Introduction individuals as well. From a small

Introduction individuals as well. From a small

Introduction to WWF The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is an international non-governmental organisation that focuses on conservation, research and restoration of the environment. The organization was formed as a charitable trust on 11 September 1961, in Morges, Switzerland, under the name World Wildlife Fund, which was used until 1986. The founders of WWF are Julian Huxley and Max Nicholson. On 13 January of 1972, WWF Malaysia was established and works as a humble two person-organisation. Adapted from Wikipedia website,30 March 2009) In the early stages, WWF Malaysia focused on scientific research of wildlife and the importance of natural habitats.

This later expanded to the management of protected areas. Today, the working scope has become broader; policy work, environmental education, public awareness and campaigns are included too. Besides that, WWF Malaysia is also active in conservation projects and acts as an active member of global conservation organisations.It has organised a lot of activities to gain public support and awareness about the environmental issues.

This method has achieved a good respon from the government, non-governmental organisations and individuals as well. From a small tiny office with 2 workers change to one of the most influential conservation organisations in the world is come from efforts which done by WWF for 37 years continuously. This kind of improvement is based on the experiences gained and commitment shown by manpower in develops to the organisation to another phase. Adapted from WWF official website,21 January 2008) Introduction to Earth Hour Earth Hour (EH) is a meaningful campaign organised by WWF with the aims to raise public awareness about global climate changes.

This campaign was launched on 31 March 2007 in Sydney, Australia. According to the statistics, it gained support from 2. 2 million people and 2100 business organisations.

This action symbolizes the concern and efforts on preserving the Earth. Year 2009 is the first time Malaysia officially join the Earth Hour campaign.Switching off unessential lights is the major action of the Earth Hour campaign. It aims to bring out the message on the impacts of global warming and publics should change their habits to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide. This campaign has been brought to another phase this year; the ultimate goal of the event is to attract 1 billion people to switch off their lights for an hour. The logo of EH is the number 60 which symbolizes the number of minutes when lights will be switched off.

EH 2009 was scheduled for 28 March 2009 from 8. 0pm to 9. 30pm.

(Adapted from Wikipedia website, 25th March 2009 and Earth Hour official website, 27th March 2009) Research Global warming, a phenomenon of the increase in the average temperature of Earth’s atmosphere and oceans and subsequently causing climate changes, is one of the issues that concerns WWF. Climate change is the change in average weather and become the most significant threat to life on Earth. The main factor of global warming is the large heat capacity of the oceans and the lifespan of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.Furthermore, the amount of carbon dioxide is becoming more than oxygen and it indirectly causes the temperature to rise up. The continued reliance on electricity sourced from coal-fired power station is also causing a dramatic increase on the Earth’s temperature. It results in the rising of sea level, increase in drought and severe storms, and massive changes to the environment that we all rely on to survive.

In addition, a two degree rise in average global surface temperature will have severe impacts to the social, economical and environmental status of the world. The impact is that 3. billion people will suffer from serious water shortages; 180 million people will be affected by sea level rise; and approximately 25% of species will become extinct in their present habitat. The world’s leading climate scientists believe that we must reduce greenhouse gas pollution by 25% – 40% below 1990 levels if we are to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. (http://earthinyourhands. earthhour.

org/our-earth/faq. html – Adapted from Earth Hour Official Website Frequently Ask Question) In conclusion, global warming causes a lot of negative impacts. Therefore, WWF decided to take action to face this problem.