Earth Hour: Everything Global

Like it or not, climate change is very real.

It’s real, it’s here, and it affects us daily.

We know, we know – changing the world seems like a mammoth task. An insurmountable one even. Between factories, CO2 emissions and our incessant desire to deplete the world of its resources, it sometimes feels like few are concerned. As for those litterbugs? Don’t even start.

Day by day, little by little, we damage our earth more.

Perhaps it’s human nature to be short-sighted. We are, after all, the centre of or own universe. And it’s not us who’ll have to pick up the pieces – that’s for future generations to worry about.

Or so we thought.

Even if you’re one of the few who hasn’t heard about An Inconvenient Truth, chances are you’ve noticed the effects of climate change already. Hot days are hotter, cold days aren’t. It’s freezing one minute and boiling the next. We’ve experienced droughts and tsunamis, witnessed iceberg depletion and more likely than not wondered why the weather contradicts the season.

Like we said- it’s real, it’s here and it affects us daily.

But what can we do about it?

Well, we’re here to say you’re not powerless. The road to conquering any hurdle begins one step at a time – and we believe everyone can make a difference.
But before we tell you how, let’s talk about Earth Hour.

Started in Sydney in 2006, the project was the brainchild of WWF Australia and a large-scale advertising agency. The theory was simple enough – get everyone across the country to switch off all power for an hour. The desired outcome was as much about getting people involved as it was conserving energy. Yes, the power savings didn’t hurt, but the campaign was more a means of raising awareness.

And that’s exactly what happened.

While the first Sydney Earth Hour was taking place in 2007, a San Francisco based project known as Lights Out held its own version. Based on its success, the two decided to work together and set their sights on a global scale. By 2008, the event was ready to celebrate its first anniversary- this time on a much larger scale. Over 400 cities in 35 different countries participated. This was also bolstered by major landmarks worldwide turning off non-essential lighting. The most buzzworthy participant, however, was arguably Google, who went “dark” on the day. With over 40,000 search queries per second and an estimated 3.5 billion searches per day, it’s safe to say this got a fair bit of attention.

The event has grown from strength to strength in subsequent years as more countries and cities began participating. As of 2018, over 188 countries were on board. In conjunction with this, there were over 18 000 landmarks and over 3.5 billion online impressions for #EarthHour.

The initiative has gone global- and that’s putting it lightly.

Now, back to us…

South Africa is a country that’s never been afraid to lend a helping hand. Whether it’s embodying solidarity or participation in major global events, we’re normally front and center. In fact, our well documented struggles and icons such as Madiba are key talking points for other countries. We’re not afraid to roll up our sleeves when the situation requires it. Because of this, we’re more than on board when it comes to Earth Hour since its early years.

In fact, it could be said that due to load shedding, we engage in Earth Hour more than anywhere else.

Now that you know all about the day, understand its importance and are willing to be involved, what happens?

Well, we’ll be participating this 30th March 2019 between 20:30 and 21:30.

How do you participate? Just pretend it’s another Eskom episode, switch off that power and let the savings do the rest.

We may not be able to fix the entire world or solve all our problems overnight, but we can make a difference if we stand together. South Africans know this better than anyone. In fact, our country is living proof of this.

So, get involved and be a part of Earth Hour 2019.

Because we may not be around in 100 years, but it’s our moral obligation to leave behind a world that’s filled with promise rather than problems.

You can make a difference, in 2018 South Africans joined the rest of the world when they switched off their lights for Earth Hour from 20:30 to 21:30 and together they saved 410 MW.

Join Sandton Central in supporting Earth Hour on 30 March 2019 (20h30 – 21h30)

Every year millions of people, businesses and landmarks set aside an hour to switch off their lights and make noise for the Earth Hour movement. This year, we want to celebrate the diversity of life on Earth, and we want to invite you to take part and #Connect2Earth.

Sandton Central supports and encourages you to join in this movement to spread the message as to why nature matters. Together, we hope to create a movement of people around the world who are speaking up to tackle the dual challenge facing the planet – climate change and the loss of nature. You are also encouraged to innovate with alternative resources that move us towards a solar-powered city for a more sustainable lifestyle that also protects our biodiversity.

In past years, Sandton Central businesses and residents have shown their support of Earth Hour and, in doing so, made a clear statement about their environmental commitment. In 2018, Nelson Mandela Square and Sandton City were joined by CitiBank, Rand Merchant Bank, Deutsche Bank, Discovery, Alexander Forbes, Old Mutual, Webber Wentzel, Nedbank and many others in making Earth Hour a resounding success.

We challenge you to do it again this year, and invite and welcome new participants under the 2019 theme of “Connect2Earth”. We look forward to making a meaningful contribution to the cause, knowing that together, we can create change.

Read more about Earth Hour HERE