I could see brightness in the dark! Sounds surprising? I just thought of a new attractive title for the Earth Hour.

As many of us have participated and seen the Earth Hour 2012 on 31 March 2012 from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., I wanted to capture a few stand-out points worth noting.

Executive Director and Co-Founder of Earth Hour Andy Ridley said, "Earth Hour is past the beginning now, and lots of people are switching their lights off every year in March. We're now at the stage of taking it beyond the hour. The world's leading organisations are sending a clear signal that they are committed to doing more to protect the planet. Imagine the possibilities when this impact is translated into action beyond the hour."

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon announced that the UN would be switching off their lights for Earth Hour on 31 March, and called on people, organisations and businesses to do the same, in solidarity with the 20 per cent of men, women and children who don't have access to electricity.

"Turning off our lights is a symbol of our commitment to sustainable energy for all," Mr. Ban said. "We need to fuel our future with clean, efficient and affordable energy. By acting together today, we can power a brighter tomorrow."

The Director General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova said "With this simple gesture of switching off lights, the World iconic Heritage sites and local communities can show their leadership and commitment for a sustainable planet."

Yes, it is a pity one in five humans on Earth do not have access to electricity.  We feel sad when we see a poor beggar, probably 1 in 100 persons on the street looking for help. Yet many fail to notice that 1 in 5 people cannot see or work when the sun sets. Indeed even if every day has an Earth hour, still we can give access to only one person in every 24 or only to one out of 5 people not having access to electricity. This means the actions have to be seen beyond the Earth Hour or the Earth Day. We all need people to think of Earth Year or basically take every day action to sustain life before it is too late.

A number of influential leaders have made "I Will If You Will" challenges for this year's campaign, which encourages people to make a personal challenge in order to inspire friends, family, colleagues and organisations to take action to protect the planet.

For example Luc Panissod, Secretary General of the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM) an organisation that has more than 30 million members in 161 countries, has made an IWIYW pledge to give up his car for seven days, if 10 000 people do not print their emails for a week.

The past five years have seen exponential increase in the number of countries, cities, local communities and individuals taking part. From 35 countries in 2008, participation has grown to more than 150 countries and over 5,000 cities in 2012.

Earth Hour in UAE:

In UAE, Ida Tillisch, acting Director General at the Emirates Wildlife Society-Worldwide Fund for Nature said "Earth Hour is not about turning off your lights for one hour but an opportunity for all of us to reflect on how our everyday actions impact our environment."

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has announced that Earth Hour 2012 achieved a 6 percent increase in saving compared to 2011. Earth Hour in the emirate was held under the patronage of HH Shaikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and the Chairman of Dubai Executive Council, and in partnership with The Dubai Supreme Council of Energy (SCE) and Emirates Wildlife Society (EWS) in association with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) in cooperation with Emaar.

Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, Vice Chairman of the SCE and Managing Director and CEO of DEWA, inaugurated the Earth Hour 2012 walk. He announced that DEWA would honour its Earth Hour challenge set to the Dubai community in which the Authority promised to organize a fund-raising "Victory Walk" on World Earth Day with proceeds raised donated to an environmental cause such as the sponsorship of a UAE national high school graduate to study a specialized bachelor degree in renewable energy.

Ms.Habiba Al Marashi, Chairperson of Emirates Environmental Group said "The event is not just about turning off the lights for one hour, it is a moment to reflect on our actions and to work towards a more sustainable use of our resources, which we owe to our future generations. Protecting the environment is a relentless pursuit, which we should inculcate in our daily lives. We must remember that even the smallest change in our consumer behavior can make a big difference to our planet's well-being and for sustaining our resources."

For my part, I went with a few of my friends and introduced them to this event which I have been participating for the past 3 years. We walked through the neighborhood of Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest tower and enabled spreading awareness to the visitors who turned out in large numbers.

Thank you all,

Neha Swaminathan