Posted on 30 March 2019 by John Hartz

Editor's Pick

Earth Hour 2019: switch off your lights, and become an innovator

On March 30, millions of people switch off their lights for Earth Hour 

Let’s take 30 seconds to think about innovators. What do they look like? Where do they work? What do they do? You might imagine labs, research centres, NASA, spacesuits and white coats.

Some years ago, I would probably have agreed with you. Then - ironically enough, in a moment of “lights out” - I saw the light. The truth is each of us is an innovator. It has nothing to do with what you wear or where you work. Technology isn't innovation - the ability to transform lives is.

On March 30, the world will witness 24 of the most inspiring hours for the environment, as people around the world come together for WWF’s Earth Hour. From Singapore to Santiago and Nairobi to New York, millions will unite, switch off their lights and speak up on why nature matters. For me, each of them is an innovator.

Not because switching off a light takes much innovation, but because they share the vision that together, we can show the world we care about climate change and nature loss. These two threats are our planet’s biggest environmental challenge yet. It is easy to put your hands up and say the stakes are stacked against us, or they are too high to try. But each of the individuals who participate in Earth Hour has decided their ambition is higher, and I believe this changes the game entirely. Together, they are participating in creating a new future that will change the world we live in, not just for our generation but for our children, their children and so on. 

Earth Hour 2019: switch off your lights, and become an innovator by Sid Das, Agenda, World Economic Forum (WEF), Mar 29, 2019

Links posted on Facebook

Sun Mar 24, 2019

• UN human rights experts applaud children fighting climate change, Press Release, UN Human Rights Office, Mar 22, 2019
• New research, March 11-17, 2019 by Ari Jokimäki, Skeptical Science, Mar 22, 2019
• How the Green New Deal Is Forcing Politicians to Finally Address Climate Change by Justin Worland, Time Magazine, Mar 21, 2019
• Extreme weather: Between deluge and drought, freshwater sources are struggling to replenish by Charli Shield, Deutsche Welle (DW), Mar 22, 2019
• Mozambique Is Drowning. Nebraska Has Flooded. We Need a Green New Deal. Opinion by William Rivers Pitt, Truthout, Mar 23. 2019
• Why results from the next generation of climate models matter, Guest Post by Stephen Belcher, Olivier Bucher & Rowan Sutton, Carbon Brief, Mar 21, 2019
• Leaked Audio Exposes Oil & Gas Execs Laughing With Joy Over Cozy Access to Trump Officials by John Queally, Common Dreams, Mar 23, 2019

Mon Mar 25, 2019

• Arctic sea ice winter peak in 2019 is seventh lowest on record by Robert McSweeney, Carbon Brief, Mar 20, 2019
• It Was 70 Degrees in Alaska This Week by Brian Kahn, Earther/Gizmodo, Mar 23, 2019
• In the wake of devastation caused by Cyclone Idai – why is mainstream culture so quiet about climate change? by Lucy Jones, State of the Arts, The Independent (UK), Mar 21, 2019
• Poll: Climate change denial drops in SC, but residents more polarized over the cause by Bristow Marchant, Politics & Government, The State (Columbia, SC), Mar 22, 2019
• 6 Myths About Climate Change Debunked by Katharine Hayhoe, Chatelaine (CA), Mar 25, 2019
• Mitch McConnell wants a Green New Deal vote. Democrats should take him up on it. by David Roberts, Energy & Environment, Vox, Mar 25, 2019
• Cold Water Currently Slowing Fastest Greenland Glacier by Carol Rasmussen, JPL/NASA, Mar 25, 2019
• We Might Be Reaching 'Peak Indifference' On Climate Change by Clive Thompson, Science, Wired, Mar 25, 2019

Tue Mar 26, 2019

• Auckland's rising seas: Insurance warning as 43,000 at risk by Jamie Morton, New Zealand Herald, Mar 24, 2019
• Trees release flammable methane—here's what that means for climate by Andrew Revkin, Environment, National Geographic, Mar 25, 2019
• Hurricane Maria Study Warns: Climate-Driven Storms May Raze Many Tropical Forests by Kevin Krajick, State of the Planet, Earth Institute, Columbia University, Mar 25, 2019
• Global coal use up by third as greenhouse gas emissions rise by Fiona Harvey, Environment, Guardian, Mar 25, 2019
• Senate's Green New Deal Vote: 4 Things You Need to Know by Marianne Lavelle, InsideClimate News, Mar 26, 2019
• Senate defeats Green New Deal, as Democrats call vote a ‘sham’ by Dino Grandoni & Felicia Sonmez, PowerPost, Washington Post, Mar 26, 2019
• How humans derailed the Earth’s climate in just 160 years by Guillaume Paris, Pierre-Henri Blard & Etienne Deloule, The Conversation US, Mar 24, 2019
• Can Soil Microbes Slow Climate Change? by John J Berger, Scientific American, Mar 26, 2019

Wed Mar 27, 2019

• China boosts coal mining capacity despite climate pledges by Muyu Xu & Dominique Patton, Reuters, Mar 26, 2019
• Don't sneer at student climate strikers, they mean business by Gordon Cairns, EducationHQ Australia, Mar 26, 2019
• It’s Official: Climate Change Worsens Global Pollen Season by Kim Knowlton, Expert Blog, NRDC, Mar 26, 2019
• Alpine glaciers: Another decade of loss, Guest Commentary by Mauri Pelto, RealClimate, Mar 25, 2019
• Climate change denial is evil, says Mary Robinson by Damian Carrington, Environment, Guardian, Mar 26, 2019
• The Green New Deal vote shows Republicans would rather mock climate change than challenge big lobbying groups, Opinion by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse & Rep. Jared Huffman, Think, NBC News, Mar 26, 2019
• Why Cyclone Idai is one of the Southern Hemisphere’s most devastating storms by Matthew Warren, Nature, Mar 26, 2019
• Nancy Pelosi is trying to force Trump to return the US to the Paris climate agreement by Umair Irfan, Energy & Environment, Vox, Mar 27, 2019

Thu Mar 28, 2019

• Greens lift 2030 renewable target to 100 per cent, would revive carbon price by Peter Hannam, Politics, Sydney Morning Herald, Mar 27, 2019
• How a warming planet forces 'hard choices' on reducing CO2 by Miles O'Brien, PBS News Hour, Mar 27, 2019
• A reading list on women and climate change, Review by Michael Svoboda, Yale Climate Connections, Mar 27, 2019
• 'Eco-anxiety': how to spot it and what to do about it by Dave Fawbert, BBC Three, Mar 27, 2019
• Polar Warning: Even Antarctica’s Coldest Region Is Starting to Melt by Nicola Jones, Yale Environment 360, Mar 28, 2019
• Louisiana’s Disappearing Coast by Elizabeth Kolbert, The New Yorker, Apr 1 Print Edition
• Global warming blamed as wildfires blaze across unseasonably hot, dry Portugal, World, Reuters/Japan Times, Mar 28, 2019
• New UN Global Climate report ‘another strong wake-up call’ over global warming: Guterres, UN News, Mar 28, 2019

Fri Mar 29, 2019

• 'We Can't Trust the Permafrost Anymore': Doomsday Vault at Risk in Norway by Eoin Higgins, Common Dreams, Mar 27, 2019
• Stopping Human-Caused Air Pollution Would Prevent 5.6 Million Air Pollution Deaths Per Year: New Study by Jeff Masters, Category 6, Weather Underground, Mar 27, 2019
• The Republican party is the political arm of the fossil fuel industry, Opinion by Kate Aronoff, Comment is Free, Guardian, Mar 27, 2019
• The Green New Deal and the case against incremental climate policy by David Roberts, Energy & Environment, Vox, Mar 28, 2019
• The young minds solving climate change by Chad Frischmann, Bright Spots, BBC Future, Mar 29, 2019
• State of the Climate in 2018 shows accelerating climate change impacts, WMO Press Release, Mar 28, 2019
• This glacier growth didn’t just cancel climate change by Chris Burns, Slash Gear, Mar 28, 2019
• Which Will Melt First—Gop's Climate Denial, Or The Polar Ice Caps?, Opinion by Michael Mann, Newsweek, Mar 28, 2019

Sat Mar 30, 2019

• Climate change could expose 1 billion more people to bug-borne diseases, study says by Jen Christensen, CNN. March 28, 2019
• Protecting oil companies instead of the climate-vulnerable is elitist by Dana Nuccitelli, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Mar 28, 2019
• ‘The First City Completely Devastated by Climate Change’ Tries to Rebuild after Cyclone Idai by Amos Fernando, Human Rights, International Press Service (IPS), Mar 29, 2019
• Earth Hour 2019: switch off your lights, and become an innovator by Sid Das, Agenda, World Economic Forum (WEF), Mar 29, 2019
• Large parts of the East Coast are one ‘perfect storm’ away from being cut off from Canada by Michael Tutton, Canadian Press/Global News, Mar 28, 2019
• Why the next decade will be critical in the fight against climate change by Julia Rosen, Science, Los Angeles Times, Mar 29, 2019
• How climate change will put billions more at risk of mosquito-borne diseases by Vicky Stein, Science, PBS News Hour, Mar 28, 2019
• Climate change is already hurting fruit breeders, and consumers could soon feel the pain by Adrian Higgins, Home & Garden, Washington Post, Mar 28, 2019