Football more important than global climate for Armenians this year

March 25, 2011 - 13:52 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - This year, Earth Hour which is marked annually by turning off lights from 8.30 pm to 9.30 pm will coincide with the Armenia-Russia UEFA EURO 2012 qualifier that will last till 9 pm.

UN Office in Yerevan has called on Armenian residents to join the Earth Hour by turning off lights and electric appliances on March 26 evening. Turning off the lights for an hour will contribute to positive changes for environment protection, the UN Office said.

Although we can suppose that all calls will fall on death ears, as Armenians are anticipating the match vs. Russia and will hardly turn off TV sets or radio receivers to sacrifice half an hour of an exciting match to environment protection.

Earth Hour started in 2007 in Sydney, Australia when 2.2 million individuals and more than 2,000 businesses turned their lights off for one hour to take a stand against climate change. Only a year later and Earth Hour had become a global sustainability movement with more than 50 million people across 35 countries/territories participating. On Saturday 27 March, Earth Hour 2010 became the biggest Earth Hour ever. A record 128 countries and territories joined the global display of climate action. Iconic buildings and landmarks from Asia Pacific to Europe and Africa to the Americas switched off.