Earth Hour

• Earth Hour is a global movement that aims to inspire people, communities, and businesses to turn off all unnecessary electric lights for one hour.
• As a pledge to the environment, it is held on the final Saturday in March.

Background:

• In Sydney, Australia, in 2007, it was infamously launched as a lights-off occasion. In the years thereafter, it has expanded to involve more than 7000 cities and towns worldwide. Today, Earth Hour educates the general public on a wide range of environmental issues. The now broader movement is still mostly being driven by the one-hour event.

About Earth hour

• The World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) launched its annual Earth Hour campaign in 2007.
• More than 180 nations are encouraged to turn out their lights between 8.30 and 9.30 p.m. local time.
• In an effort to conserve energy and promote environmental protection, the goal is to avoid using illumination that is not absolutely necessary.
• Theme: Invest in Our Planet.
• The World Wildlife Fund has been hosting Earth Hour every year since 2007 as a way to encourage conservation and renewable energy. To lessen the impact of global warming, increase awareness of climate change, and support wildlife conservation, people are urged to turn off their lights for one hour during this period.

What distinguishes Earth Day from Earth Hour?

• In contrast to Earth Hour, which encourages people to use less electricity, Earth Day (April 22) honours nature by encouraging people to plant trees, recycle frequently, and keep the environment clean

What justifies Earth Hour?

• Throughout the past ten years, discussions about climate change and global warming have dominated the scientific community. Climate change has greatly endangered people and other creatures because of the world's constantly growing population.
• A few of the threats that have a significant impact on how life functions on earth include global warming, increased pollution due to ever-increasing industrialization, dwindling forest cover, and rising sea levels.
• The WWF works to raise public awareness of the imminent threats of changing climate, despite the fact that the biggest polluters are enormous industries, so that the public can exert pressure on the national governments to enact environmentally friendly policies and legislation.

Signifies:

• Earth Hour strives to raise awareness and start worldwide discussions about preserving the environment, addressing the climate problem, and cooperating to create a better future for people.
• The symbolic Earth Hour, in which all lights are turned off to promote energy conservation and raise awareness of climate change, has grown into the largest grassroots movement in the world.

The World Wildlife Fund

• It is the top conservation organisation in the world and operates in more than 100 nations
• It was founded in 1961 and has its corporate headquarters in Gland, Switzerland.
• Mission: To protect the environment and lessen the grave risks to the variety of life on Earth.
• Additional WWF initiatives include:
• TX2 Aim (a global pledge to double the number of wild tigers in the globe by 2022)
• The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the WWF jointly run the programme TRAFFIC.

Read Also: Earth's Inner Core