WWF's Earth Hour to dim city lights

WASHINGTON, March 28 (UPI) -- The World Wildlife Fund said millions of people in the United States and around the globe will turn off or dim their lights Saturday in support of Earth Hour.

The event, designed as a statement about climate change, will roll through 14 time zones at 8 p.m. Saturday night, starting in Christchurch, New Zealand, and wrapping up in San Francisco.

Some of the tallest buildings in the United States, including the John Hancock Building in Chicago and the Bank of America Plaza in Atlanta, will turn off their lights. The Chicago Cubs, San Francisco Giants and Arizona Diamondbacks will turn off select non-essential lighting on the exterior of their stadiums and arenas and McDonald's will turn off its golden arches in the Chicago area, WWF said in a release.

The event, which was started last year in Sydney, is expected to involve millions of people, businesses, governments and civic organizations.

While it is largely a symbolic event, WWF spokeswoman Leslie Aun told the Christian Science Monitor she hopes it inspires people to take further action.

"It provides people with an opportunity to say something about climate change," she told the newspaper.