Earth Hour 2014

I'm sure you've heard of Earth Day, but what about Earth Hour? One sole hour can't make an impact on our planet and communities, you argue. But it can!

You may remember a post last March about a way to unite and empower people around the world regardless of where they live, if not, take a look here.


The Symbol

For one hour, Earth Hour and WWF ask you to turn off the lights -- one simple action that means so much. With the unnecessary lights off the world is silent, slowed, and in it's natural state -- the way is was a mere hundred and fifty years ago. This one small, inspiring action says much more. It is voicing your commitment to the future of our planet. It is participation and action to achieve a more sustainable world. For one hour, light some candles, unplug your coffee machine, hair dryer, and other unnecessary appliances and enjoy the darkness. The ultimate goal however, is to go beyond the hour.

The Burj Khalifa tower (L) in downtown Dubai during Earth Hour 2013. (AFP PHOTO/KARIM SAHIB)

The Movement

The 2007 inaugural Earth Hour was held in Sydney by over 2 million participants. Spreading quickly, in 2008, 371 cities and towns in over 35 countries turned off their lights to conserve power and voice a message about the state of the world's resources and environment. Even a sizable number of television and radio stations suspended regular broadcasting, halted transmissions or turned off the lights in their studio for an hour. National Geographic Channel, Cartoon Network, DhiTV and Villa TV (Maldives), Canal 5 (Mexico) and ABS-CBN (Philippine) were a few of these.

What started as an hour of conservation has turned into a global movement.

In 2011, Beyond The Hour was launched to give supporters a place to share their stories and pledge to do more. And in 2012, the I Will If You Will campaign was launched and more than 200,000 accepted an I Will If You Will challenge. Such challenges included a man would do a polar bear swim if 2,000 people agree to pick up trash by the beach, or Bill and Giuliana would wear Chicago Bears jerseys down the red carpet if 5,000 people commit to Earth Hour.

Over the last few years, dozen of projects have been completed by Earth Hour and WWF from the changing LED lights in the United States to planting half a million trees in the forests of Uganda. Today, Earth Hour Blue is an open source platform that allows people to crowd-fund projects all over the world! You can choose to donate to projects ranging from adopting puppies to train them as be crime fighting dogs, to installing solar lights in India to prevent tigers from entering villages.

The power is yours.


Celebrate Your Commitment To The Planet

On Saturday the 29th of March 2014 from 8:30-9:30pm local time join millions of people who switch off the lights for one hour to raise awareness for the planet. This worldwide grassroots movement, organized by WWF, unites people to protect the planet by engaging a massive mainstream community on a broad range of environmental issues.

For more information on celebrating Earth Hour visit here.

See if your city is one of thousands participating in Earth Hour 2014.

The Earth is on Our Mind

Spring has sprung (okay it's been springing in San Diego for quite some time). The sun is out, the flowers blooming and we feel both happy and blessed to be living on such a lovely planet. We're sure you have these moments where you just have to breathe it all in because they are that sweet. These grateful moments, however, have us thinking about delicate nature of our planet.

With Earth Day coming up, (Earth Day is Tuesday April 22, 2014 in case you haven't yet heard) we have decided jump all into the spirit and festivities of spring -- enjoying the outdoors, participating in the community, and doing our part to protect the planet for humans and animals together, forever!

Our team here at Little Critterz™ is challenging you to participate as well!

Love The Earth

We believe the kick off to Earth Day is Earth Hour.  Earth Hour takes place almost a month before Earth Day, and it is the first event in which asks people to take part in the direction of our planet's resources and ecosystems. Heck, some may say St. Patrick's Day could be the kick off for this time of green -- cue green drinks and leprechauns dancing!

Olympic National Park's St. Patrick's Day post -- if that doesn't represent Earth Day we don't know what does!

I mean -- look at this forest! Isn't this worth saving?!

So we want to kick off the month before Earth Day with fun-filled, educational, and interactive topics that will make all of our lives richer knowing we are making a difference for all of the plants, animals and humans on this planet.

We hope to encourage you through topics like the best green products you should have, green gardening tips, and a 'Week of Green' - so stay tuned! Plus all of the information you'll need to participate in Earth Hour next Saturday, March 29 2014.

If you're not already following our blog, do so with BlogLovin' or Follow us on Facebook. You'll be the first to know when we release these posts!

Be Green All Year Long

We know it's not enough to protect the Earth by acting one day a year (hence our month of action for starters), but even more than that, engaging in sustainable behavior should be at the forefront of thought all year long! 

We are proud to support ecologically sound practices that encourage sustainability. We believe that every business and household can contribute to the slowing down of global warming. At Little Critterz™ we engage in green business practices by: 

• Providing educational information about the fragility of the earth’s ecosystems and the habitats of endangered wildlife
• Using recycled paper whenever possible to prevent useless destruction of our forests
• Minimizing the use of paper by maintaining digital files
• Recycle all plastics, cans and paper
• Shutting off lights when not in use
• Reducing excessive packaging to save trees
• Reuse all packaging materials received

We really hope you'll join along, learn about our planet and perhaps even get outside in participate in your community to make this world a better place!

Cheers and happy Friday to you all!

-the Little Critterz team

Calgary Zoo Reopen, Still Work to be Done

Calgary Zoo reopened in November, just 5 month after devastating floods destroyed two major buildings and displaced many of their animals.

A cheer went up when Mayor Naheed Nenshi ripped through the banner that read: "Welcome Back. We're Open," to officially invite everyone back to the zoo.

"Make no mistake. It was devastation to one of the most special places in our city," said Nenshi. "The mud, the silt, the broken buildings and the broken hearts were evident all over this island."

The zoo, build on an island, was forced to move 160 animals to higher ground. 2 hippos nearly escaped when water levels rose to the top of their enclosure, swimming in the public viewing area and almost out to the river. Giraffes that were standing up to their bellies in cold water were ailing after the flood for days and could only be gotten to by boat - but they recovered. Two peacocks, a pot-bellied pig and a variety of fish died.

The floods cost the zoo $50M, with ruined kitchen and dining areas, and hundreds of metres of fencing down, plus the cost of missing revenue for 5 months estimated at $11M. The zoo is also looking into a berm to protect the zoo from this happening again, the cost of this, is $10M. 

There is still so much work to be done.

“Five months ago the zoo was very different,” said president and CEO Dr. Clement Lanthier.

“It’s reconnecting with the community and this is what zoos are all about — zoos are about animals and conservation but also about people,” he said.

Help rebuild the Calgary Zoo by visiting the zoo and the animals. Your admission goes towards rebuilding devastation and securing a home for the animals. The zoo is one of many reasons to visit Calgary!

If you live in Calgary please buy or renew your annual pass. You won't regret a year's fun times with the animals to share with friends and family! There are so many benefits of membership, including unlimited trips, free parking, member-only events, discounted gift store purchases and more! Makes a great gift too don't you think?!

For the rest of us, donations are greatly appreciated! You can do so here. 

"Be kind to one another." - Ellen.