By Sharmini Jayawardena
Uniting People to Protect the Planet
24th March, 8.30pm to 9.30pm is EarthšHour of 2018!
During this Hour we observe lights outāThis is to conserve energy as in electricity, so that it will save waterš§ or coal that generates electricity that fuels the rest of the infrastructure. When all of us come together to do this, we strike a massive targetšÆ and we achieve an enormous goalš„
What it is, is: practicing conservation between the tightly woven network of climate and biodiversity, the land and the oceanš, and between ecosystem health, human society and culture.
āEarth hour is a worldwide movement organized by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). The event is held annually encouraging individuals, communities, and businesses to turn off non-essential electric lights for oneā hour, from 8.30 to 9.30pm on a specific day towards the end of March, as a symbol of commitment to the planet. It was started as a lights-off event in Sydney, Australia, in 2007. Since then, it has grown to engage more than 7,000 cities and towns across 187 countries and territories.ā
Wikipedia
āAs a conservation organization, WWF has always viewed our, (earthhour.org), work on energy and climate through the additional lens of species protection. We recognize the impact that a changing climate can have on the ability of ecosystems to support plantš± and animalššš¦ life, and the challenges that biodiversity will face in a warming world.ā
ā…perhaps the most important message from the report is one that is implicit – the need to better connect the dots between climate, biodiversity, and the other social and economic development challenges that we face.ā
www.earthhour.org/blog/biodiversity-and-climate-joining-dots-sustainable-future
The need of the Hour is to meet the goals set at the 2015, United Nations Climate Conference in Paris, on emission control, and the Biodiversity Conference in China by the year 2020!
The agreement in Paris will enter into force when joined by at least 55 countries which together represent at least 55 percent of global greenhouse emissionsā
In 2019, the UN is due to produce two major reports to climate change and the ocean and the terrestrial environment.
In 2020, the UN Convention on Biological Diversity is meeting in China with a view to adopting a working plan to protect biodiversity which will be as important as the Paris Convention was to protecting the climate.
These and other efforts on the part of millions of activists, will help to ensure human development takes place in harmony with the ecosystem we rely on.
To make sure we do, ā…join the dots and connect to earth todayā!
Join in and āSwitch off for Earth Hourā Now!
