Anguilla To Participate in Earth Hour

On 27 March at 8.30pm, tens of thousands of homes, businesses, and cities in at least 110 countries around the world will turn off their lights for one hour.

These 60 minutes are being called Earth Hour. As an initiative that began in Sydney, Australia in 2007 by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), the first Earth Hour involved 2.2 million homes and businesses switching off their lights for one hour. In 2008, the initiative expanded to 50 million people and to hundreds of millions in 2009. In three short years, it has become a global message for sustainability.

In 2009, political leaders from around the world met for the first time in Copenhagen to negotiate a better global deal on climate change and to make further progress on the Kyoto Protocol. The results of those negotiations were disappointing. While most countries pledged to take action on climate change, the Protocol remained voluntary. This meant that while countries may support taking action, there are no legal consequences if they do not.

Organisers of Earth Hour 2010 hope that this year’s event will send a powerful message to world leaders, in advance of the next set of climate change meetings in December 2010 in Mexico City: that rhetoric on climate change must be translated into real action.

In Anguilla, the Albena Lake Hodge Comprehensive School Environmental and Conservation Club, the Youth Environmental Society of Anguilla, the Anguilla Renewable Energy Office, and the Anguilla National Trust have partnered to promote and support Earth Hour with an activity scheduled for Sandy Ground for members of these youth groups.

Last year, Raquel Hazell, the Secretary of the Environmental Club explained that by switching off lights for just one hour in March 2008, Bangkok, Thailand decreased its electricity usage by 73.34 megawatts, the equivalent of 41.6 tonnes of carbon dioxide – a greenhouse gas and a leading factor of climate change. In that one hour, Melbourne, Australia also saved 10.1% of electricity and Sydney, Australia, the birthplace of Earth Hour, cut electricity consumption by 10.2%.

She noted that while these countries are on the other side of the world, climate change has no boundaries. With increased greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, weather patterns are expected to change over the entire planet, including the Wider Caribbean. Stronger storms and hurricanes, droughts and flooding, higher air and sea temperatures, and an increase in sea level could all have profound impacts on Anguilla. At the same time, although Anguilla is small and its contribution to global warming is relatively minimal, it is critical that it too calls for action against climate change and that it be a part of this well-organised global movement.

At the individual level, every resident of Anguilla also has the ability to make informed decisions and choices that could reduce the island’s own greenhouse gas emissions and to lead more sustainable and environmentally-conscious lives simply by making small changes to our everyday routines; the results will be seen in both the environment and your wallet:

• Car pool with your friends and co-workers to reduce the amount of vehicles on the road;
• Turn off lights, televisions, radios, and computers when you are not using them;
• Turn off air conditioners, open windows, and enjoy the fresh breeze;
• Bike or walk to places if they are not too far;
• Plant a tree – it can absorb carbon dioxide from the air;
• Buy electronic products that use less energy;
• Buy products made out recycled materials as it usually takes less energy to make recycled products than new ones;
• Support the Anguilla Renewable Energy Committee and their efforts to bring and develop alternative energy to Anguilla; and
• Participate in Earth Hour on Saturday 27 March from 8.30pm to 9.30pm.