Entertainment

Tuesday, 15 March, 2016 - 06:33

Earth Hour - time to turn off the lights

by JoEditor

I’m a big fan of trying to save the environment, and this month is the WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) annual Earth Hour. Earth Hour is an event where you turn off all non-essential lights and power between 8-9 pm; things like your TV, computer and console. However, you don’t just sit at home in the dark for an hour. Instead, people gather in groups and have fun without using power. Things like dancing, fireworks and musical performances are popular and it’s very fun to take part.

Many celebrities also take part in Earth Hour and this year is very important as it is the tenth year of the project. Earth Hour isn’t just about saving energy; people involved in Earth Hour have also planted a forest in Uganda, built solar panels in India and passed a law to protect the sea in Argentina.

I’ve taken part in Earth Hour every year for the last five years and I’ve been part of lots of activities at school and at university. Last year, for example, my university had an outdoor cycle cinema. At the cycle cinema, the only way to keep watching the film is to keep pedalling your bike, if everyone stops, then the screen turns off! Luckily, there were many of us to help keep the movie going and we took turns. Even though it was very cold outside at night, we had hot chocolate and blankets for the people who weren’t cycling. Everyone who was there had a lot of fun.

Here in my small town in Italy, Earth Hour isn’t a very big thing. In fact, nobody I’ve spoken to about it even knows what it is! I explained to some of my students what happened during Earth Hour and they were very keen to take part. At the moment, we are writing ways to help the environment and some of my students are planning smaller events with their friends.

I think that Earth Hour is a very fun way to raise awareness about the environment. We only have one planet, so it is important to keep it safe. A lot of my students feel like, as young people, they can’t do that much to help protect the planet. Anything can help, Earth Hour proves that even doing a little thing, like turning the lights off for one hour, can make a difference.  

This year Earth Hour is happening on the 19th of March, so get your friends together and turn off the lights!

Note from the editor: To find out more about Earth Hour you can read this Magazine article.

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Discussion

Does your town have any plans for Earth Hour? What would you like to do?

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