Earth Hour: Turn Off the Lights!

Earth Hour is an international campaign currently led by the World Wildlife Fund, taking place in cities around the world. The goal of the initiative is not particularly complex: to raise awareness about our shared habitat, climate change, and the wise use of energy. The concept of Earth Hour dates back to 2007 when citizens of Sydney decided to turn off unnecessary lights and electrical appliances for one hour. Since then, this initiative has gained global recognition, celebrated on a day in early spring or late winter, and is now implemented in many countries worldwide. The French director of the World Wildlife Fund, the second person from the right, turns off the lights of the Eiffel Tower. The panda is the symbol of the World Wildlife Fund. Iran also began symbolically implementing this initiative in 2011 by turning off the lights of the Milad Tower in Tehran. Over the years, this symbolic act has not been limited to the capital and has been carried out in other regions of the country as well. Earth Hour was commemorated on March 19, 2016, from 8:30 PM to 9:30 PM. This year, the initiative was also executed in various cities around the world on March 25, coinciding with the 5th of Farvardin. The symbolic execution of Earth Hour is not limited to famous towers and structures; for example, the Google search engine also 'turns off' its homepage for an hour: when you enter it, you see a black background instead of a white one. The Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, the Kremlin in Moscow, and Wat Arun Temple in Bangkok also participated in Earth Hour. However, the symbolic execution of Earth Hour faces criticism. Some argue that the energy savings in most cases are not significant. The Independent newspaper, in an article published a few days ago, stated that Earth Hour leads to less attention being paid to those who can truly make a difference regarding climate change: namely, politicians or large companies that use fossil fuels. Others point out the lighting of numerous candles during Earth Hour by people, which are made from paraffin, a hydrocarbon compound.