Earth Hour 2020 Malaysia

Author: Hugo Bennetts

What happens during Earth Hour?

At 8:30pm local time today, the world’s most iconic landmarks will cut their lights. From the Eiffel Tower to the Petronas Towers to the Sydney Opera House, a darkness will shine bright across the globe.

When did Earth Hour start?

In 2007, the WWF collaborated with partners in Sydney to initiate a lights-out event. Zoom forward 13 years and Earth Hour is now one of the largest environmental grassroots movements, connecting millions of people around the world. In 2019, over 180 countries and territories took part.

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From the Royal Observatory in London, across the great
cities of Europe, sweeping over the plains of Africa, the jagged mountains of
Asia, the vast deserts of Australia, the endless Pacific blue and the ancient
forests of the Americas, the great winds blow a message of solidarity and hope.

The WWF’s website page dedicated to Earth Hour reads: “More people than ever before are waking up to the crisis. We’ve destroyed forests, polluted the oceans and messed up the climate.” An ordinary sprinkle of doomsday statements. At times, being an eco-warrior (or an Ecoteer!), you can feel like you are fighting a losing battle, as if you’re trying to climb a downwards escalator. It’s exhausting and can feel pointless, like your goal is unachievable. This feeling of pointlessness and futility in one’s own eco-actions is one of the main barriers to global sustainability. “What’s the point in me carrying this rubbish with me until I find a bin?”, “Can’t I just drop it here?”, “What difference will it make?”. You feel alone and tiny and your actions inconsequential.

Essentially, it is easy to think that you are alone in fighting global environmental issues. This is why moments of solidarity such as Earth Hour are so important. It reminds the environmentally aware people of the world that we are not alone. There will always be barriers that obstruct, frustrate and impede the possibility of a sustainable planet, but we are not alone. We can make a difference. And at 8:30pm today, I hope you will feel that.

We are not so blind as to believe that the act of cutting
electricity for an hour will make a difference to global electricity
consumption levels. Earth Hour is a symbolic act meant to give courage to those
eco-minded people who can at times feel defeated. Ironically, the act of
turning off one’s lights for an hour acts as a beacon, and its illumination is far
greater than any generated by electricity. In this hopeful hour, us environmentally
conscious citizens link arms, look into our neighbours’ eyes and are comforted
by one another’s presence, all safe in the knowledge that we are not alone and
that we can make a change.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fcv1ZbIVO4

Join us at Fuze Ecoteer and turn off any unnecessary lights and equipment for an hour at 8:30 pm, your local time.

You can check out other articles, blog posts and ways to help and increase your connection to nature at our nature blog. We also have Facebook and LinkedIn pages.