Dubai
We, as students of the UAE, made it our mission to do our part in spreading the word about Earth Hour by conducting a campaign on March 24. Earth Hour is the world’s environmental movement towards action on climate change and it involves a straightforward action: switch off the lights and other electrical appliances for one hour, between 8.30pm to 9.30pm, every year in March. The aim is to show your responsibility and commitment. This year Earth Hour was celebrated on Saturday, March 25.
This day is a movement that has attained massive support and environmental impact by harnessing the power of the unified crowd. It is an opportunity for every single person around the world to unite in taking a stand against climate change and supporting the will of the leaders dedicated in tackling it.
We urged people to participate by switching off their lights. Most people welcomed the information and promised that they would do their part. We also requested them to pledge to be more efficient about energy and water consumption and all of them were happy enough to do it.
I believe that the movement raises awareness amongst several people and helps the environment tremendously, but the more needed factor is continuity and that’s what we emphasised in our campaign.
Meghana Senthil Kumar, a student from Sharjah, participated in the event and said: “The overabundant use of electricity and its repercussions are no secret, but is something that we as common people like to overlook and ignore by brushing it off as the result of other’s doings. This campaign was aimed at bringing to people’s notice the role of every individual in this area of global concern.”
Dhruv Verma, another student in Dubai, said: “If we do not take care of our planet, it will not take care of us. Earth Hour is an opportunity to make everyone aware of their obligations towards our planet.”
Priyanka Sahadevan, a student in Dubai, said: “The main aim of our campaign was to bring awareness among people about the day. We encouraged them to switch off for a brighter world and switch on to sustainable development.”
It is amazing how easy it is to achieve things when we have the power of an integrated mass of powerful residents with powerful thoughts and ideologies. Earth Hour is the perfect instance for that.
Switching off just one light might seem insignificant, but Earth Hour shows that when many people unite for one cause by switching off many lights, in many rooms, in many houses, the impact is considerably more noticeable. If re-enacted, this action and the commitment to go beyond the hour, by being more mindful and efficient with our energy and water usage, recycling or reducing our consumption, the impact can be impressive.
Let’s stand against climate change, together.
— The reader is a student based in Dubai.
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