We all have so many responsibilities in our hands right now.
While we continue to battle against a pandemic, there is also the war against climate change that requires our immediate attention.
An environmental movement that started in Sydney way back in 2007 is going digital for the first time this year to encourage more people to join their cause.
Being the world’s largest grassroots movement for the environment, Earth Hour wanted to especially inspire millions of people around the globe to conserve energy even just for an hour and leave a lasting change for the planet.
Why is Earth Hour important, you ask? Here are some interesting facts about it.
IN NUMBERS
During the Earth Hour activity in 2015, residents of Sibuyan Island in the Philippines turned on their lights instead of switching it off to advocate the use of renewable energy. The island’s source of electricity is a mini-hydro power plant.
In 2017, the Philippines was able to reduce electricity consumption by as much as 611-megawatt hour. That’s about the same as shutting down a dozen coal-fired power plants for an hour!
Two years later, in 2019, 647 cities and towns or over 10 million Filipinos switched off their lights for an hour. This resulted to a demand drop in the Visayan Electric Franchise area of as much as 3.6 megawatts.
If a regular household with five lighting fixtures, one television, one electric fan, and one refrigerator consumes 410 watts of electricity, this translates to approximately 8,780 households joining the movement then.
With that demand drop, we saved energy that should have been consumed by around 45,000 80-watt light posts.
This year, millions of people from more than 180 countries and territories will be switching off their lights to show support for our planet.
IMPACTS WORLDWIDE
The Earth Hour Movement is slowly getting there. So far, the movement has made the following impacts:
- Successfully urge for new legislation for the protection of forests twice the size of France in Russia in 2013
- Mobilize public support for the creation of a 3.5 million hectare marine-protected area in Argentina
- Facilitate the creation of a 2,700-hectare Earth Hour forest in Uganda
- Plant 17 million trees in Kazakhstan.
WHAT TO DO?
But while you turn off your lights to conserve energy, make your Earth Hour experience memorable! Here are some activities that you can try with your family.
Shadow puppet play
Let the shadows come to life by switching off all the lights and put on a shadow puppet play. You can cut out different shapes of animals, set up a stage using a cloth and a flashlight.
Indoor scavenger hunt
Turn off the lights, and hide items around the house like chocolates or candies for your young ones. Challenge them to find all the hidden items within a certain time with the help of a flashlight!
Yoga at Home
You can check online yoga classes ahead and find the right program for you to stay calm and relaxed.
Indoor camping
Camp in your living room and make a tent with bed sheets and pillows then find a good story to share.
Acoustic jam session
Unleash those hidden talents in you and sing the night away with your friends and family!
Are you excited for Earth Hour 2020? Let us know about your thoughts on climate change in the comments section of this video.
This content is part of CDN Digital’s Earth Hour series as the online news portal joins the Earth Hour 2020 celebration.
This series is supported by our partner, AboitizPower. https://www.aboitizpower.com
