NTU has pledged to put the campus in darkness for one hour from 8.30pm onwards on Saturday, March 28th.
This is in line with Earth Hour, an initiative organized by the World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) to spread the message about the importance of energy conservation.
The third year in its running, this year’s Earth Hour has been referred to as the world’s first global election, between Earth and global warming.
By taking part in this year’s Earth Hour, NTU has clearly taken her stand and cast her vote to mother Earth.
“The main purpose of our participation in Earth hour is to raise awareness about climate change,” said Lee Hui Min, president of Earthlink NTU.
Lights at the study benches at both the North and South Spine are supposed to be promptly turned off at 830pm. Façade lights, as well as non-essential lights are also supposed to be switched off.
Some halls have expressed their support by promising to turn off their corridor lights.
These hall administrations have encouraged students staying over that night to switch off their respective room lights.
However when surveyed, not all students were receptive to the idea of spending an hour in darkness.
“The exams are drawing near. The key point of this campaign is to save electricity and to be environmentally friendly. We can achieve that in other ways, not necessarily just by turning off the lights,” said Hon Jing Ti, a second-year student from the School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences.
“Electricity is essential, especially at night, and is needed for many activities we do,” added third-year student from the School of Biological Science, Leow Wan Qing.
However, some see it as a meaningful campaign and an attempt at making a statement in energy conservation.
“This is a very meaningful initiative as it serves as a stark reminder that the degradation of the Earth is an increasingly urgent problem that we need to address,” said Sheryl Teo, a first-year student from Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information.
Earthlink’s vice president, Jeevaneswaran Ramoo said this is an opportunity to “promote responsible consumerism” to everyone in NTU.
Ultimately, energy conservation should not be limited to just one hour.
“We hope that saving electricity can be inculcated in the everyday lifestyles of students,” he concluded.
