Earth Hour

Saturday, March 28, 2015 8:30 – 9:30 p.m. was considered Earth Hour, a worldwide grassroots movement uniting people to protect the planet. Earth Hour is organized by World Wide Fund for Nature, an international non-government organization founded in 1961, and is working on issues regarding the conservation, research and restoration of the environment.

WHAT IS EARTH HOUR

Earth Hour is a charitable organization based out of Sigapore. Its mission is to unite people to protect the planet. It engages a massive mainstream community on environmental issues. It is held worldwide every year and encourages individuals, communities and business to turn off their non-essential lights for an hour as a symbol for their commitment to the planet. 

HISTORY

Earth Hour was started as a light-off event in Sydney, Australia in 2007, with 2.2 million people and 2,100 businesses participating. Since 2007, 172 countries and territories worldwide celebrate Earth Hour. Just one year later after the first Earth Hour, it became a global phenomenon with over 35 countries participating, and over 50 million people.

WHAT HAPPENS

Earth Hour aims to encourage an interconnected global community to share the opportunities and challenges of creating a sustainable world. In Australia, Earth Hour is considered an event that brings communities together. One in every three Aussies take part in Earth Hour each year. Events rage from twilight picnics, to food fairs to night time farmers markets to paddock pop-up restaurants.

HOW TO GET INVOLVED

If you want to participate in Earth Hour, the first thing you have to do is turn off all your non-essential lights off. Anyone can participate and should share their commitment to Earth Hour with their community. Earth Hour is about starting a movement in your community that will help sustain our world and benefit our planet. The goal is to do more than just turning off your lights. Here are some ideas for an Earth Hour event:

•  Bring your favorite food memory – invite your family and friends to bring a plate of their favorite dish.
• Unplug – partner with local café shop and host an evening of music.
• Star-gazing – head outside or visit a local observatory to enjoy the night sky.
• Earth Hour Walk – select a route and walk outside with candles or lanterns. You can even make it a run.
• Bike Ride – ride your bike with a group of friends
• Bake-off or Bake Sale – encourage your friends to bake tasty treats using local ingredients
• Movie Night – host a screening with an environmental themed movie. Fern Gully, Wall-E, Avatar or An Inconvenient Truth are just a few options.
•  Wine and Cheese Night – ask your friends to bring a bottle of wine and snacks while you all sit around a candlelight.

Earth Hour is more than an event, it is a movement that has achieved massive environmental impact, including legislation changes by harnessing the power of the crowd. For 2015 Earth Hour highlights, see video below.

Earth Hour 2016 will be held on March 19 at 8:30 p.m. Will you be participating?

HAPPY FRIENDLY LIVING, 

Jonathan Berrospes, Silvia Carmona, Scott Giraudin & Nicole Olaya

*Disclaimer: This blog is for the use of a school project