Earth Hour is here. And let’s make it successful. Let’s make our voices & concerns on climate change be heard. Let’s turn out the lights on polluted air, over-dependence on fossil fuels and the costly impacts of global warming.
Participation is as simple as it can get. Just switch off the lights on 27th March, 8:30pm (local time wherever you are) for 60 minutes. And, do remember, this is symbolic and much more. Let’s actively start looking for how we can save energy and switch to a greener lifestyle. And, don’t forget to start talking about this issue with your family and friends. You can find a lot of resources & tools here.
Shai Agassi, earlier a senior executive with SAP, is the founder-CEO of Better Place. In this TED talk, he blows us away with his thoughts about how we could make countries “oil-free” by 2020. He shares his passionate vision for an electric cars and a network infrastructure to enable the migration to and operation of emission-free vehicles.
Let me stop here and let’s hear from the man himself.
Consulting firm McKinseyhas launched a new website called “What Matters”. The site builds on the knowledge derived from some of the best thinkers in the world. They asked though leaders to focus on 10 big issues and take a long view on these. Some of these issues include Geopolitics, Internet, Biotechnology, Energy, Climate Change, Innovation etc. Authors include Andy Grove, Rick Wagoner, John Thackara, Clay Shirky, Eric Schmidt, Gary Hamel among others.
Okay! Earth Hour is here. And it’s time to “do the green thing”. And you don’t have to do something “earth changing” all by yourself. You just need to pledge support to this issue by switching off your lights on the28th of March, 8:30 – 9:30 pm (your local time). By switching off your lights, you cast your vote – a vote for our planet. You can use all other electronic equipments in your house. Catch up with news. Watch Earthhour on TV. Use a fan. But, switch off the lights.
Take pictures / videos and share them on your social networks / Flickr / Picasa / Youtube or send to Earth Hour. If you write a blog, put up a post about how you celebrated Earth Hour and how you felt. Share your observations. Or, simply use 140 letters to Twitter about it. And, most importantly, before you switch off the lights, please get one more person to committ to Earth Hour.
You look at that river gently flowing by. You notice the leaves rustling with the wind. You hear the birds; you hear the tree frogs. In the distance you hear a cow. You feel the grass. The mud gives a little bit on the river bank. It’s quiet; it’s peaceful. And all of a sudden, it’s a gear shift inside you. And it’s like taking a deep breath and going… ‘Oh yeah, I forgot about this’.
I recently saw An Inconvenient Truth. I must say I should have watched it earlier. I know most of the stuff Al Gore talked about, but it was the way he presented all the data (some snippets here) that made me sit up and take notice. An absolute eye-opener. He showed the world well-researched scientific evidence about how serious a problem Global Warming is through his excellent presentation. If you haven’t watched the documentary yet, please do so NOW.
I know for sure now that all of us have a role to play in addressing this problem. The age-old adage “Every drop counts” seems more true than ever before. We need to make our own tiny contribution to the solution. As I feel more and more passionately about this issue and make my own tiny daily contribution to address the problem, I stumbled upon Earth Hour.
Earth Hour began in Sydney in 2007, with 2.2 million people switching off their lights for one hour to direct the attention of global leaders and policymakers towards the problem of global warming and planet sustainability. In 2008, its popularity grew, with over 50 million people participating in the movement. This year, the aspiration is to get as many as 1 billion people switching off their lights as a part of a global vote. The Earth Hour website says:
Unlike any election in history, it is not about what country you’re from, but instead, what planet you’re from. VOTE EARTH is a global call to action for every individual, every business, and every community. A call to stand up and take control over the future of our planet. We all have a vote, and every single vote counts. Together we can take control of the future of our planet, for future generations.
As we move towards the Earth Hour (28th March, 2009 8:30 – 9:30pm), I urge all of you to pledge your support to this important movement. Sign up on their website.Spread the word through your social networks, email signatures and blogs.Talk to people. Educate. Participate.
We cannot remain a by-stander. We cannot continue to think “how does it matter!” We cannot continue to feel that “how can my efforts make a difference!” Wake up!! Remember, YOU ARE THE DIFFERENCE.
