Tonight many parts of the world are going to remain in the dark for an hour to commemorate Earth Hour, an annual event which aims to support the protection of the environment.
From the Pyramids of Egipt, the Eiffel Tower and the Empire State, every great monument in the world will turn off the lights alongside thousands of houses, universities, and hotels, as a joint opportunity to show support for the environment. Earth Hour is set to start at 8:30 pm local time. Celebrities such as Maroon 5 are supporting the activity.
“Earth Hour is the opportunity to send a message that we remain steadfast in delivering on the goals of the Paris Agreement,” said Terry Macko, senior vice president of marketing and communications at World Wildlife Fund, referring to the United Nations climate pact signed in 2015 that aims to reduce greenhouse gas emission and strengthen efforts to respond to climate change.
Earth Hour 2017 shows commitment to the fight against climate change
Millions of people in cities all over the world are ready to participate tonight in the Earth Hour 2017. This initiative started 11 years ago to show commitment to the protection of the environment. People turn off the lights as a way to save energy for an entire hour and raise consciousness.
Emblematic buildings and monuments will be in the dark today, including the Empire State Building, the Space Needle, the Golden Gate Bridge, the Colosseum in Rome, the Pyramids of Egypt, the Sydney Opera House and the Eiffel Tower.
The World Wildlife Fund, an international non-governmental organization affiliated to the United Nations Social and Economic Council, urges people to participate by turning off their lights at 8:30 p.m.
As well, they ask people to support the global movement through the social media by changing their Facebook profile picture and by providing donations. There will be live performances during Earth Hours featuring artists such as Bridgit Mendler, Valerie June, and others. They will be live streamed on Facebook
Does the Earth Hour help the environment?
Actually, turning off the lights for an hour might save energy, but it doesn’t have a significant impact on Greenhouse gas emissions. However, its symbolic meaning is aimed to be much greater, especially in a time where catastrophes derived from climate change are more and more evident, even if the existence of climate change is being denied by some politicians.
“There’s never been a more critical moment in the fight,” said Terry Macko.
NGOs, artists, international organizations and even corporations are coming together to send the Earth Hour message.
Hotels are participating too. The Hilton is hosting #Travelwithpurposecontest where winners receive a free five-night stay in Canopy by Hilton Reykjavik City Centre in Iceland. As well, Marriott International want its hotels all over the world to share images of Earth Hour activities in their Twitter and Facebook accounts.
According to the World Wildlife Fund, there is no reason why people should not participate in Earth Hour 2017. They gave many options on how people could spend one hour without lights tonight such as talking to friends, spotting the places around that are also participating in Earth Hour and looking at the stars.
Global warming needs people to commit
2016 was the hottest year on record, according to different organizations, such as NASA, the ice in the poles is melting at a faster rate. Millions of species are threatened by the changes in their ecosystems. Natural disasters are happening more and more frequently.
If everyone commits, there will be a greater impact. That is the purpose of Earth Hour, to show that if every single person turns off a light, then we can see buildings, towns, cities, countries and the entire world united by the same cause.
“If all of us can find ways to save energy and reduce consumption of fossil fuel, then it will significantly reduce our emissions of greenhouse gasses, and that could slow down global warming,” he said. “If that still won’t be enough, we need to develop new sources of green energy and move away from fossil fuel.”
Today could be the day to show that people have not forgotten the commitment to secure the life of the next generations and of all living beings. As well, Earth Hour sends a message to politicians about what they should do about climate change policies. It is a way to show that people don’t want the Paris Agreement to be overlooked.
Source: 10 News