Lights off, please

I would like to pause a bit to give way to a worthy cause that I'd like to campaign. 

Today marks the second global observance of the Earth Hour. Earth Hour is an annual international event created by the WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature/World Wildlife Fund), which is held every last Saturday of March.

And tonight, from 8:30 - 9:30, let us join the rest of the world by turning off our appliances and lights for at least one hour. The simple act of being off-the-grid for a while symbolizes our care for Mother Earth and as a bold statement against greenhouse gases (responsible for global warming) brought about by the use of unclean energies and over-industrialization.

By taking part in Earth Hour 2009, we’ll send a message to our world leaders that the world must act now to slow down climate change. This is a crucial year in the future of our planet as world leaders are taking a serious look at climate legislation and international agreements which are set to be negotiated in Copenhagen in December of this year.

"This is the perfect opportunity for individuals, governments, schools, businesses and communities around the world to unite for a common purpose, in response to a global issue that affect us all" according to Carter Roberts, President and CEO WWF.

And to make the event more meaningful and educational, I suggest you grab a DVD copy of Al Gore's "Inconvenient Truth" and watch it with the kids or friends early in the evening then cap off with a simple candle-light "Earth Hour dinner."

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I think I have written about this last year but in view of the occasion, I feel it's worth mentioning again the most important realization about us and the environment -- that humans are but like any other species around that depend on the environment for existence. But unlike other species, which return the favor back to the food chain, our greed overrides the dictates of our instincts to return what we take thus we do whatever it takes to milk the environment to its limit without realizing that we have become our very own destruction.   

But the environment will be there to stay no matter how humans abuse, misuse or abuse it. But will humans be there to stay in an abused, misused or overused environment? 

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