Earth Hour is an annual international event created by the WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature/World Wildlife Fund), held on the last Saturday of March, that asks households and businesses to turn off their non-essential lights and electrical appliances for one hour to raise awareness towards the need to take action on climate change. It was pioneered by WWF Australia and the Sydney Morning Herald in 2007, and achieved worldwide participation in 2008.1
Earth Hour will next take place on Saturday, March 28, 2009 from 8:30pm to 9.30pm, local time.
Hayden Panettiere or more popularly known as Claire Bennet in the TV series - Heroes, is aiming to get 1,000,000 signatures for a petition to stop all commercial and lethal scientific research whaling, worldwide. The million signatures will be submitted to the IWC (International Whaling Commision) meeting in June 2009.
Why sign the petition?
Overhunting, toxic pollution, loss of habitat and entanglement in fishing nets are some of the threats they face and also cause the whale population to decline. The Antartic Blue whale and the Gray whale are listed under critically endangered, while five other species are already listed as endangered1. Fortunately, no whale species is up on the extinct list. Your signature may just help keep the list vacuous for a longer time.
As the demand for shark fin products surges ahead, around 100 million sharks are slaughtered every year. This cruel and unreasonable massacre is pushing the great fish to the very edge of extinction; threatening to empty our oceans and destroy marine ecosystems.
It begins with a single individual. Make the conviction today and join ASIAN Geographic’s online pledge to stop eating shark fin soup; help spread the word on this very urgent and real cause.
Fatal shark attacks average at a dozen or less worldwide, each year.
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Humans are not part of a shark’s regular diet – most human attacks are cases of mistaken identity
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In comparison, research indicates that humans kill around 100 million sharks each year. That’s roughly 11,000 sharks every hour, around the clock.
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Every year, 1.7 million tonnes of shark flesh is harvested for human consumption.
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The high levels of mercury in shark fin products can cause serious damage to your health.
How to Help?
Don’t buy into the “since it’s already been killed, cooked and paid for, it’d be a pity to waste it” mentality. It is a vicious, never-ending cycle that must be stopped at some point. Picture this – if wedding dinner guests consistently and unanimously refused their shark fin soup, odds are the next happy couple to walk down the aisle won’t order it again for fear of the boycott. Try it. Make your stand now.
The entire content above is taken from ASIAN Geographic’s website with permission. The original page can be found here.
I just did something good for the environment today. For US$15, I purchased a tree online. The trees will be planted as part of Wild Asia’s natural corridor initiative - a programme to bring back wild lands.
How do I know that my tree(s) will not be harvested in decades to come?
Wild Asia works with private landowners who are committed to setting aside land for conservation. Furthermore, the species of trees selected for their functionality for wildlife (eg: food source, roosting sites, etc) and the environment (eg: stabilise the soil, buffer zone establishment), rather than those of economic value. - FAQ from wildasia.net
You can also make a contribution to the planet. Every tree planted will ensure that carbon emissions will be assimilated for now and the future.
