Lights off in Earth Hour to turn on life on planet

Lights off in Earth Hour to turn on life on planet

Photo shows the Eiffel Tower in Paris after it went dark for the Earth Hour environmental campaign on March 19, 2016. (AFP)

The Earth, the sole cosmic home to millions of different species, is threatened by the human destructive actions to an extent rarely seen in the planet’s history. With an accelerating trend of burning fossil fuels, polluting the air and the oceans, destroying ecosystems, changing the climate, and endangering vulnerable species and their habitats, a dark future looms on the horizon, not only for us but for the silent inhabitants of the planet.
It seems that there is an urgent need for a time to remind ourselves that we have to protect the Earth and stop the current trend, which otherwise could turn our vibrant planet to a barren and uninhabitable space rock.

Since a decade ago, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) have been urging all individuals, communities, households and businesses worldwide to turn off all their non-essential lights for an hour from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. local time. The time span, called the Earth Hour, is observed on March 19 every year to raise awareness about the climate change.

The ancient Temple of Parthenon atop the Acropolis hill goes dark for the Earth Hour environmental campaign in Athens on March 19, 2016. (AFP)

The initiative was started in Sydney, Australia in 2007, and has been observed by many other cities around the world since 2008.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon also released a statement about the 2016 Earth Hour, saying, “Together, we can create the low-emissions future the world needs for sustainable development and a life of dignity and stability for all. Earth Hour reminds us that we all have a role to play.”

All the lights at UN iconic headquarters complex in New York and other facilities around the world were shut off in the Earth Hour. A large number of prominent monuments and buildings across the globe also sank into darkness for one hour.