What can you do to help out with the environment? Little things like properly disposing the trash, walking or cycling instead of using motored vehicles for short distances and turning off the tap when not using the water all can help. How about switching off electricity when you are not using it? What started out as a 2.2 million participant event in Sydney on March 31^st 2007 has now become a global phenomenon. This is Earth Hour. And this is how in just one hour of doing nothing, you can help our planet.

Who would know that a simple act like switching off the lights would eventually lead to a global event a year later? Initiated by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), 35 countries around the world participated, with over 400 cities participating in the first ever global Earth Hour in 2008. Nobody would ever have thought that iconic landmarks like the Sydney Opera House, the Empire State Building, the Golden Gate Bridge, KL Tower and even Wat Arun in Bangkok would ever be in lights out mode at anytime of the year. Now, it is an annual thing.

Earth Hour 2011 will be held on March 26^th taking place at 20.30-21.30 at each city’s local time. And it promises to be the biggest event so far. Last year, a record 126 countries participated, up from 96 countries two years ago. And to give you an idea of how much energy was actually saved, take Bangkok for example. In 2008, which is the Thai capital’s first year participating, the city decreased electricity usage by 73.34 megawatts, which over one kilowatt hour, is equivalent to 41.6 tons of carbon dioxide. That’s just the city’s first year of participation. And in Vietnam, electricity demand fell 500,000 kilowatts during last year’s event, which is three times more than when the country first participated in 2009.

Everybody keeps saying that they’ll help the environment. And the question then becomes when? Earth Hour is the perfect opportunity for you to help Mother Nature. Sure it’s not much, but when 36 or so million people do a little something, it adds up to a lot!

Let’s make the world a better place for all of us. Ready for lights out this Saturday?

Visit Exotissimo’s charity arm at www.exofoundation.com/.

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