I believed most of us knows about this Earth Hour, an annual global event in switching off lights for an hour from 8.30 to 9.30pm on the last Saturday of March to create awareness among the people for an action in climate change. The event began in 2007 with only participation of Sydney, Australia. In 2008, over 30 countries joined the event. In 2009, the number of countries participated exceeds 80, and in 2010 (last year) the number increased to over 130 countries. For this year, I believed the number would be keep increasing as it is the world largest voluntary action to switch off the lights for one hour at their respective time.
Malaysia is among the first nations participating for the event in 2008, but at that time, not many are introduced to it. In 2009, many side-events were organized in conjunction with Earth Hour that brought the attention of many people. Same will come on this upcoming Saturday (yes, it’s tomorrow) when as usual, non-essential lights turned off for an hour alongside with some parties or events organized at some places.
The participation is just not within that hour between 8.30pm to 9.30pm tomorrow. Of course, it seems to be impossible for lights to be turned off longer like 2 or 3 or even a day. That one hour is just a symbolic meaning of unity between people of all participating nations in caring for Earth. Our action for climate change should be more than that, more than that hour. Save consumption of non-renewable energy, or even water as there are recent news that Malaysians used up a lot of water. Plant more trees, save the forest, practice 3R (reduce, reuse, recycle), don’t create more waste, and use environmental-friendly applications. There are many other things we can do to care for the fragile Earth daily. I think I don’t need to make it as a reminder, right?
You may or may not participate in this global event, or probably you might be outdoor so, you would have no switch to turn off light. It is your choice, but for support to the event, why not? Just a simple step, a press or click to turn off the lights, especially non-essential ones for only an hour. Let’s be in the dark on tomorrow’s night for an hour and enjoy the true essence of night which is totally dark and with the only source of light from the beautiful moon. It’s a good time to be in silent, think of what you can do for Earth and appreciate the nature.
As usual, many buildings in Kuala Lumpur will switched off the facade lighting for the event, notably the world tallest twin buildings, Petronas Twin Towers, KL Tower, Sunway Pyramid, etc. As I have mentioned on the header for my blog for the month, it’s a global move in loving Earth. Simple phrase yet meaningful enough to convey the message from Earth Hour. Notice the addition of a cross to the official Earth Hour logo (from 60 only to 60+ now) which means that our support should be beyond the hour.
So, tomorrow’s night is the time for it! Do your part and we will make make a change!
Vincent Loy's Online Journal 