Many Undergraduates At NUS Not Aware of Earth Hour 2008
6 04 2008Teo May Lian | teomaylian@nus.edu.sg
the ridge news
A NUSSU Publication
April 4, 2008
Story Highlights:
- Many students are not aware of Earth Hour 2008
- Some students do not think this is useful in environmental conservation
- Some students were keen to participate in Earth Hour 2008
- Some students show interest in environmental conservation activities
The whole hour from 8p.m. to 9p.m. on March 29 marks the annual Earth Hour where countries around the globe can play their part to conserve energy by switching off all the electricity in their homes to save energy.
However, a convenience poll of 46 National University of Singapore (NUS) students conducted by the ridge before Earth Hour day revealed that 54% of those who took the survey do not know about Earth Hour.
Many students surveyed said that they were not aware of this and went on with their studying. They also showed surprise when they heard about Earth Hour.
Many students who reside on campus such as Prince George Park Residence and Sheares Hall were not aware of the campaign either.
According to Naomi Tan, 19, who has vaguely heard about Earth Hour but does not know the full details, she does not feel that this is extremely useful.
“I wouldn’t say I’m apathetic [towards Earth Day], because I do some things to save the earth too on a daily basis. Since all this is just a part of my daily life, Earth Day isn’t really a big deal,” she said.
“I think the only purpose of Earth Day would be to raise awareness, otherwise, I don’t really see a point,” Tan added.
Tan also said that more progress is attainable if everyone does things to save the Earth on a regular basis.
However, despite the low level of awareness of Earth Hour 2008 among NUS students, a large number are supportive towards it and future environmental conservation activities.
Results from the poll that showed that 56% of students surveyed are willing to participate in Earth Hour.
Residents from Temasek Hall reported that the lights along the street in front of it were switched off.
Students in some rooms in every block also switched off their lights and played basketball in the yard.
“As long as I can use my laptop, turning off the light doesn’t matter to me at all,” said Tracey Pham, a Temasek Hall resident.
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| Student using laptop after switching off lights in the room during Earth Hour 2008 | Lights were switched off in some rooms at Temasek Hall during Earth Hour 2008 |
| (photos by Hoang Thi Minh Ngoc) | |
Vu Hong Nga, a Business student said, “Though it lasts only one hour, it somehow can raise the awareness of protecting the Earth in students.”
Wang Yi, a first-year student from the communications and new media programme, said that she was not aware of Earth Hour because she had checked her email the day after the campaign. However, she thought it was a great idea and also showed interest in joining SAVE.
Earth Hour was first inaugurated in Sydney on March 31 2007 where 2.2 million people and 2100 businesses switched off their lights for an entire hour.
This resulted in a reduction of greenhouse gases, which if sustained for a year, would mean removing 48,616 cars off the road for a year.
This concerted effort encouraged people from other cities around the world to take action and this became a global movement this year.
With additional reporting by Hoang Thi Minh Ngoc (hoang_thi_minh_ngoc@nus.edu.sg) and Kelly Ang (kellyang@nus.edu.sg)
[...] Many Undergraduates At NUS Not Aware of Earth Hour 2008 The level of awareness of Earth Hour 2008 was low among NUS students. Although some students did do their part and switched off their lights during Earth Hour, there are others who did not think this campaign was useful. Some NUS students also expressed interest in subsequent environmental conservation activities. [...]