mag het licht uit
Het begon allemaal in Australië met de vraag: hoe kunnen we mensen inspireren om actie te nemen tegen klimaatverandering?
Het antwoord : vraag alle mensen in Sydney om hun lichten één uur uit te doen - Earth Hour.
Op 31 maart 2007 hebben 2,2 miljoen mensen en 2100 bedrijven hier gehoor aan gegeven.
Het resultaat was dat de energie consumptie in Sydney een uur lang daalde met 10,2%.
Dit staat gelijk aan het effect van een uur lang 48.000 minder auto's op de weg.
In Qatar verspilt men enorm veel energie. Toch was er hier ook (een beperkte) deelname aan het australische initiatief. Lees over Spencer Cramer, een kogelslingeraar bij Aspire atletiek, een jongen uit Sri Lanka die niet representatief is voor de aspire studenten maar wel een voorbeeld. Zo is Spencer een van de weinige niet arabisch sprekenden die op de academie goede studie resultaten haalt en sportief ook stappen maakt door hard te trainen.
Gulf Times Doha:
THOUGH there was no official patronage, some establishments and homes in Qatar switched off their lights between 8pm and 9pm yesterday to support Earth Hour, a global campaign to highlight the need for action on global warming.
Earth Hour 2007 was confined to Sydney, but this year it was a global event with 24 cities switching off lights at 8pm. A total of 282,489 people and 19,903 businesses had signed on to support the campaign.
Earth Hour was the highlight of a major campaign to encourage businesses, communities and individuals to take the simple steps needed to cut their emissions. It was about simple changes that would collectively make a difference – from businesses turning off their lights when their offices were empty, to households turning off appliances rather than leaving them on standby.
Awareness about Earth Hour in Doha apparently was limited. Several hotels and clubs contacted by Gulf Times were unaware of the campaign.
However, there were some enthusiastic supporters. Regency Group, for instance, sent out nearly 3,000 letters to the tenants of its properties and 1,500 to its own staff “encouraging them to take part in the campaign”, said Sharath Rai, HR manager.
Its main office, on the fifth floor of the headquarters building, led the way by switching off the lights.
Another active participant was Movenpick Towers and Suites. “In our ongoing actions for environment, we will definitely participate in this initiative”, said general manager Philippe Bonnot.
The hotel has defined the environment as one of its top priorities for the year.
Among the families who took part in the campaign yesterday were the Crammers from Sri Lanka, who live in a Doha suburb. They switched off all lights in their home.
“This reminds of our home (at Kotte in Colombo) where power shedding was common”, Lenny Crammer said as the family gathered around candle lights.
“We also plan to have a candle light dinner tonight,” Naomi Crammer enthused.
Son Spencer, who attends Aspire Academy, said he knew of the campaign a month ago as a member of Facebook, where it was hotly discussed.
According to him, the campaign is very effective. He said in Sydney, switching off lights for an hour was the equivalent of taking 48,000 cars off the road in terms of emissions.
“One can imagine what would be the total effect if everyone on earth switched off lights for an hour”, the teenager said.
Het antwoord : vraag alle mensen in Sydney om hun lichten één uur uit te doen - Earth Hour.
Op 31 maart 2007 hebben 2,2 miljoen mensen en 2100 bedrijven hier gehoor aan gegeven.
Het resultaat was dat de energie consumptie in Sydney een uur lang daalde met 10,2%.
Dit staat gelijk aan het effect van een uur lang 48.000 minder auto's op de weg.
In Qatar verspilt men enorm veel energie. Toch was er hier ook (een beperkte) deelname aan het australische initiatief. Lees over Spencer Cramer, een kogelslingeraar bij Aspire atletiek, een jongen uit Sri Lanka die niet representatief is voor de aspire studenten maar wel een voorbeeld. Zo is Spencer een van de weinige niet arabisch sprekenden die op de academie goede studie resultaten haalt en sportief ook stappen maakt door hard te trainen.
Gulf Times Doha:
THOUGH there was no official patronage, some establishments and homes in Qatar switched off their lights between 8pm and 9pm yesterday to support Earth Hour, a global campaign to highlight the need for action on global warming.
Earth Hour 2007 was confined to Sydney, but this year it was a global event with 24 cities switching off lights at 8pm. A total of 282,489 people and 19,903 businesses had signed on to support the campaign.
Earth Hour was the highlight of a major campaign to encourage businesses, communities and individuals to take the simple steps needed to cut their emissions. It was about simple changes that would collectively make a difference – from businesses turning off their lights when their offices were empty, to households turning off appliances rather than leaving them on standby.
Awareness about Earth Hour in Doha apparently was limited. Several hotels and clubs contacted by Gulf Times were unaware of the campaign.
However, there were some enthusiastic supporters. Regency Group, for instance, sent out nearly 3,000 letters to the tenants of its properties and 1,500 to its own staff “encouraging them to take part in the campaign”, said Sharath Rai, HR manager.
Its main office, on the fifth floor of the headquarters building, led the way by switching off the lights.
Another active participant was Movenpick Towers and Suites. “In our ongoing actions for environment, we will definitely participate in this initiative”, said general manager Philippe Bonnot.
The hotel has defined the environment as one of its top priorities for the year.
Among the families who took part in the campaign yesterday were the Crammers from Sri Lanka, who live in a Doha suburb. They switched off all lights in their home.
“This reminds of our home (at Kotte in Colombo) where power shedding was common”, Lenny Crammer said as the family gathered around candle lights.
“We also plan to have a candle light dinner tonight,” Naomi Crammer enthused.
Son Spencer, who attends Aspire Academy, said he knew of the campaign a month ago as a member of Facebook, where it was hotly discussed.
According to him, the campaign is very effective. He said in Sydney, switching off lights for an hour was the equivalent of taking 48,000 cars off the road in terms of emissions.
“One can imagine what would be the total effect if everyone on earth switched off lights for an hour”, the teenager said.
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