Earth Hour 2009

The 10.2% figure was itself challenged by David Solomon, a finance student at the University of Chicago. Without citing data sources or the analytical methods he claims to have used, Solomon says he used eight years of electricity usage data to conclude that the Earth Hour-inspired drop was 6.33%, and that after other potential factors were taken into account, 2.10%, "statistically indistinguishable from zero." In some areas in the Northern Hemisphere, it will be twilight at 8 p.m., removing some of the advantages of the event.
Fairfax Media coverage
Media Watch, a television show scrutinising the press, reported on claims that Fairfax publications, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age had run misleading and even manipulated photographs of the event. The program shows Before and After photos published by the papers and provides commentary that the photos may or may not have been manipulated by overexposure or taking "before" picture 2 days early, as many businesses shut down their lights for the entire evening, precluding an accurate before and after shot comparison on the same evening.