Observing Earth Hour: City to do its bit to conserve energy

JAIPUR: Today people in 15 cities across India and many more across the globe will observe Earth Hour. It is an initiative by World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to show support for action against climate change by switching off lights for an hour in the evening. Though officially not on the panel of cities contributing for the cause, residents and some organisations in Pink City too will be doing their bit to show their support.

From hotels to student hostels, those concerned for the green cause are making an effort to bring in the change they want to see.

Rajit Seth, training manager at Le Meridien, Jaipur says, "We've been supporting initiative since last year. This year a special barbeque has been arranged for our guests. From 8.30 pm to 9.30 pm as the world observes the Earth Hour, we too will pitch in by completely switching off the lights in our area. We'll keep our staircases which connect the lobby and the corridors leading to the rooms partly lit, while the others will not be lit." Seth adds he hotel would also minimise the use of candles as they too emit carbon. "Our official emails which are sent out to our associates have been carrying an Earth Hour message for the past few days," he says.

While Le Meridien is doing its bit in the Pink City as they are official supporters of the cause, it was shocking to know that a property managers of a couple of hotel chains that are on this list of supporters, pleaded ignorance about the concept.

Doing their bit are the students of IIS Institutional Network who are spreading the word about Earth Hour by visiting localities near their campus and even distributing CFL lights among households. Jaya Seth, hostel warden of IIS, says, "We would switch off our cooling systems for one hour and during that time our students have been asked to use the bare minimum electricity. We would encourage students to spend those 60 minutes in the lawn outside and not in their rooms, so we can save energy."

While the hour will end some spirited individuals are taking the cause beyond. As MBA student Ankit Kandelwal says, "I share my vehicle to come to college; I make sure the lights and fans are switched off before leaving the class room. Though those 60 minutes will end, I shall continue to motivate everyone around me to help conserve energy and resources."

Leaving aside a few scattered efforts like these, majority of individuals, organisations and even NGOs working in the field of environment are not aware of Earth Hour.

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