Earth Hour has become an annual climate change event. It seeks to raise awareness about climate change and our vanishing endangered animals, plant species and ecosystems. We cannot tackle climate change, unless we also tackle the issue of the sixth mass extinction. The sixth mass extinction is an ongoing extinction; this is caused by humans destroying ecosystems and persecuting wild animals till the point of which they become extinct. It is, along with climate change, the most challenging and important issue today.
But, there is still hope when it comes to climate change.
And. Earth Hour provides some of that hope.
Earth Hour is an annual event which takes place every March. It began in 2007 in Sydney Australia. Since then, Earth Hour has grown into an environmental and climate change protest phenomenon - it now exists all over the world. The event now takes place in over 180 countries, according to the WWF who run the event - reaching every continent in the world now. Earth Hour always begins at 8.30pm in every country local time. This year, Earth Hour will begin at 8.30pm on the 30th of March in every countries local time, and last for an hour, meaning the event finishes at 9.30pm.
During the hour, people and landmarks across the world will switch off their lights. The switching off of lights is to raise awareness about climate change. Essentially, it is a symbolic way to raise awareness about climate change, endangered species loss, ecosystem loss, and it raises awareness about environmental issues in general.
People can either take part in Earth Hour in their home, or at a local event. There are many local events in every country. You can look up what is happening in your area on the WWFs Earth Hour page.
If you want, there is even the option to create your own event.
Why Should You Take Part In Earth Hour?
There are many different reasons why you should take part. The main reason is so you can take action against climate change, and inspire others to take action against climate change: our behavior can be influential to others. Climate change is a serious issue that is affecting our planet. And, without resolving the issue of climate change, it will have several detrimental effects. These detrimental effects include: rising oceans, rising temperatures, coral bleaching, loss of ecosystem and biodiversity, and, it also includes a loss of wild animals.
Climate change is much more than just rising global temperatures, all of the issues listed will, and are resulting because of climate change. Today, we are already seeing the results of climate change - the last four years have been the warmest on record, coral bleaching is already happening, sea temperatures and levels are rising, and there is already a loss of biodiversity, ecosystems and wild animals - all of these will only continue to get worse if climate change isn't solved.
Besides standing up for climate change, Earth Hour also gives you a way to stand up for our wildlife. And that is badly needed, because our wildlife is seriously in trouble. We are in a sixth mass extinction, and if action is not taken, then most likely, within our lifetime, we will see many more wild animals becoming extinct: some of these wild animals will be the iconic endangered animals that we see today.
In just less than 50 years, 60% of our wild animals have declined. Many of the endangered animals that you see today, have only become endangered recently. They have become endangered for a variety of reasons, such as habitat loss and climate change.
We are losing wild habitats at an alarming rate. According to the WWF, an area of forest the size of a football pitch is lost every two seconds - every two seconds. This doesn't include the other ecosystems which are destroyed by humans. As part of Earth Hour, we can raise awareness about preserving wild animals and ecosystems. Nature is not just important for animals, it is important for all of us, including humans: that is why we need to preserve it.
By taking part in Earth Hour, you can help to change the world into a better place. You can help make the world become more environmentally friendly, as this event influences us all - it helps us to influence governments, businesses and other people, to create a world which has healthy ecosystems, for us all.