Turn Off The Lights

Published March 2008


Today, the 29th of March, marks Earth Hour, a day in which individuals around the world will sacrifice one hour of electricity usage to raise awareness for the challenges caused by global warming. With approximately 25 cities in 10 countries participating in the 60 minute nod to the environment, several famous skylines around the world will comply by going dark. Contentious individuals will, from 8pm to 9 pm local time, proceed to turn off all power sources and electricity in their homes and businesses. Affectionately dubbed the world's largest power outage, Earth Hour has grown from strength to strength in a mere 12 months.

Earth Hour began in Sydney in 2007 as a World Wildlife Fund initiative to address the growing concerns over global warming. Nicknamed 'The Big Flick', an estimated 2.2 million people participated in Earth Hour and the 10.2 percent energy reduction was on par with taking 48,000 cars off the road.
What initially appeared to be a modest effort of sitting in the dark for an hour gained international momentum as more people acknowledged the serious push needed to address the effects cause by the overuse of electricity and the negative impact it has on the environment. 

Earth Hour aims to create awareness on a large yet unobtrusive scale by sticking to simple habits that will help to curtail unnecessary power wastage. 

Wondering what you can do at your end over here in Kota Kinabalu? Simple really ; turn all your lights off for an hour tonight. Forgo the DVD session. Light a candle instead. Tell family and friends about this. Use it as an excuse for an outdoor block party. Indulge in stargazing. 

Alternatively you could also head out for a cocktail at The Loft, a pub located along Kota Kinabalu's popular Waterfront stretch. The Loft has pledged to turn off all electricity on their premises from 8pm to 9pm tonight and will rely on candlelight and good cheer. Themed "Environmentally Friendly & Green", it goes without saying that appropriate dress befitting the occasion will set a fun tone for the evening. Things will kick off at around 6:30 with live acoustic music performances as well as games and a quiz.

Prizes to be won include a copy of internationally acclaimed underwater photography book "Reef" and prints of marine life courtesy of Scubazoo.com as well gifts from WWF Malaysia. 
Patrons are encouraged to bring along their own candles to give a more personalized feel to an evening that not only promises to be enjoyable but will also serve to highlight and educate on what can be done on a small but undeniably effective scale.

Several Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf outlets located around the city will also be doing their part for Earth Hour by reducing electricity use wherever possible in a pioneering effort by a franchise chain to contribute towards raising environmental awareness here in Sabah.

For the naysayers and skeptics, it should be made known that the concept of energy conservation is not impossible. In Bali the locals celebrate the Saka Hindu new year by observing the rules of Nyepi. Total silence is generally practiced. Residents usually stay indoors and keep lights low or turn them off entirely. Businesses close for the day. Even the international airport shuts down and no flights land or take off from Denpasar. No activities, noise or merrymaking is allowed for fear of disturbing Nyepi, a highly revered occasion in Balinese culture. And while this is a religious holiday and is carried out for totally different reasons, it goes to show that it is indeed possible to dedicate a specific amount of time to going without what we deem to be the basic necessity of electricity.

In the long run however one could cultivate daily habits by cutting down non-essential electricity usage. Encourage other to think the same way. Every little bit does help when taking the bigger picture into account. Make plans for what you could aim to do for next year's Earth Hour. Write to local businesses and government representatives. Ask yourself how you could contribute actively and don't let what seems like a small scale effort put you off. It can only grow from there.



For more information please visit 
Earth Hour's official site : www.earthhour.org
The World Wildlife Fund : www.wwf.org

The Loft
Lot 12, Anjung Samudera
The Waterfront,
88000 Kota Kinabalu
 Tel no : 016-8333-917