Earth Hour: “Berikan Hak bagi Bumi untuk Bernapas!”

Love Your Motherland by Supporting Earth Hour

Empat tahun lalu, satu gagasan brilian tercetus di sebuah kota di Benua Australia, Sydney. Sebuah gagasan sederhana yang dampaknya dapat sangat hebat jika dilakukan secara bersamaan dan mendunia. Anda tidak perlu mengeluarkan banyak uang atau mengorbankan sesuatu. Anda hanya diminta untuk mematikan semua lampu selama satu jam. Gagasan ini bernama Earth Hour dan mendapatkan dukungan sepenuhnya dari organisasi dunia, World Wide Foundation.

Kegiatan yang dilakukan satu kali dalam setahun ini dimaksudkan untuk memberikan bumi sedikit waktu untuk bernapas, terbebas dari semua kecanggihan teknologi yang membuatnya tersiksa. Mematikan lampu memang tidak akan menyembuhkan bumi secara instan, namun dapat menolongnya untuk beristirahat sejenak dari gempuran karbon yang menggerogoti lapisan ozon.

Hingga 2010, sebanyak 1,3 milyar penduduk dunia di 4616 kota yang berasal dari 128 negara, telah berpartisipasi dalam kegiatan ini. Earth Hour bukan lagi menjadi acara milik sebuah kota atau negara. Saat ini, Earth Hour menjadi event dunia dan diharapkan seluruh penduduk dunia dapat berpartisipasi di dalamnya.

Setelah pelaksanaan Earth Hour selama empat tahun, banyak pihak yang merasakan dampaknya dan memutuskan untuk mengubah pola hidupnya menjadi lebih ramah lingkungan. Berikut beberapa di antaranya yang kami kutip dari situs resmi www.earthhour.org.

Pocoyo, an animated TV series, will reach out to its millions of preschool-aged fans across the globe over the next year, fostering “Learning through Laughter,” utilising humour and learning to inform children about environmental issues.

Nathi Mzileni, a 15-year-old boy from Swaziland, was inspired to take action in 2010 when he realised his town did not participate in Earth Hour. He started a group at his High School called Green Enviro to educate people about climate change, and this year will single-handedly make Earth Hour a reality in his town of Shimunye, Swaziland.

Li Bingbing, the Chinese acting/singing sensation, has committed to being vegetarian for 100 days this year, in order to reduce the carbon dioxide emissions caused in the cycle of meat production and consumption.

Lord Mayor of Sydney, Clover Moore MP, has committed to: another six separated cycleways, installing LED lights in parks and streets, and endorsing a tri-generation plant to provide low carbon energy.

Chloe Nicol, a 7-year-old girl from Australia, is guiding her school to increase recycling and reduce energy waste. The school now also shuts their blinds instead of using air-conditioning to cool the rooms.

Parrys Raines, a 15-year-old Australian girl, has convinced her school to install water filling stations and provide each student and teacher with a reusable stainless steel drinking bottle to reduce plastic bottle waste.

CB Richard Ellis is going beyond the hour in 2011 by aiming to exceed their previous year’s record of more than 254 million square feet of real estate participating in Earth Hour, as well as making available events and activities for employee participation each month (Earth Hour, Earth Day, Green Building Day, Climate Week etc.)

Singaporean pop duo Jack and Rai: Jack has switched to a more efficient air-conditioning system, and committed to setting the temperature at 24 degrees Celsius. Rai will watch less TV, play less video games, and play more acoustic guitar to reduce his energy usage.

Wasim Akram (Pakistan cricket legend) has made a personal commitment to stop using plastic bags, to recycle and reuse, and to use his high profile to promote and encourage the same behaviour throughout Pakistan and the rest of the world.

Tahun ini, Earth Hour akan diselenggarakan secara serentak di seluruh dunia pada 26 Maret 2011 pukul 20.30 waktu setempat. Silahkan kunjungi website resmi Earth Hour www.earthhour.org. Turn off your lights to make earth a better place to live. 🙂