Earth Hour 2011

 This Earth Hour, go beyond the hour.

At 8.30 PM (local time) on Saturday 26th March 2011, lights will switch off around the globe for Earth Hour and people will commit actions that go beyond the hour. Now imagine what we could achieve if we go beyond the hour. Together our actions add up. What will you do?

Yup, Earth Hour is back, at least here. I did a write-up about this Earth Hour campaign in 2009 (check here: Earth Hour 2009 and Support Earth Hour) and found that a staggering amount of people were still unaware of a certain facts I highlighted. Well not only myself, but a number of people highlighted these too. 

What, you ask? Candles of course! You switched off the lights, you lighted up a candle. Candle is proven, scientifically or rather common sense that they are mostly made of petroleum, emit higher amount of heat per light they produce, and greenhouse gases too. And oh, you might risk having your house on fire. Many experiments and calculations shown that by switching on a conventional fluorescent or light bulb for a very long period of time it saves a lot more energy and thus your money compared to lighting many candles just to equate the similar amount of lights produced by electrical light bulbs. So if you want to support Earth Hour but can't risk having no lights to do whatever you deem important (ie; read a book), simple; Don't switch off your light. 

In my opinion, the sole purpose of Earth Hour is not just for you to switch off your lights. It is for you to realise how important it can be by just switching off non-essential lights and other appliances when not in used. It helps producing less greenhouse gases, heat, energy and your money.

Here is what you can do:

1. Turn out your non-essential lighting and electrical appliances during Earth Hour, Saturday March 26, between 8:30-9:30 PM local time in all buildings you can control.

2. Turn out your non-essential lighting and electrical appliances during briefing hours (when not in used) on daily basis.

3. Sign up at http://www.earthhour.org/Homepage.aspx to show your commitment and to get further details.

4. Promote and encourage your friends, family and co-workers to participate in Earth Hour.

Go beyond the hour, together our actions add up.

This message is brought to you by Earth Hour and WWF.