Protecting our planet: Earth Hour 2014

Saturday, 1 March 2014 07:10 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

WWF’s Earth Hour this year falls on Saturday 29 March from 8:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. As has been done before for the past eight years at precisely this hour in their individual countries where people around the world join hands to demonstrate their commitment to save our planet from climate change through contribution of individual sacrifice by switching off all non-essential lights.

This mass action is not about saving electricity for an hour; it’s much bigger than that. It’s about realising that the actions people take, from the energy they use, to the food they buy and water they drink, have an effect on the world. Everyone needs to understand that they depend on this amazing planet and need to look after it – not just for an hour once a year, but every day. The Earth Hour movement thus engages hundreds of millions of people from all corners of the globe to take positive actions for the environment and celebrate their commitment by switching off their lights for one designated hour as a reminder of this vital fact. Earth Hour 2014 aims to show the actions that people, businesses and governments world-wide are taking to reduce their environmental impact. Thereby, the movement facilitates establishing and encouraging people to join an interconnected global community engaged in dialogue and resource sharing that generates real solutions to environmental challenges. Earth Hour has also hit its founding city, Sydney, where in an unusual twist the Sydney Opera House was lit up green last year, in celebration of its commitment to switch on to renewable energy. Other landmarks going dark this year include: The Sydney Harbour Bridge, Tokyo Tower, Taipei 101, The Petronas Towers, Beijing National Stadium (Bird’s Nest), Marina Bay Sands Singapore, Gateway of India, The Burj Khalifa, The Church of the Nativity (Birthplace of Jesus, Bethlehem), Eiffel Tower, The Acropolis, Tower of Pisa, The Spanish Steps, Brandenburg Gate, Buckingham Palace, Tower Bridge, The UK Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, Christ the Redeemer Statue, CN Tower, Las Vegas Strip, Times Square, The Empire State Building, Niagara Falls and more. At precisely 8:30 p.m. on Saturday 29 March 2014, hundreds of millions of people from community, business and government, all over the world will turn off their lights for Earth Hour, transcending all barriers of race, religion, culture, society, generation and geography in a global celebration of their commitment to protect the one thing that unites us all – the planet. Use your power and join the mission to protect this planet. For more information or to pledge your support visit www.earthhour.lk and share your stories on www.facebook.com/EarthHourSriLanka.