The 5th annual Earth Hour event will take place at 8.30 – 9.30 pm (local time) on Saturday 26th March 2011. Earth Hour is organised by WWF and has almost 5 million supporters and a global networks in over 100 countries. WWF’s mission is to stop the degradation of the Earth’s natural environment and build a future where people live in harmony with nature.
This event began in a single city in Sydney, Australia in 2007 and has since grown into a global symbol of hope and action to protect the one thing that unites us all – the planet. It is now one of the largest environmental awareness events in the world where people from across the world, from all walks of life, turn off their lights and come together in celebration and contemplation. It is important to note that this is an educational campaign based on hope not fear, and the idea that everyone can take personal responsibility for the future of the planet we live on.
This year the message from Earth Hour is to think beyond the hour and what you can change in your daily life that will benefit the planet too. This year Miranda Kerr is the global ambassador for Earth Hour and she has recommended a few things you may want to do in your homes. These include:
- Reduce food miles by buying food locally;
- Walking or riding a bike reducing car usage;
- Use fuel with Ethanol;
- Turn off lights and use organic or beeswax candles instead;
- Unplug appliances when they are not in use;
- Wash in mostly cold water;
- Recycle, recycle, recycle;
- Purchase clothes which are ethically made;
- Compost scraps;
- Avoid food wastage;
- Grow your own food;
- Use less water;
As you can see there are a lot of ideas here and I don’t think it would be impossible to pick one or two of these and start reducing our impact on the environment. More from Miranda Kerr can be read here.
The 2011 commercial is very powerful and will hopefully encourage more people to take action not only during this hour but within their daily lives. The emphasis of the video is to encourage everybody to take action in the hope of making the world a better place. The 2011 commercial can be viewed below and previous commercials can be found don YouTube.
Please check out their website there are some amazing photos of famous landmarks and individuals getting involved in previous years. A couple of my favourite (mainly because they are of London) are below:
 |
| London Bridge © WWF / Jon Freeman |
 |
| Big Ben, London © geoffwilson20 |
Many of you may ask, whether just an hour will actually make a difference? Well I definitely think so. In my view Earth Hour is about telling people that you are taking action against climate change and willing to change your lifestyle to do so. This is just the first step in many which lets the world know you are trying to make a difference. Think about what you can change to limit your environmental footprint and if you need help recap over some of Miranda Kerr’s suggestions above. Personally, I am going to try and cut out plastic bottled water. Not only will this reduce my waste it also has the added bonus of saving me money.
So switch off your lights and celebrate your love for our planet too! Together our action adds up!
No comments:
Post a Comment