Blogger: Helen Leach, RSPB in the East Green Team
Hundreds of millions of people around the world will be plunging themselves into darkness tomorrow by switching off their electric lights for Earth Hour!
Earth Hour is a big deal! It's a symbolic statement of the need to do something about climate change. Last year 5,200 cities in 7 continents were involved, with some of the most famous world landmarks, like the Empire State Building in New York, and the Eiffel Tower in Paris, going dark for an hour to show their support. Earth Hour doesn't mean no light at all. It's okay to light candles, or to use innovative non-electric, non fossil-fuel ways to get some light.Lighting accounts for about 19% of global energy usage, which is why Earth Hour's plan to get as many people as possible to turn lights off is a big deal. But what happens when the lights go back on? Earth Hour is great, but it only means something if we change our habits for good, not just for 60 minutes.
Why not start to change your illuminated ways from tomorrow night by ‘going dark’ and see how you can reduce your electric light use for the rest of the year.
Find out what to do with your hour with the lights off here.