Earth Hour 2014Reader submitted

Earth Hour 2015 is taking place on Saturday March 28th at 8.30pm. For all the latest news and features, including information on how to take part, please visit: www.earthhour.org/

"Ever wondered how much difference your small actions really make?  Based on our research, if every New Zealand household took these three simple actions, it could have a big impact on energy saving, and on reducing our greenhouse gas emissions;

• Turn unneeded appliances off at the wall: When not in use things like heated towel rails and appliances on standby account for almost 1 billion kWh of electricity per year or 165,700 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent.

• Go car-free one day a week: Transport is a major contributor to New Zealand's emissions (20%). If everyone in New Zealand who currently drives to work were to walk, cycle or take public transport on just one day per week, it would save up to 114,000 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent per year.

• Switch your bulbs: If every household swapped their remaining old-style light bulbs for new energy-efficient ones, this could save up to 0.6 billion kWh of electricity or 106,800 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent per year

The combined impact of these actions would be an emissions reduction of 386,500 tonnes CO₂ equivalent per year. This is equivalent to over 839,000 car journeys from Kaitaia to Invercargill. It would take 128,400 hectares of regenerating native forest one year to absorb this much carbon dioxide. This is an area twice the size of Auckland."