UMI Will Be Joining Earth Hour - Will You?

Posted on Mar 18, 2013 by Bethany  | Filed Under: climate change, UAE Earth Hour, World Wildlife Fund, WWF UAE, United Arab Emirates Earth Hour

Earth Hour has grown to become a yearly global event where people come together and turn off all their lights for an hour to promote climate change. UMI looks at the history and offers energy saving tips.

A Message from UMI

As many of you have (hopefully) heard, next Saturday is Earth Hour -  the world will unite to protect the planet, through a global campaign encouraging all households and businesses to turn off non-essential lights for one hour. Developed by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) of Australia, the first Earth Hour took place in 2007, when businesses and households in Sydney collectively flicked off their lights for one full hour.

Earth Hour has since become an annual worldwide event organised by the WWF and aiming to raise awareness of energy use and its effect on climate change. Here at UMI, we are excited to again be a part of this global effort to protect the planet.

We are asking all of you to join our efforts in supporting this year's Earth Hour on Saturday the 23rd of March at 8:30pm (local time wherever you are) as a small step towards creating a healthier planet. If you are wondering what the big deal is, have a quick look at some of our own country’s figures over the past few years:

The total electricity used in 2009 by the United Arab Emirates was 78.53 billion kilowatt hours, which rose to 85.17 billion kilowatt hours by the end of 2010. Back in 2000, the total was 36.196.

Total carbon dioxide emissions for the United Arab Emirates rose from 214.414 million metric tons in 2010 to 245.375 million metric tons in 2011. Compare that to the 115.334 measurement only ten years ago, and it is clear just how fast our consumption rate is rising.

Data from the U.S Energy Information Administration

Here’s How to Help

Last year, Earth Hour spread the message across 152 countries to switch off their lights for one hour; we’re hoping for a much larger number next Saturday.

Step One: Be one of the 1.8 billion people taking part in Earth Hour!You can register online in support of the event, and those of you working for a business can sign up your office as well. Next, visit and share the UAE twitter page to promote the campaign to your friends, family, students, teachers, colleagues, waiters, customers and anyone else who will listen! You can also post the Official Earth Hour 2013 Video on all your social media pages to get the word out.

Don’t forget to turn off all your lights (and your television!) at 8:30pm on Saturday the 23rd of March for at least a full sixty minutes. If you think you can spend the whole evening without any electricity, go ahead and do it!

Step Two: Remember that the point of Earth Hour is to create an awareness of energy waste, and to encourage continued efforts to protect the earth even after the one hour is up. As well as turning off lights before leaving the house and opening a window instead of using air conditioning, here are ten lesser-known tips to help conserve energy:

1. Change your regular incandescent light bulbs to compact fluorescent light bulbs.
2. Don’t leave your appliances on standby.
3. Replace all single-glazed windows with double-glazing to improve insulation.
4. Use a clothesline to hang clothes instead of using a dryer.
5. Keep up recycling habits at home.
6. Make sure your car tires are properly inflated.
7. Encourage your school or business to reduce emissions.
8. Make sure your computer's power management is configured to save energy.
9. Install a ‘cool roof’ or consider painting your roof white.
10. Opt for energy-efficient cars such as hybrid or electric vehicles.

Happy Earth Day Everybody!