WWF urges Franschhoek Tatler readers to go beyond the hour

The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) today called on the people  of Western Cape to pledge their support for Earth Hour 2011 and to go beyond the hour.

While Earth Hour is the largest mass participation environmental event in the world, it starts with ordinary people. Every year WWF encourages people across the planet to turn off their lights for one hour in a symbolic gesture to pledge their commitment to combating climate change. This year Earth Hour takes place from 8.30 – 9.30pm on Saturday 26 March.

“WWF encourages everyone in South Africa to take a stand against climate change as it affects all of us, our country and our planet. This year, we are calling on everyone in South Africa to turn off their lights on 26 March and then to ‘go beyond the hour’ and commit to environmentally sustainable action on an on-going basis,” says Zubair Sayed, Executive Manager of Communication and Marketing at WWF South Africa.

Such sustainable actions may include anything from carpooling and recycling to installing solar water heaters and planting veggie gardens.

An online platform that captures and allows individuals, organisations, businesses and governments to share their actions, will act as the tool to showcase and inspire commitments to protect the one thing we all have in common – the planet. South Africans can sign up, share their actions, tell everyone about events they are planning and learn more at www.earthhour.org.za.