UPDATE: Earth Hour 2018 takes place 24 March 

This is a bit of an unusual article for me to write! Most of my posts are about London! I love my city – I actually love my city so much, that I would be very sad if anything here changed at all… And changes are exactly what this post about, because wherever you are located, things might soon look very, very different!

Panda love at The Science Museum! (This is Andrew – one of the many devoted troopers for WWF) 

As you might have noticed, I have become Champion of work for wwf.uk! I never really cared much for protecting our planet before! I think I was like most of us. I adopted a child in Africa, and I donated money from time to time to organisations, that I believed in, but that was it. Life goes on and we are all so busy, so we forget to appreciate, what we have got!

Amazing surroundings at Science Museum.  Taking my panda for a sightseeing tour! 

This Thursday I was kindly invited to an Earth Hour event at the Science Museum by Vickie Richards, who is PR Executive for WWF! WWF’s Earth Hour is an annual global celebration where people switch off their lights for one hour to show they care about the future of our planet. The Earth Hour movement, initiated by the World Wide Fund, hosted a special screening of Leonardo Dicaprio’s documentary film about climate change “Before the Flood“. 

The world is changing – fast – and it’s never been more important to show that you care.

So why is wwf and Earth Hour so important, you might ask? For me there are many reasons! It’s actually been the hottest year on record for the third year in a row and nearly 1 in 6 species are now at risk of extinction from climate change. What we wish to do is to bring millions together across the world to call for greater action!

Last year a record 178 countries took part – a number that rises every year. From the Sydney Opera House and the Eiffel Tower to Buckingham Palace and Edinburgh Castle, cities, towns and communities like yours across the world switch out their lights and come together for an hour, to join a global show of support for action on climate.

The Atmosphere gallery is an exciting place to make sense of the climate – the science of how it works, what it’s doing now and what it might do next.

We stepped into a virtual world, with its own oceans, land and atmosphere, and went back in time to discover key moments in the Earth’s multibillion-year climate history. But most important this gallery helped me to understand what needed to be done in the future to live a low-carbon life!

 Push the button! 

I think we all know, that climate change is happening, and we know that it is caused by our actions. The Earth’s atmosphere is warming, faster than it probably ever has. In some cases weather patterns, climates and natural environments are changing quicker than wildlife or people can adapt. So many of the world’s biggest challenges, from poverty to wildlife extinction, are made more difficult by climate change. And things will get worse if we do nothing. But we can do something about it!

International musician, Ellie Goulding has joined the call for action on climate change ahead of this year’s Earth Hour 

Enjoying a glass of wine and talking about what can be done on this important matter

We actually have the knowledge and the technology to reduce our impact on the climate, and ease the pressures on the world’s most vulnerable places, people and wildlife. We just need to make it happen!

Inside the IMAX theatre at Science Museum! All set for “Before the Flood”

Climate Experts and Scientists shared their knowledge about climate changes

And then it was time for the documentary “Before the Flood”! We follow Leonardo DiCaprio on a journey to see the dramatic changes that are occurring around the world due to climate change, and discovers what actions we as individuals and as a society can take to prevent the disruption of life on our planet.

“Before the Flood” is a highly recommendable film to watch! Leonardo DiCaprio is truly uncovering the realities of climate change with the help of leading scientists. He speaks about wanting to “know how far we’ve gone and if there is anything we can do to stop it”.

And there is something you can do! So why not begin with turning of the lights Saturday 25 March (UPDATE: 24 March 2018) . Sign up for Earth Hour here and show you want action on climate change.

Or how about becoming a member of wwf.uk and help to stabilise and increase populations of many of the world’s most iconic and threatened species

I chose to adopt a lion, but there are so many animals out there who need help to survive! African lion numbers have plummeted by over 40% in the last three generations, due to loss of living space and conflict with people)

Adopt you endangered animal here!

That´s all for me this time! I would like to thank wwf.uk for inviting me to Science Museum. Even though it was heart-breaking to discover, that our children might not enjoy the beauty of a healthy planet, there is still hope! United we can develop a world where people and wildlife thrive, so let’s get going!

Happy Earth Hour!

X Louise