Come 27 th March and the world will be in a switch off mode for an hour from 8.30 to 9.30 pm to observe World Earth Hour. The concept behind this campaign is to reduce the use of electricity thereby saving the planet from warming up further. The observation is also being made in attempt to spread awareness about better energy conservation. This year, Bollywood actor Abhishek Bachchan has been appointed as the brand ambassador of WWF's World Earth Hour observation in India. The World Earth Hour started in Sydney, Australia, in 2007, when 2.2 million homes and businesses turned off their lights for an hour as a stand against climate change. Soon after the World Earth Hour campaign went global and last year alone more than 5 million people in 4000 cities across 88 countries switched off their lights to pledge their support towards this noble cause. This year this figure is all likely to shoot up further as more and more organisations and individuals have stepped in to observe the day with due importance.
“The World Earth Hour is an event that will surely spread the message in the right direction”, feels Mathew Varghese of Good Earth in Kochi. He is also of the opinion that all such awareness programmes will have to target people at the grass root level as that can always make a big difference especially in areas like energy conservation. Today, both organisations and builders are emphasizing the importance of green buildings that will go a long way in energy conservation. Measures like the use of recycled and renewable materials, rain water harvesting, optimal use of space, application of energy efficient accessories etc are being adopted by builders who are sensitive to their environment. Architects, contractors and developers in the recent years have begun to realize the larger role they play in the struggle to conserve earth's resources. “We have expressed our social commitment and solidarity for a better earth by launching the first residential project in Kerala with coveted rating of Indian Green Building Council (IGBC)”, says John Thomas of Noel Builders in Kochi.
Source: The Hindu, Dated: 27.03.2010
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