Today, the last Saturday of March, is the 15th edition of #LaHoraDelPlaneta. The largest citizen environmental movement in the world invites you to turn off the lights of buildings, companies and monuments between 8:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. demand that governments take urgent action once morest climate change and the destruction of nature. Of the event more than 190 countries and territories participate where different activities take place. One of the most important is a race with the motto Move For The Planet.
The movement started in 2007 in Sydney, Australiasponsored by the World Conservation Organization (WWF) and other collaborators with a symbolic blackout. During the first years, they had meetings with distributors of the electrical network and energy resources to make it clear that the intention was not to save energy, nor cause a collapse in the network, but to raise awareness regarding climate change.
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Berlin, the Brandenburg Gate
“This year, Earth Hour will take place at a very difficult time due to the conflict in Ukraine and the humanitarian crisis it is causing. Our hearts and thoughts go out to all the people affected,” WWF said.
They also launched the campaign with the slogan “move around the planet” to publicly demonstrate their support by running, walking, skating and climbing the kilometers that will be counted until the start of Earth Hour. The challenge already has a total of 248,237 kilometers accumulated.
The most important cities in the world and also towns in which these proposals do not usually generate support adhered by turning off their monuments. Among them the Saint Peter’s Square in the Vaticanthe Chinese Olympic Stadium; Tokyo Skytreethe Torres Petronasthe Eiffe Towerl, el London Eyethe Coliseum roman, the Acropolis of Athens and the Niagara Falls.
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the sydney opera house
When cities decide to adhere by turning off their lighting, they must sign a letter stating what actions they are going to take to improve the quality of life of people around the environment and suggesting policies to improve electrical efficiency.
For example, Tanzania aims to help students of all levels to plant and nurture a tree until they finish their studies, so they plan to plant 14 million trees. People in the UK were encouraged to take part in the blackout and download the My Footprint app, which allowed them to calculate the effects of their lifestyle on the planet and what they can do on a daily basis to reduce their footprint.
Pope Francis, Charles of England, the Secretary General of the United Nations, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen and the actress Sofia Vergara were some celebrities who supported the proposal.
The organization reminds that last year the global average temperature exceeded pre-industrial levels by 1.11ºC, making 2021 one of the seven warmest years in historyand has highlighted the importance of taking urgent climate action
“We are in the midst of one of the great mass extinctions in history”, which is also “more accelerated and caused by humans”, they point out, so it is regarding a “decisive moment for humanity”, in which it is important to act “before it is too late”.
Finally, they insist on collaboration between countries, governments, companies and civil society to face the climate crisis, since “the measures taken in the present are those that will determine the climate risks of the future.”
From the organization they remember that this is a symbolic action. However, each citizen can, with daily individual actions, join in the fight once morest the loss of biodiversity and care for nature.