Earth Hour comes to Malaysia

If you hadn't already heard, Malaysia has now joined the global movement of making your vote count towards taking a stand against global warming. 2009 will be the first year Malaysians will be able to officially participate in Earth Hour, not that we have been missing out too far behind. The Earth Hour was conceived in Sydney, Australia in 2007. In what took only a year, what started out as a Sydney event turned into a global sustainability movement, with 50 million people participating in the following year (source EarthHour.org) – one to spread the word and create the awareness about global warming. In 2009, Malaysia now joins the 70-odd list of countries with the target to achieve 1 billion participants this time around. To cast a vote for Earth vs. Global Warming, what one needs to do to participate and play an active-role is to first sign up and become a part of the Earth Hour movement. For us Malaysians, this can now be done at www.earthhour.org.my. Next comes the fun, interesting, yet oh-so-simple part – come March 28^th, 2009, at 8.30p.m. – turn off your lights for an hour, 60 whole minutes.

pic source: EarthHour.org

But let's not jump the gun here. This does not mean that you reach out for the main power source of the premises you’re in – you only need to turn off a main light (leaving another supporting light left on). Earth Hour is all about simplicity in actions that one could partake without having to heavily compromise on current convenience in our lifestyle choices. It’s an easy enough task for us to do, and an interesting one – one that will be a real conversation starter. Check out the thoughts and intentions of our local celebs on the upcoming Earth Hour on www.earthhour.org.my. The Earth Hour is a harmless exercise that makes an interesting topic of conversation, which in turn creates more awareness which will inevitably be translated into a more pro-active action towards fighting the war against global warming.

With a target of 1 billion names, WWF hopes that this would be an urgent message sent to world leaders during the next Global Climate Change Conference which will take place in Copenhagen this year. The Earth Hour is a movement conceived and sanctioned by WWF with the aim for the names and urgency of the situation to be presented to world leaders at the conference. This conference is crucial in dictating policies that will govern actions with regards to global warming issues. The policies that will be determined in this year’s conference will replace the current treaty, the Kyoto Protocol that will expire in year 2012. It’s one thing that we actually help with minimizing greenhouse gas emissions within that hour alone, but it is the continuous intention and commitment towards being more eco-conscious that has and will continue to be the main repercussion of the success of Earth Hour. Even Google had its take in participating in Earth Hour by “switching off the lights” on its page last year.

pic source: thinkgreenish.com

Come the last Saturday of the month of March this year (and every coming year), turn it into a mini event, wherever you're at, whomever you're with. And remember to take that baby-step of signing yourself up for the Earth Hour.