The Eiffel Tower in Paris is shown just before its 20,000 bulbs went out for five minutes at 7:55 p.m. on Feb. 1, 2007. The City of Light went dim when thousands of Parisians joined in the "lights-out" campaign aimed at showing citizen concern over climate change. Several European cities also staged the symbolic blackouts.
The Eiffel Tower in Paris stands in darkness, right, after its spotlights were switched off between 7:55 and 8 p.m. on Feb. 1, 2007. The nationwide lights-out was timed before the release of a major climate change report warning that Earth will keep getting warmer. Lights also went out at Paris' Hilton Hotel, where many of the scientists and officials from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change are staying.
A combined picture shows Rome's ancient Colosseum before and after its lights were switched off as part of a European power-saving enviromental campaign on Feb. 1, 2007. The campaign, called "Five Minutes of Respite for the Planet," was being held as world experts meet in Paris to thrash out a report on global warming.
Brussels' city hall at the Grote Markt is shown before and after the lights were switched off for five minutes on Feb. 1, 2007. The action, called "Five Minutes of Respite for the Planet," was part of a campaign to draw the attention of citizens about the waste of energy and the issue of global warming. Brussels was one of several European cities that staged symbolic blackouts to coincide with those in Paris.
The "Place du Capitole" and the city hall of Toulouse, France, stand in darkness after its spotlights were switched off for five minutes on Feb. 1, 2007.
In Spain, Madrid's city hall turned off one of the capital's most emblematic monuments, the Puerta de Alcala arch, on Feb. 1, 2007. In the southern city of Seville, local authorities did the same with the famous Giralda Tower, and in the Mediterranean city of Valencia, the Ciudad de las Ciencias complex went dark.
The Palau de las Arts in Valencia's City of Arts and Sciences switched its lights off for five minutes on Feb. 1, 2007, under a global effort entitled "Five Minutes of Respite for the Planet." The effort asked for everyone to switch off their lights for five minutes in a bid to raise the issue of global warming and the misuse of energy.
The Eiffel Tower in Paris brightens after standing in darkness after its spotlights were switched off for five minutes on Feb. 1, 2007. To express concern over climate change, its 20,000 sparkling bulbs went dark between 7:55 p.m. and 8 p.m.