Submitted by administrator on Wed, 03/31/2010 - 11:40
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Earth Hour marked with success
On Saturday (27), the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources observed Earth Hour at 8.00 p.m. under the patronage of Environment and Natural Resources Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka.
The staff of the Ministry spent the day doing their bit to save the planet.
Ranawaka congratulated the World Wildlife Fund for initiating Earth Hour in 2007 with the participations of 2.2 million people based only in Sydney, Australia.
Today after three years, Earth Hour has become a world famous event where people around the world joined hands and got together against greenhouse gas emissions and against overuse of energy.
The mandate of the Ministry of Environment and Natural resources is to ensure an environment where people can live in harmony with nature adopting the pathway of sustainable development.
"We are known for our low emission rates and contribute to reducing greenhouse gases in the atmosphere by absorbing the emissions of even other nations through our tree cover and the vast ocean.
"Everybody knows that we have no rights to overuse the resources of this planet beyond the speed that it re-generate resources as this planet belongs not only to us but also to future generations," he said.
"The objectives of Earth Hour are raising awareness of climate change issues, giving people a voice on the future of our planet, working together to create a sustainable low carbon future for our planet and giving world leaders the mandate that they need to make the right climate deal.
"As the objectives of the Earth Hour totally comply with the mandate of my ministry, I decided to pledge our support to Earth Hour by switching off the lights of my ministry and switching off lights in the institutions coming under my Ministry.
"Further, I took action to circulate this message around each and every public institution requesting them to join hands in this event. My ministry has spread this message through the media so that the general public will volunteer to join us by switching off at least unnecessary lights in their homes.
"I believe that the Earth Hour will be a successful message to the world community to rethink the degradation of the Earth’s natural environment and build a future where people live in harmony with nature," he said.
Article reposted from the 30th March 2010 issue of the Island
