Tomorrow night the world will be celebrating Earth Hour, an event organized by grassroots groups in an effort to bring attention to environmental matters. As a symbolic gesture, people around the world will be turning off the lights and all things electricity for 60 minutes, hoping to spark awareness and conversations about the state of our planet’s environment in an “every action counts” attitude.
Whether you’re joining or leading an event, or celebrating in your own home, wherever you are tomorrow, March 24, 2018, at 8:30 pm (in whatever time zone you may be), stop and think a moment. What does this planet mean to you, individually? What does it mean for other people, animals, plants?
The campaign is the world’s largest grassroots movement for the environment. Led by the World Wildlife Fund since 2007, it began in Sydney with the intention of inspiring people to “take action for our planet and nature”. Since then, the goal has evolved and now includes fighting against climate change, fighting for sustainable energies, and advocating for conservation and biodiversity.
Though different time zones will celebrate throughout the day, the hour will officially start in Samoa and end 24 hours later in the Cook Islands. Approximately 7,000 cities in over 170 countries will participate. Last year, more than 3,000 landmarks turned off their lights. WWF encourages people around the world to use this as an opportunity to connect with others by talking about what nature means to them.
Are you interested in participating? Read stories to inspire you, get an Earth Hour toolkit to equip you, and encourage your family, your colleagues, your classmates to join in! You can connect with others via social media by tweeting #connect2earth, #EarthHourUK, #PromiseForThePlanet.
Sources: Earth Hour, The Guardian
