By Lookout Staff

March 29, 2012 -- The world’s only solar-powered Ferris wheel at Pacific Park on the Santa Monica Pier will join such international landmarks as the Sydney Opera House and the Eifel Tower and go dark for an hour to mark Earth Day.

The one-hour, lights-out call for “Uniting People To Protect The Planet” will take place Saturday at 8:30 p.m. Only the wheel rim safety lighting will remain on the Ferris wheel, which normally provides a computer-generated festive light show that can be seen across Santa Monica Bay.

Virtual visitors can view the Earth Hour Ferris wheel online at Pacific Park’s Webcam with live HD streaming video at http://pacpark.com/webcam.php?location=webcam

“Pacific Park looks forward to Earth Hour each year to help raise environmental awareness,” says Jeff Klocke, Pacific Park's director of marketing and sales. “Pacific Park is committed to being a leader in our community and industry for green initiatives."

The Pacific Wheel features 160,000 energy-efficient LED lights that present custom, computer-generated lighting entertainment while using 75 percent less energy than the traditional incandescent bulbs used by most Ferris wheels.

In addition to the solar-powered wheel, Pacific Park last October introduced the world’s only wind-powered amusement park game, the High Striker, which uses more than 100 bulbs, multiple spotlights, chaser lights and a sound system.

The 25-feet-tall game features a silver-plated bell that "sounds each time a guest is strong enough to strike the pallet with a mallet that sends the puck racing to the top," park officials said.

"With these high profile successes, we continue to identify additional greening initiatives throughout the Park,” Klocke said.

Since it was launched in 2007, Earth Hour has grown from a one-city initiative to a 5,251 city strong global movement, last year reaching 1.8 billion people in 135 countries across all seven continents, according to the Earth Hour organization.

Pacific Park on the Santa Monica Pier is LA’s only admission free amusement park and offers 12 amusement rides, 18 midway games and an oceanfront food plaza.

For additional information and hours of operation, call 310-260-8744 or visit www.pacpark.com.