UP Ibalon Bicol: Turning off the lights in defense of planet Earth

Turning off the lights in defense of planet Earth

3/29/2009 | Posted by mesiamd | Edit Post

There’s a good feeling that can be derived from participating in the Earth Hour celebration----a campaign by environmental groups to bring consciousness for the need to conserve our planet’s resources. More than 50 years ago, we have recognized the polluting influence of human activity on earth and only lately that we’re made aware of global warming---a concept of environmental change that divides scientists and laymen---those who believe it is real and those who don’t.

On March 28, 2009, between 8:30 PM to 9:30 PM non-essential lights on the Eiffel tower of Paris, the acropolis of Greece, the ancient Pyramids of Egypt, the Bird’s Nest Olympic stadium of China, Vatican City’s St. Peter’s Basilica, the Roman Colloseum of Italy and the Empire State building of New York City will be dimmed to bring the message of saving the planet.

More than 2,800 municipalities in 84 countries worldwide agree to shut down lights for 60 minutes to mark Earth Hour so that people can “internalize” the issue of caring for the environment. In the Philippines, the streets of Manila together with a hundred more towns and cities will be blackened in solidarity to the Earth Hour.

“The Earth Hour event is a message of hope and action,” Cebu Archbishop Ricardo J. Cardinal Vidal said. “We will send this message to our world leaders, so that we can look forward to a meaningful action on their part — an action that can spell a big difference for our world… According to DENR regional secretary Antonio Principe, the country expects to save at least 560 megawatts of power during the one-hour lights off period, equivalent to cutting down roughly 330 tons on carbon dioxide emission.”----Philstar (03/28/09/ Gatdula, D)

Whether global warming is just part of the normal cycle of the planet or a true man-made phenomenon, it is clear that humanity must work hard to lessen the pollution that foul our environment. The earth is now inhabited by about 7 billion people, a threefold rise in the last 300 years, capable of accelerating environmental damage on the irreplaceable lifeforms of the planet.(Photo Credits: dstueber; Wootang01; Ollik) =0=