People across Taiwan showed their support for the international “Earth Hour Day” campaign by switching off non-essential lights for one hour last night at more than 100 landmarks across the nation.
The 331 Earth Hour Day campaign was started by the World Wildlife Fund in Australia and involves giving one hour back to the Earth starting at 8:30pm every March 31, to demonstrate how better living habits would benefit the world at large.
The Society of Wildness (SOW), one of the nation’s leading advocates of reducing carbon emissions and carbon footprints, said that Earth Hour was designed to bring everyone together through the simple act of protecting the Earth.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
“We all need to do our part in everyday life to protect the Earth and society,” the group said, adding that 5,200 cities in more than 135 nations, with a total population of 2.2 billion, participated in Earth Hour this year.
Participating locations in Taiwan included the Presidential Office, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall, Taipei 101, Liuhe Night Market and E-Da World Theme Park.
The Environmental Protection Administration said it hoped the event would teach people about the importance of reducing carbon emissions.
According to a SOW statement, electricity usage was cut 26.7 percent and water consumption fell 11.5 percent last year from the previous year.
Gasoline consumption fell 32.7 percent and paper usage was down 13.3 percent during the same period, it added.
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