Earth Hour leverages on crowdsourcing to make a difference

WWF's Earth Hour, marked from 8.30pm to 9.30pm local time on 29 March with the aim of raising awareness about the environment all year round, has launched a new crowdfunding and crowdsourcing platform for the planet this year. 

Source: Earth Hour website

The Singapore-headquartered movement enlisted the cast of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 to be involved for Earth Hour 2014, and is calling on participants across the world to be super heroes for the Planet by getting involved in Earth Hour Blue when the lights come back on.

Earth Hour Blue asks people to use their power to back a project or add their voice to solution-based environmental projects across the world, from donating to build climate smart fiberglass boats for Typhoon Haiyan-affected fishermen in the Philippines, to giving rangers in Indonesia better equipment to protect the forests and wildlife of Borneo and Sumatra. 

This year, WWF-Nepal's Earth Hour Blue crowdfunding project, 'A Flame Called Hope' is supported by Spider-Man star Andrew Garfield. The project aims to provide clean biogas energy to villages in Nepal's Terai Arc. 

"I'm delighted to see that the Earth Hour Blue crowd-funding platform is seeing real results," said Director General Designate, Dr Marco Lambertini. "The WWF-Singapore led effort to fight wildlife crime in Southeast Asia has reached its minimum target from people who contributed online. Thanks to this funding, we can now start monitoring and providing emergency cover for families of rangers who have perished in the line of duty."

Earth Hour is set to break all records of participation in its eighth year. More than 154 countries and territories have participated. At the global flagship Earth Hour event from WWF-Singapore, lights were switched off across the Marina Bay skyline, joining the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House, the Bird's Nest in Beijing, Taipei 101, The Wat Arun Buddhist Temple in Bangkok, and the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur in doing so.

Earth Hour in Singapore; the Standard Chartered logo on the left was switched off shortly after this picture was taken.

The Temple of Karnak in Luxor will switch off for the first time, joining the Great Pyramids of Giza, the world's tallest building Burj Khalifa in Dubai, landmarks in Europe, South America and North America, wrapping up on the island of Tahiti in French Polynesia.

"Earth Hour and lights off is a powerful reminder that we can help to deliver the solutions towards creating a more sustainable future for the planet," said Andy Ridley, CEO and Co­Founder of Earth Hour. 

"Earth Hour is a fantastic movement that has been created about conservation of our planet, which is something that should be on the top of our list as human beings. Let's remember that the Earth is not ours, we are of this Earth. We all have a responsibility to each other in preserving our home, so it's amazing to be a part of Earth Hour to help send that message," said Andrew Garfield. 

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