Saturday, March 23, 2013

Earth Hour in Morocco - Switch Off Your Lights!



Earth Hour is a global climate change initiative. It is an event that aims to create awareness of people taking responsibility towards a sustainable future by turning the lights off. And it comes to Morocco at 8.30 tonight when Moroccans are urged to turn off all electric lights. But how many will do so? 



Millions of people turn off their lights for Earth Hour at 8.30pm (20:30) in their local times on the last Saturday of March. Iconic buildings and landmarks from Europe to Asia to the Americas have stood in darkness during previous Earth Hours. Some people enjoy Earth Hour with a candle-lit dinner or a candle-lit bath, while others host large events or parties, either in darkness or with candles, to celebrate Earth Hour.

Businesses and government organizations, as well as community and political leaders also take part in Earth Hour. It's about giving people a voice on the planet’s future and working together to create a sustainable low carbon future for planet earth.

Morocco's response is unfortunately low key

As part of a global movement to raise awareness about climate change and energy conservation, the association Ribat al Fath for Sustainable Development has organised a small demonstration between 20:00 and 21:00 in the space located in front of the council buildings of  Rabat-Salé-Zemmour-Zaer.

It is unclear if any single municipality in the entire country has arranged to switch power off for Earth hour.

Hopefully guesthouse owners and other tourist organisers will take the lead and join the global community. An hour of candlelight in a Moroccan riad would be a beautiful experience.



Background

Earth Hour started in Sydney, Australia, in 2007. This event saw 2.2 million homes and businesses turn their lights off for one hour to make their stand against climate change that year. Earth Hour had become a global sustainability movement with more than 50 million people across 35 countries participating in 2008. Global landmarks such as the, Sydney Harbour Bridge, the CN Tower in Toronto, the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, and Rome’s Colosseum, all stood in darkness for Earth Hour. In March 2009, hundreds of millions of people took part in the third Earth Hour.

WWF, which organizes the annual Earth Hour event, aims to stop the degradation of the earth's natural environment. It also focuses on building a future where people live in harmony with nature. The organization functions through a network of more than 90 offices in more than 40 countries worldwide. Its first office was founded in Morges, Switzerland, on September 11, 1961.



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