Since we launched our global warming campaign in our February issue we have had a fantastic response from readers and leading charity groups. There have also been a number of climate change developments here and around the world, they include:

• Nearly 2,000 marie claire readers signed our climate campaign petition calling for John Howard to invest more in green energy and drop plans for nuclear energy. This is a great result! Many thanks to all the readers who took part.
  
  
• Global Climate Concert: A 24-hour Live Earth event has been organised by former US vice president Al Gore who announced in February that the show will feature star-studded concerts in London and six other cities around the world on July 7th this year. Shanghai, Johannesburg, Sydney and locations to be confirmed in Japan, Brazil and the US will all be involved. There will even be a concert in Antarctica.
  


• Planet Ark reported their "Ban the bulb" campaign (the phasing out of incandescent globes) will save Australians $1.3 billion a year and help reduce carbon emissions.
  


• A United Nations group of more than 2,500 experts said mankind was "likely" to be be blamed for causing irreversible damage to the planet. Dire warnings of rising seas, scorching heatwaves and devastating droughts have been issued in a major report on global warming. Experts have warned the UK is increasingly in danger of flood disasters similar to the devastation in New Orleans caused by Hurricane Katrina.
  

  
  The study by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) will pile more pressure on governments across the world to do more to cut greenhouse gasses and other harmful emissions as quickly as possible.

• A leaflet about Al Gore's Oscar winning documentary, "An inconvenient Truth" is being delivered to 5 million Australian households.
  
  
• Update from Danielle Ecuyer. President of the Women for Change Alliance - a Sydney-based climate change group: "Maire Claire raised our profile significantly in their January issue and has helped build the WFCA network across the eastern seaboard of Australia. I received many encouraging and supportive messages, from wonderful like minded women who felt the need to act urgently on the issue of Climate Change. Now the WFCA has over 60 paid up members and our network reaches across 300 people, from scientists, to renewable energy park creators, to holistic farmers who are working on carbon sequestration programmes, as well as schools, investment bankers and fund managers. We have two major presentations in March, which are open to the public in Sydney and touch on the very meaningful impacts of Climate Change in our community."
  

For more information please visit the website http://www.wfca.org.au/



EARTH HOUR: DON'T FORGET TO SWITCH OFF In a world first, Sydney will turn off its lights for one hour at 7.30pm on Saturday, March 31, 2007 as a major step towards reducing the city's greenhouse gas pollution. Organised by the World Wildlife Fund, with the support of The City of Sydney and the NSW Government, Earth Hour will be the highlight of a major campaign to encourage businesses, communities and individuals to take the simple steps needed to cut their emissions by 5 per cent in 2007. So don't forget to switch off!