RP, 83 other countries to observe Earth Hour

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines will join 83 other countries in observing the second worldwide Earth Hour.

Ten million Filipinos from Pagudpud to Tawi-Tawi are expected to turn off their lights between 8:30 to 9:30 tonight to highlight global climate change.

More than 2,800 municipalities in 84 countries all over the world plan to turn off lights to mark Earth Hour.

In the Philippines, over 100 cities and towns registered their commitment for Earth Hour, the World Wide Fund for Nature-Philippines(WWF) said.

The Philippines now ranks second among local government sign-ups worldwide.

The Department of Energy (DOE), along with the WWF-Philippines, the Green Army Philippines Network and the SWITCH movement will have a program at the SM Mall of Asia.

“The nationwide celebration is designed to be inclusive and richly textured,” explained Lory Tan, president and CEO of WWF-Philippines.

“We want people to internalize the issue of global warming and to express themselves in their own way – whether in their homes or public places.”

DENR regional secretary Antonio Principe said 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.

Malacañang, Environment Secretary Lito Atienza and Sen. Manny Villar appealed to Filipinos to support Earth Hour.

During Earth Hour, the main street lights along the whole stretch of Roxas Boulevard straddling Pasay and Manila will be switched off. Main lights will also be turned off in other main thoroughfares, bridges and plazas.

National Capital Regional Police Office (NCRPO) chief Director Leopoldo Bataoil ordered the deployment of policemen to conduct patrol operations on the street to ensure public safety and order.

In Makati, an Earth Hour countdown will be held in Ayala Tower One. Lights will be switched off at Ayala Avenue, Paseo de Roxas, JP Rizal, Makati Avenue, Kalayaan, Reposo, and Metropolitan Avenue.

In Baguio, the celebration will begin in the morning with a Palit-Ilaw sa Palengke activity, in which incandescent bulbs at the public market will be switched to more efficient compact fluorescent lamps. 

In Cebu City, all lights in City Hall, Plaza Sugbo, Fuente Osmeña and commercial-industrial centers will be switched off tonight.

“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.”

Smart Communications will turn off lights on its billboards and building facilities located in various parts of the country in support at 8:30 tonight.  

Earth Hour will be celebrated in Marikina, Iloilo and various cities of Mindanao. In Davao City, Digos City, Davao del Sur, the day-long celebration will consist of a tree-planting activity in the morning and a countdown event with a live band at the park in the evening to be spearheaded by the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK).

Elsewhere in the developing world and emerging markets, major cities like Beijing, New Delhi, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Buenos Aires, Jakarta, Istanbul, Seoul, and Mexico City are taking part in Earth Hour in a big way.

The lights are going down from the Great Pyramids to the Acropolis, the Eiffel Tower to the Sears Tower in Chicago.

McDonald’s will even soften the yellow glow from some Golden Arches as part of the time zone-by-time zone plan to dim nonessential lights between 8:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. to highlight global climate change.

“Earth Hour makes a powerful statement that the world is going to solve this problem,” said Carter Roberts, chief executive of the World Wildlife Fund, which sponsors Earth Hour. “Everyone is realizing the enormous effect that climate change will have on them.”

Seven times more municipalities have signed on since last year’s Earth Hour, which drew participation from 400 cities after Sydney,

Australia held a solo event in 2007. Interest has spiked ahead of planned negotiations on a new global warming treaty in Copenhagen, Denmark, this December.

Nearly 200 US cities, towns and villages have signed on, from New York City - which will darken the iconic Empire State Building and Broadway marquees - to Igiugig, population 53 on Iliamna Lake in southwestern Alaska. - With Katherine Adraneda, Ric Sapnu, Ding Cervantes, Cecille Suerte Felipe, Rodrigo Pamonag, Paolo Romero, Non Alquitran