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The big switch off is part of The Earth Hour campaign, which has been running since 2007 and was conceived by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) with the help of the Leo Burnett Company. Aimed at creating awareness of the impact the consumption of power by human beings is having on all the other inhabitants of this planet; this WWF inspired campaign encourages homes and businesses to switch off non-essentials and to think about the need for all of us to take action on climate change.

Held on March 23, 2013 from 20h30 to 21h30 during the local time of participating countries, the first event in Sydney saw some 2.2 million locals down under switching off non-essential lights.

Under the slogan “Uniting people to protect the planet”, this year Earth Hour began in Uganda, a state where 6000 hectare of forest is destroyed each month. The WWF in that country pegged 2,700 hectares of degraded land that it challenged government, business and citizens to repopulate with about 500,000 trees. In Botswana the country’s former president, Festus Mogae took up the challenge by promising to plant 100,000 trees in a local region where land has been compromised, called Goodhope.

Earth Hour 2013 CEO and Co-Founder Andy Ridley said acts like this were by no way extraordinary: “People from all walks of life, from all nations around the world, are the lifeblood of the Earth Hour interconnected global community. They have proven time and time again that if you believe in something strongly enough, you can achieve amazing things. These stories aren’t unique, this is happening all over the world.”