Poll: Many not aware of true message behind Earth Hour

KUCHING: The annual ‘Earth Hour’ has grown tremendously, from its Australian beginning 10 years ago to what is now a worldwide phenomenon that aims to spread global awareness of energy conservation and environmental issues.

This year’s ‘lights-off’ event commences at 8.30pm tonight (March 25), where everyone is encouraged to switch off non-essential lights for one hour as a gesture of energy conservation.

Alcila Abby Afflin is particularly passionate about environmental conservation, noting the importance to be sincere when doing so.

“More awareness should be done here. Some are being opportunistic in marketing Earth Hour, which I do not really agree. There need to be more initiatives and changes in our society, apart from switching off the lights for Earth Hour,” said the 25-year-old, who takes parts in beach clean-ups regularly.

“My main concerns are plastics and styrofoams – the amount that we discard so irresponsibly will end up in the ocean and eventually, in the stomachs of marine animals including the fishes we eat.

“I try to reduce the usage of plastics and styrofoams. I bring my own container, cutleries,

steel straws and recycle bags when I am out eating or purchasing. I reject those small plastic bags when you buy a few items, I would just hand-carry them or keep them in my bag,” she told The Borneo Post.

For some like 34-year-old engineer Cecelia Munai, they believe that conservation efforts should rightfully begin at home.

Cecelia believes that awareness must be instilled in people since young through exposure to little recycling efforts. To her, there are those who do not fully understand the message behind Earth Hour.

“There may be some who really get the message, but there are also those who take the opportunity to commercialise the event or just take it as an excuse to hang out with friends and be part of the crowd.

“Doing little things starting from home, such as recycling used papers and encouraging children to plant things and let them observe how the plants grow, will probably give some sense to them on how valuable the life of living things.

“To reach out to young children is not so easy if it’s not visual.

One video clip by Michael Jackson, the ‘Earth Song’, really had an impact on my son’s thinking about our environment and Earth. He was so moved by it that once he even cried watching it, saying that he wanted to ‘change the world’,” said the mother of three boys.

Disaster preparedness trainer and emergency coordinator Daron Tan, 53, also believes that energy conservation is more than just switching off the lights for an hour, even though his family does observe the practice.

“A lifestyle change is more effective than Earth Hour – any time. Earth Hour events consume more energy than the average day, which diminishes the effect of the message.

“Climate change impacts our world in many ways – mostly negative. My family supports recycling and green living. At home, we do share our environmental concerns with our son, especially the way extreme weather impacts our world and its economies. We tell him the importance of taking care of Earth, to plant more trees and to not pollute our waters,” he said.

George Ting, 34, is aware of climate change and the environmental impact, even though he does not observe Earth Hour.

“I am not a wasteful person, so I tend to not leave the lights on when I do not have to. I hardly use air-conditioning – I much prefer a fan. I personally feel that there have been significant changes in our climate and environment compared to that during my younger days, so I’m a little worried.

“Right now, my son is too young to understand about environmental issues, but I intend to bring him up to not be wasteful,” he said.