to New Orleans. We’re seeing species like polar bears and migratory birds change their behavior. The world is changing…”
