On 30 March every year, millions of people around the world switch off their lights for an hour at 8:30pm in a pledge to help save our planet. Some of the globe’s biggest landmarks get involved in the movement too, with Australia’s Sydney Opera House, France’s Eiffel Tower and Scotland’s Edinburgh Castle all going dark for the event.
By switching off all the lights in your house, you are making a symbolic stand telling governments around the world that you are willing to fight for this planet.
As WWF quite rightly say on their website – “our planet is in crisis”. In less than 50 years, wildlife population sizes have decreased rapidly by 60%; climate change has put one in every six species at risk of extinction; every two seconds, an area of forest roughly the size of a football pitch is destroyed; and by 2050, there could be more plastic in our oceans than fish. How is any of this ok?!
Did you know that we are the first generation in the history of this planet to know that we are destroying it? What’s worse is that if we don’t get our act together we will mostly likely be the last generation that has the capability of taking action to change this awful fact.
There are plenty of ways you can help make a change to our planet. You could start reducing the amount of plastic you use, help restore the area around you by planting trees and taking part in environmental clean ups, switch off the lights when you leave a room and turn your washing machine cycle down to 30°C.
To find out more, head to wwf.org.uk/earthhour
Freelance wildlife writer, editor, and proofreader. 