Another Earth Hour is approaching (March 28!) and it is of course, a great way to increase awareness for climate change.
From the Earth Hour website:
"Every March, Earth Hour celebrates the symbolic “lights off ” hour which has grown from a one city initiative to a mass global event involving more than 162 countries and 7000 cities and towns. The movement is collectively supported by millions of individuals, organizations and governments. Earth Hour aims to encourage an interconnected global community to share the opportunities and challenges of creating a sustainable world."
RELATED: What is Earth Hour and Why is it Important?
The thing is, some (not all!) people participate in Earth Hour (and Earth Day) and have fun with it as a family (good for you for participating!) but then once the event is over, it's back to things as they always have been. Which is entirely missing the point of these movements.
Interesting fact: In 2011, the + sign was added to the Earth Hour logo:
The plus sign was added to signify that Earth Hour is really more than just 1 hour and that being green needs to continue beyond that 60 minutes. (For more interesting facts, you can read the full Earth Hour 2014 report here)
"Together we hope to turn the inspiration of one hour into the actions of every hour."
So what does going beyond the 1 hour mean? It doesn't mean keeping the lights turned off all the time, of course. It's more of a gentle push towards keeping in mind how our everyday activities impact the environment and how we can all do things better and then actually start doing them!
How can you keep it going past the 1 hour? It's as easy as starting out with small things, continuing to do them, and then adding more as you go. Before you know it, you'll realize that these things have become second nature!
Here is some reading that will help:
And for more inspiration, have a look at the official Earth Hour 2015 video:
Will you be participating in Earth Hour this year? And how do you take "being green" beyond Earth Hour?
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