EDITORIAL - The gift of light

Tonight from 8:30 to 9:30, the Philippines will again join the world in switching off non-essential lights to mark Earth Hour. The event, now on its ninth year, saves countless megawatts of electricity. But more than the savings, the event is symbolic, with participants aware of the need to conserve precious resources and save the planet.

The first Earth Hour event, held on March 31, 2007 and inspired by the World Wide Fund for Nature in Sydney, Australia, saw 2.2 million individuals and 2,000 businesses participating. Today about 2,000 cities and towns around the world are expected to participate in the switch-off.

Apart from switching off lights, the annual event has inspired the creation of an Earth Hour Forest in Uganda and the distribution of thousands of wood-saving stoves in Madagascar. In the United States, Girl Scouts installed hundreds of thousands of energy-saving LED lights while in India, three villages without electricity received solar-powered lights. The 2013 Earth Hour campaign in Argentina led to the approval of a Senate bill to protect 3.4 million hectares of marine areas. Organizers of Earth Hour hope similar projects will be inspired by this year’s event.

In the Philippines, the event will also highlight the fact that approximately 15 million Filipinos are still without electricity, relying mainly on kerosene lamps for lighting. This year Earth Hour Philippines is providing solar lamp systems to give “the gift of light” to island communities outside the national energy grid. Donations can help bring “the gift of light” to an initial 150 families or about 800 residents on the remote island of Beton in Taytay, Palawan.

Last year Earth Hour organizers taught residents of coastal communities to build outrigger boats from fiberglass, which are more resistant to destructive typhoons. Some 1,000 boats were built in areas hit by Super Typhoon Yolanda, and donations can build more.

From the start Filipinos have been enthusiastic in participating in Earth Hour. More than a once-a-year event, however, this is a continuing movement to save the Earth.