GUYANESE are being urged to join citizens around the world in switching off the lights in their homes for one hour from 20:30h next Saturday (March 27).
The symbolic act is in support of ‘Earth Hour’, a global initiative of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to draw the attention of governments and policymakers worldwide on the need to take more urgent action to combat climate change.
Local WWF official, Ms. Janice Bollers said ‘Earth Hour’ observances started in 2007 in Sydney, Australia when 2.2 million homes and businesses turned their lights off for one hour to make their stand against climate change. By 2008, she said, ‘Earth Hour’ had become a global sustainability movement with more than 50 million people across 35 countries participating.
During the observances that year, Bollers said, global landmarks such as the Sydney Harbour Bridge, The CN Tower in Toronto, The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, and the Colosseum in Rome all stood in darkness as symbols of hope for the cause of the reduction of global warming.
In March 2009, hundreds of millions of people took part in the third ‘Earth Hour’ observations with over 4000 cities in 88 countries officially switching off their lights for one hour in support of efforts to save the planet from global warming.
Come Saturday, at precisely 20:30h (local time), Bollers said, millions of people worldwide will switch off their lights for one hour, and Guyanese countrywide are being urged to do the same. It will be the first time the event is observed locally.
She said it is necessary for Guyanese to be involved in supporting ‘Earth Hour’ because the symbolic act of turning off the lights for one hour has done a lot to raise awareness of climate change issues. The vast majority of greenhouse gas emissions, she noted, are in the form of carbon dioxide (CO2) which is generated from burning fossil fuels such as gasoline, natural gas, oil and coal.
Reducing electricity use also reduces fossil fuel consumption and helps alleviate the impacts of climate change.
“It is a simple way of joining in the fight against climate change and ensuring that Earth is safeguarded for present and future generations,” she said, adding: “The real significance of ‘Earth Hour’ though, lies in its educational value.  ‘Earth Hour’ reminds us that everyone can take steps to reduce our environmental impacts.”
“It’s all about giving people a voice on the future of our planet and working together to create a sustainable low carbon future for our planet,” she said.
Bollers urged all Guyanese to join in the switch-off, saying that timing is important for so as to be able to coincide with all others around the world.
Participating in ‘Earth Hour’ observances, she stressed, is one easy way for Guyanese to demonstrate concern for the environment, and send a message to government and policy makers that they are fully supportive of actions to stop the impacts of climate change.