EDITORIAL - Lights out for the Earth

For the seventh year, lights will be switched off for an hour tonight across the planet, including landmarks in some 7,000 cities. Earth Hour, started in 2007 in Sydney, Australia, now encompasses three-quarters of the globe, with the newest participants including Gala-pagos, French Guyana, Palestine, Rwanda, Suriname, Tunisia, and the world’s remotest island, St. Helena.

Organizers of the event, which will be observed starting at 8:30 tonight in the Philippines, note that Earth Hour has always been more than a light switch-off event. Instead it has come to symbolize efforts to preserve the environment and confront the challenges posed by climate change. The number of participants continues to increase, with the 7,000 communities last year about 30 percent higher than in 2011.

Energy consumption and the extraction of natural resources to feed global demand have led to serious environmental degradation and pollution. Climate change has been blamed for freak natural disasters, including catastrophic flooding in areas unused to floods. In the Philippines, communities rarely hit by typhoons have been devastated by killer floods, and even Metro Manila has been hit by a storm surge from Manila Bay.

Organizers said they have no exact figures on how much power is saved during Earth Hour. With over 150 countries expected to participate, however, the figure can only be considerable. Beyond the observance, Earth Hour should also inspire participating countries to pursue long-term measures to save the planet. Observers have pointed out that environmental awareness generated by Earth Hour should be sustained after the event. People are encouraged to switch off lights for an hour tonight, and continue energy conservation efforts long after Earth Hour.