As published in the Daily News Paper of Dubai- Gulf News

Response to Earth Hour shows that great things can be achieved when people come together for a cause, but the spirit of activism must be constant

By Simran Vedvyas, Gulf News Reader

Published: April 3, 2012

My friends Aishwarya Shetty, Syeda Zahra and I participated as volunteers with Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa), EWS-WWF, and the Emirates Environmental Group, Dubai, to observe Earth Hour 2012 on March 31.

People from all corners of the city gathered together at the Burj Park and switched off the lights in support of the environment during Earth Hour, from 8.30 to 9.30pm. It was a truly magnificent sight.

As a volunteer, my job included encouraging others to participate and communicating to them about the various initiatives and energy-saving plans that can be achieved as guided by officials from Dewa. We were also assigned to light the candles that spelled out Earth Hour Dubai for the world to see.

At the event there were many activities, including stalls, stage events, magic shows and characters dressed to pass on messages about saving energy. The best part of the night was witnessing hundreds of people walking in the dark with candles in their hands to highlight the importance of saving energy.

The response from the community was amazing. Without a doubt, it showed that great things can be achieved when people come together for a common cause.

Dewa, going ahead with this year's theme -I will if you will — Dare the world, challenged residents to save 230,000 kilowatts during Earth Hour 2012. I have always been keen on spreading awareness and reaching out to people from different walks of life through such events, and participating in Earth Hour every year has always been a priority.

Limited action

I was appointed as the Tunza Eco Generation Regional Ambassador Middle East and have tried uniting people to protect the planet by encouraging them to find out what is happening in their cities and to participate in Earth Hour. As a youth living in Dubai I understand the crisis that the world is facing today due to an increase in energy demands and depleting energy resources.

The current solutions which have been thought up and actions that have been taken to deal with this predicament are not enough. The results have to be more promising. This is why the youth, like me, are determined to make a change by pooling our efforts to walk the path towards sustainability.

Earth Hour is more than just 60 minutes. It is for the benefit of the blue sphere, our planet Earth. So, go beyond Earth Hour to save energy by switching off lights and appliances that are not needed.

— The reader is a pupil of The Millennium School, Dubai

http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/community-reports/we-have-to-be-thinking-of-earth-each-moment-1.1003217

Also published as picture 5 in below link- IN KHALEEJ TIMES

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle09.asp?xfile=data/theuae/2012/March/theuae_March954.xml&section=theuae

SOME INTERESTING PICTURES TAKEN DURING THE EVENT