11 Things You Should Know About Earth Hour 2018

It’s official: we love planet Earth! And we showed it on March 24th, along with millions of people around the world who switched off their lights to take part in Earth Hour.

Earth Hour is a powerful symbol of unity against climate change. Its simple message has inspired amazing changes all over the world, and it has become one of the largest environmental movements in history.

Since this year marked Earth Hour’s 11th anniversary, here are 11 things you should know about this global movement:

1. The first ever Earth Hour took place in Sydney in 2007. The initiative was started by WWF to raise public awareness about climate change.
2. 35 countries participated the next year, with Google’s homepage even going “dark” in support of the cause.
3. 188 countries and territories took part in Earth Hour in 2018!
4. Almost 18,000 landmarks switched off their lights, including the Eiffel Tower, Big Ben, the Sydney Opera House and the Empire State Building.
5. Biodiversity was Earth Hour’s 2018 theme, encouraging us to think about what nature means to us and why it must be protected.
6. An underwater marathon took place in Greece to celebrate biodiversity and highlight the threats faced by marine species.
7. A new World Record was set in Jordan, where 11,000 candles were lit to form the largest ever candle mosaic – spelling out the Earth Hour motto, ‘60+’.
8. Earth Hour’s motto, ‘60+’ , encourages us to think beyond the 60 minute event and how we can change our energy consumption to support the planet every day.
9. Public support for change has led to environmental achievements all over the world since Earth Hour began, including a plastics ban in the Galapagos Islands and solar power initiatives in India.
10. In Canada, public support has affected positive changes such as carbon taxes and renewable energy targets. That’s why it’s so important to take part in Earth Hour and continue to show our support!
11. Here in the Product Care Vancouver office, we switched off the lights on the Friday before Earth Hour and talked about how we can reduce our footprint every day – by switching off lights whenever we can, reducing the packaging we use, and preserving energy by turning off electronics when they’re not being used. Keeping waste out of landfills is another fantastic way to reduce your impact – check out which household waste can be recycled through our programs.

How are you saving energy for @EarthHourCanada this year? Our Vancouver office turned off all of their lights for an hour and lit candles today. Don’t forget to turn your own lights off from 8:30-9:30pm tomorrow (in your local time!) #earthhour2018 pic.twitter.com/oe8mcS7vOC

— ReGeneration (@ReGenerateThis) March 23, 2018

Did you celebrate Earth Hour this year? How do you save energy every day? Tweet us your favourite energy savings tips to join the conversation.