Earth Hour on Saturday: will you turn out the lights?
A red sunset in Kenya. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler.
On Saturday, March 26th at 8:30 PM lights will go out across the world in the 5th annual Earth Hour. Will you join in? To date this will be the biggest Earth Hour yet with 131 countries and territories signed up to participate on all seven continents. Yes, that’s right, people working in Antarctica will be turning out their lights too.
“Earth Hour is a chance for people and communities across the globe to join together with the common purpose of a sustainable future for our planet,” said Andy Ridley, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Earth Hour in a WWF article. “This year Earth Hour asks people to commit to an action, big or small, for the coming year, taking Earth Hour beyond the hour.”
By asking participants to ‘go beyond the hour’, this year’s Earth Hour hopes to go beyond past years with a larger and more long-lasting impact.
On a side note, skip the candles if you can, since most candles are made of petroleum-based products.
While Earth Hour has received criticism in the past, it should be remembered this is an event meant to raise awareness of climate change and other environmental impacts, not fix the world in one hour.
For more information: Record participation with 5 days until the world unites for Earth Hour.
