Earth Hour - message of hope against global warming

Special menus and activities lined-up for Earth Hour
By Fazleena Aziz
Monday March 16, 2009

IN conjunction with the Earth Hour 2009, YTL Corporation will switch off the lights at 20 landmarks across the country and Singapore from 8.30pm to 9.30pm on March 28.

The one-hour lights off event is aimed at sending a message of hope and action against global warming.

The YTL establishments that will be part of the Earth Hour 2009 are — Starhill Galllery, JW Marriot KL, The Ritz-Carlton KL, The Residences at The Ritz Carlton KL, Lot 10, YTL Corporation Headquarters, One Oriental place, Sentul Park, Sentul Park Koi Centre, Vistana Kuala Lumpur, Vistana Penang, Vistana Kuantan, Pangkor Laut Resort, Tanjong Jara Resort, Cameron Highlands Resort, The Majestic Malacca, The KL Performing Arts Centre, Lake Edge-Puchong, Pantai Hillpark, The Maple at Sentul West, The Tamarind at Sentul East, The Saffron at Sentul East, Spa Village Kuala Lumpur and Wisma Atria Singapore.

Shoppers and diners at Starhill Gallery can look forward to acoustic performances by Sean Ghazi, Deanna Yusof and young environmental activist and performer Jes Ebrahim as well as a stage shadow play by Five Arts Centre at Shook! Feast Village from 8.30pm to 9.30pm.

During the hour, YTL’s hotels and restaurants will also serve special Earth Hour menus by candlelight and “Dining under the Stars”, where guests can enjoy dinner at the poolside while being serenaded by music.

Earth Hour began in Sydney, Australia, on March 31 2007, where more than 2.2 million households and businesses turned off their lights for an hour.

This year, the Earth Hour will be the culmination of one billion people around the globe in more than 1,000 cities from businesses, government and the community turning off lights and sending a message to world leaders in the lead up to the United Nations Climate Change Conference Copenhagen 2009.

YTL director of investments Ruth Yeoh said climate change was one of the biggest threats to the earth.

“Researchers from the UN’s Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change have underlined how critical it is that world leaders act to slash the emission of carbon dioxide and other greenhouses gases.

“We can take it beyond Earth Hour on March 28 by sending a message that as individuals, we can make the conscious decision to consume less and be more efficient with our environment’s limited resources.

‘We are pleased to announce that we will partner with the National Geogaphic to premier the acclaimed documentary on climate change called ‘Stranger Days on Planet Earth’ starring Hollywood actor and environmentalist Ed Norton.

“We also have the privilege of partnering with the WWF in our green efforts with our recent support of US$100,000 towards the protection of our country’s most precious resources through the YTL-WWF Tiger conservation programme,” Yeoh said.

Earth Hour project manager for WWF Malaysia Devan Subramaniam said about 700 cities worldwide had committed to the event.

“We are aiming for the Malaysian target of five million sign-ups.

“We cannot keep track how many companies in Malaysia have signed up if they have not done so on the website. But it is so far fewer than 100.

“Among the buildings that will participate are the KL Tower, Penang Bridge and commercial properties of YTL,” he said.

He encouraged Malaysian companies to emulate YTL and called for the participation of everyone.

For details, visit www.ytlcommunity.com/earthhour or www.earthhour.org/malaysia. -- The Star Metro