The Ostrava Town Hall Tower will switch off its lights on Saturday

The City of Ostrava will be once again involved in the campaign Earth Hour. The lights on the Ostrava Town Hall Tower in Prokešovo Sq. will be switched off on Saturday the 24th of March 2018 from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

The Earth Hour is the international action introduced by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and taking place every year. The first year took place in the Australian Sydney, in 2007 and the organisers’ aim was to turn attention, in an attractive way, to clime change. The lights on the famous Sydney Opera House were switched off for an hour and more than 2 million people got involved in the campaign. In the course of years, this successful action has been spreading all over the world and takes place always on the last Saturday in March.

The climatic system of Earth is changing fast and we feel the impacts more and more even in our country. We wish to prevent the biggest problems and in that order we must dramatically change our behaviour and the functions of the whole society. We really need to start saving energy and get more energy from renewable resources and to stop burning fossil fuels which contribute to climate changes most. As we have already lost a part of the time for the improvement, we must prepare our homes for more frequent floods, droughts and summer heat waves caused by the climate change.

Since 2001 we have had the total of 17 out of 18 warmest years. The speed, in which the temperatures have increased in recent years, grows. Shortages of water are also caused by the important impact caused by the climate change. The drought becomes a problem not only in our country, but especially in developing countries. The campaign aim is thus, among others, to turn attention to how our consumer behaviour influences the environment around the world. The climate commitments, which both institutions and individuals may accept, are targeted water savings. And not only water delivered through the duct, but especially the water used for the production of food.

The climate change influences all of us and to prevent the worst scenarios, we all must contribute our parts. At least symbolically, we can do it during the Earth Hour, when we switch off lights in our homes, houses, companies, or monuments for sixty minutes.

There are projects implemented in Ostrava, in accordance with the City membership in the Treaty by Mayors, which lead to the reductions in CO2 production and, at the same time, improve lives of residents. The provisions related to lower CO2 production do not contribute only as the provision to lower impacts by the climate change, but they contribute also to better air quality. In the area of the climate protection, the City of Ostrava has prepared two important documents – the Action Plan for sustainable energy and climate and the Adaptation Strategy related to impacts and risks resulting from the climate change.

About 90 cities, municipalities, monuments and other entities in the Czech Republic have joint the action last year. In the world, there were 187 countries switching off 3000 dominants and millions of individuals and organisations joined. www.earthhour.org

Additional information at:  http://www.hodinazeme.cz