Next Saturday, 29th March, the eighth edition of Earth Hour will take place. Thousands of cities around the world will become almost completely dark during one hour as their inhabitants voluntarily turn off the lights in their houses. Local authorities will do the same in the most emblematic buildings and monuments in their respective locations (the Eiffel Tower, the Pyramids, the Sagrada Familia, etc.). However, Earth Hour is more than a symbolic event against climate change; it is a global movement which aims to raise awareness of the active and positive role we can all play in the conservation of the Earth and which has already managed to establish environmental commitments worldwide. Desmond Tutu, the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, has described it as “one of the greatest social movements the world has ever witnessed.”
[youtube height=»360″ width=»640″]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFIL0l-e1j4&feature=player_embedded#![/youtube]
Earth Hour is an idea conceived by the NGO WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) and the prestigious advertising agency Leo Burnett. It is held on the last Saturday in March from 20:30 to 21:30 (local time) each year. The first edition took place in Sydney (Australia) on 31st March 2007 and more than two million people participated. Last year more than 7000 cities took part.
An Event Which Includes the Active Participation of Every Level of Society
Earth Hour currently counts on the active participation of small, medium and large companies, the media, public and private institutions, public figures and famous people, and millions of individuals all over the world. This Saturday’s event is a call for us to commit to energy efficiency and to make responsible consumption a constant aim all year round, promoting good practices and contributing to the creation of sustainable towns and cities. On the WWF website, the NGO offers all sorts of information and resources for companies and individuals who may be wondering how they can contribute to the campaign objectives and the conservation of the environment in general. The website also lists activities planned for the event in each country: concerts, conferences, marches, workshops, etc.
60 Minutes of Well-Deserved Rest for the Earth; This Year Without the Internet
This year Earth Hour is asking for something more than just turning off the lights, a real challenge for many people: they are asking us to turn off the Internet for an hour. As owners of a website, we will turn it off too.
The Leo Burnett Madrid agency has created an innovative tool for WWF which enables institutions, individuals and companies to turn off their website during Earth Hour by following some simple instructions. The websites will appear in black, but they can be navigated with the mouse, which will work like a torch, illuminating the content as the mouse passes over it.
[youtube height=»360″ width=»640″]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfJKtXnMKE0&feature=player_embedded#![/youtube]
At Inmesol, we have a policy of energy efficiency in our facilities as well as in the application of new technologies which are more respectful of the environment in the generator sets and lighting towers we manufacture. We also continue to innovate in order to contribute to making this planet a more sustainable world.