Tomorrow, on the 24th of March, between 20:30 and 21:30 local time, our planet will appear a bit darker from space and we will hopefully have a clearer view of the sky above us. It will be the 11th celebration of Earth Hour, which started as a symbolic lights-out event in Sydney in 2007 and has become the world’s largest grassroots call for environmental action.
The basic principle is simple: to switch off all lights for an hour, from homes to offices, including monuments and official premises. In previous years, world famous structures such as the Eiffel Tower and the Empire State Building have participated enthusiastically – even the International Space Station took part through posting pictures from above.
Although these 60 minutes alone have potential for huge energy savings, the main purpose of Earth Hour goes beyond the immediate effect. The environmental movement behind it, formed by volunteer groups and coordinated by WWF, aims to act as an international symbol against global warming and an advocate of a more sustainable lifestyle.
Right now our habits of burning fossil fuels have critical impacts on our climate. We can see it in the weather changes, the declining biodiversity and the dangerously high volumes of pollution in the air and water. More and more citizens are worried about a safe and sustainable future and are demanding that our political representatives act with determination and courage.
Shifting towards renewables is one of the actions highly encouraged by Earth Hour, among others like protecting forest and biodiversity and implementing stronger climate policies. Our work at EKOenergy, the international label certifying 100% sustainable and environmentally-friendly energy, goes hand in hand with Earth Hour’s aim of global energy saving.
We are keen to work as intermediate advisors helping governments and businesses to make sustainable energy accessible for everyone, but at the same time we believe that the electricity with the lowest impact on the planet is the electricity we don’t consume. So, on top of advising on the use of the greenest energy possible, we would like to encourage citizens, politicians and companies to rethink their energy efficiency.
The EKOenergy team will join in tomorrow for Earth Hour 2018. We encourage our partners and friends to also join us by turning off your electricity and celebrating our planet and its huge diversity of life – whose survival depends on us!
If you also want to join Earth Hour and don’t feel like staying at home in the darkness or having a romantic dinner with candles, you can check here the public events near you!
Posted on 23 March 2018
