MALAYSIA AND ENVIRONMENT
About town: One hour for Earth
2009/06/25
NEW STRAITS TIME
NURJEHAN MOHAMED
DO your bit for the environment by switching off non-essential lights for an hour "Earth Hour" this March 28 from 8.30pm to 9.30pm.
This annual international event is created by World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF) and is held on the last Saturday of this month. Households and businesses are asked to turn off their non-essential lights and electrical appliances for an hour to raise awareness of the need to take action on climate change.
WWF hopes to reach its target of one billion people switching off their lights as part of a vote against global warming, which will be presented to world leaders at the Global Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen this year.
NURJEHAN MOHAMED finds out what the environment and Earth Hour mean to three young Malaysians.
Mohd Hariz Nazimuddin, 18, A-Level student at Kolej Yayasan UEM
The environment is the place I live in and is one of the factors that can make or break me.
Earth Hour is an event where humans can do the very least for the environment.
Even if we don't care much about our environment, by respecting Earth Hour, it demonstrates that we do love it deep down.
I think such events should be held more often to educate more people.
Youngsters can do lots of things to make a difference such as reducing the use of plastic bags and using both sides of the paper for printing.
Lee Wai Yi, 21, Law student at HELP University College
Unfortunately, many people don't really get how important it is to protect the environment.
And it's the educated ones people with access to reports, tips and articles who are either complacent or who choose to ignore environmental issues.
I see Earth Hour as a major way to raise awareness and make people feel involved in making a change.
Of course, it won't cure all our environmental problems but it's a start.
Young people should get educated and then spread awareness; you have to be conscious of the little things that accumulate into a big problem.
I find the Reduce, Reuse, Recycle strategy (in that order) efficient.
Don't use polystyrene! Bring a container when buying food.
Try not to buy individually-packaged foodstuff because that accumulates to a lot of plastic waste in the end.
Switch off all electrical items when you're not using them you must understand by putting them on standby still uses electricity.
Shareen Kaur Kuldip, 19, A-Level student at Kolej Tuanku Ja'afar
The environment is simply a home in which we reside and try to make a better living by consuming its resources.
Through greed and recklessness, we have caused the environment to be in jeopardy.
Earth Hour is simply a way to reduce the use of electricity and to inform people of their role in combating climate change.
I believe that participation enables individuals to cultivate a greater appreciation for the environment.
Young people can improve their knowledge and understanding of the current status of the environment by enrolling for camps such as those run by Yayasan Anak Warisan Alam and be part of projects involving the environment.
A better grasp of the environment will allow youth to contribute towards the environment with little detrimental effects and hopefully solve issues that involve reducing our carbon footprints.
