“Over a billion people from 128 countries participated in Earth Hour 2010 – marking it as the largest environmental event in known human history. The Philippines for the last 2 years in 2009 and 2010 topped the global Earth Hour participation: 10 million Filipinos in 647 towns, cities and municipalities switched off in 2009, while 15 million Filipinos in 1076 towns and cities joined the 2010 switch-off ”, according to the official website of World Wild Fund (WWF) Philippines.
Now in its fourth year in the country, on March 26th Earth Hour 2011 will be observed from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Earth Hour invites Filipinos from Batanes to Tawi-tawi to switch off their lights and appliances for an hour of darkness and saving our energy. Earth Hour started in Australia in 2007 and the Philippines joined in 2008. Director Atty. Gia Ibay who leads WWF-Philippines Climate Unit says “If we want lasting and effective results, then we must inculcate the true spirit of the event into our lives – which is to reduce our consumption of power, water and other critical resources. We want Filipinos to pledge to a year-long commitment to reduce their energy usage. Pledges can take the form of biking to work, choosing to fly less, planting native trees, going on a no-meat diet and so on. It all depends on what the individual is willing to do. In the same fashion, corporations and communities can make commitments to be more resource efficient and environmentally responsive. Remember, it starts with nothing more than a conscious decision.”
Earth Hour Philippines calls for individuals, businesses, groups, schools and the whole country to participate in this year’s event by switching off lights from 8:30PM to 9:30PM on 26 March 2011. Earth Hour Philippines is “No longer aiming for numbers, the switch-off aims for meaning. With climate change issues becoming more critical, WWF-Philippines aims to go beyond Earth Hour by launching a year-long information and education campaign on climate change for Filipinos, revolving around the themes of energy efficiency, renewable energy and climate adaptation.” Concerts will be held in different parts of Manila during the Earth Hour, for more information you may go to their website or please click here.
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