Time flies very fast. It seems it was just not long ago when we were still counting down to Christmas 2011 and New Year 2012 to arrive. Now it is already a quarter of year 2012 gone...so fast! What have we in mind for March 2012? Well...off course it is the yearly Earth Hour event. Been following the yearly Earth Hour event for the past 4 years. My kids like the Earth Hour event and already bookmarked it, way in advance.
For those who are not aware, Earth Hour 2012 will be on Saturday, 31st March, 8.30pm to 9.30pm under their campaign "I Will If You Will" (IWIYW) with the intention of engaging its growing global community to go beyond the hour. It is a way of "Uniting People To Protect The Planet". As from today, it is just 21 days to countdown.
Earth Hour is a global event organized by WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature, also known as World Wildlife Fund) and is held on the last Saturday of March annually, asking households and businesses to turn off their non-essential lights for one hour to raise awareness towards the need to take action on climate change caused by human activity.
Earth Hour was conceived by WWF and The Sydney Morning Herald in 2007, when 2.2 million residents of Sydney participated by turning off all non-essential lights. Following Sydney's lead, many other cities around the world adopted the event in 2008.
Using a dedicated YouTube platform, IWIYW asks Earth Hour's digital community to inspire people from all corners of the globe to take sustainability actions, and to share their commitment to the environment with their own social media networks. Any movement of change begins with symbolism and it’s a needed step to prove enough people care about an issue.
Earth Hour is past the beginning now and lots of people are switching their lights off every year in March. The Earth Hour YouTube platform hosts a global library of “I Will If You Will” challenges and encourages people to share their dare publically through Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and email. With the power of social networks behind the Earth Hour message, it hopes to attract even more participation so we can build a truly global community committed to creating a more sustainable planet.
Earth Hour 2011 was the biggest year in the campaign's five year history, reaffirming it as the largest ever voluntary action for the environment. It took place in a record 5,251 cities and towns in 135 countries and territories in all seven continents, sending a powerful message for action on climate change. It had an estimated reach of 1.8 billion people across the globe. In addition to this, the campaign's digital footprint grew to 91 million. It also ushered in a new era with members going Beyond the Hour to commit to lasting action for the planet. Without a doubt, it’s shown how great things can be achieved when people come together for a common cause.
In 2011, Earth Hour’s iconic global ‘lights out’ event, some of the world’s most recognized landmarks, including the Forbidden City, Eiffel Tower, Buckingham Palace, Golden Gate Bridge, Table Mountain, Christ the Redeemer statue and Sydney Opera House switched off their lights in a global celebration of the one thing that unites us all – the planet.
Why must we get involved? Simply reason...because our future depends on it! There’s more to it than switching off lights for one hour once a year. It’s all about giving people a voice and working together on the 4Rs (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Refuse) to create a better future for our planet.
