Unite and get set to observe Earth Hour

22 March, 2013

On March 23 at 8:30pm, Earth Hour event will be celebrated by switching off lights for one hour. The event this year is being observed with the slogan 'Uniting people to protect the planet'. According to the event organisers, Earth Hour is a worldwide observance initiated by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). The purpose is to encourage households and businesses to turn off their non-essential lights for one hour to raise awareness about the need to take action on climate change.

Earth Hour is meant to create awareness to take collective accountability for their ecological footprint and engage in dialogue and resource exchange that provides real solutions to our environmental challenges, informs WWF. "Earth Hour is our chance to make and show our commitment to protect our planet not just for one hour a year, but every day," urges WWF.

According to Executive Director and Co-Founder of Earth Hour Andy Ridley, "Earth Hour's challenge is no longer to connect people; the challenge is to offer a reason to connect. Any movement of change begins with symbolism – 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. We're now at the stage of taking it beyond the hour."

WWF Singapore's Ambassador and host of Asia Pacific's top model Nadya Hutagalung while urging people to participate in the event said, “The issues that face our planet are as relevant to Asia as they are to the rest of the world. As our economies grow and Asia becomes the predominant economic force across the planet, we have to pause and think about what legacy we want to leave, not only for our countries in the Asian region, but also for the whole planet.”

Urging support for the event, WWF in its message said, “Earth Hour is a simple idea that quickly turned into a global phenomenon. Hundreds of millions of people around the world turn off their lights for one hour on the same night, to focus on the one thing that unites us all—our planet."