MISREADINGS
By Ted Aldwin Ong

Two years ago, I got an interesting inquiry from an elementary grade pupil regarding the holding of an Earth Hour campaign. How can the switching-off of our lights and electrical appliances for an hour make a difference?

I found myself trying to explain how an hour can contribute in saving energy which in turn will have an equivalent reduction in energy generation and in effect, minimize global warming. I said that the simple effort is actually aimed to change our attitude on wasting energy (the usual practice of leaving electrical devises running when they're not in use). By putting them off, we prevent energy waste and save on electricity.

The Earth Hour has become a meaningful initiative since its inception in Sydney, Australia in 2007. I have been part of organizing a local event of Earth Hour in this part of the earth over the span of three years in order to popularize the simple effort and in order to reach out to a broader community of people that climate change is a pressing issue and it is a collective concern which requires our combined efforts.

Through the years, the event has drawn the support of people in their respective communities, civil society, media, corporate entities and governments of different countries. The Philippines is one of the first that supported this event during its infancy. In 2009, the country gained recognition for having the most number of participation at 10 million in 647 towns and cities. According to World Wide Fund for Nature, the country saved some "611 megawatt-hours of electricity, equivalent to the shutdown of a dozen coal-fired power plants."

But, Earth Hour is not enough. If we view the attitude of our government towards cutting down on pollution from the emissions of coal-fired power plants, then the concrete thing to do is not just putting off our lights for one hour but rather to stop polluting our air and the environment.

This is the reason why eyebrows are rising among environmentalists each time Earth Hour is commemorated because people had enough of the inconsistency and hypocrisy. Imagine our government officials and people from the private sector speaking at length about how to protect the environment yet push for highly polluting industries like coal-fired power plants.

It is really worthwhile that Earth Hour has gained the support of the government with the Dept. of Energy taking the lead role and the Philippine Information Agency taking charge in disseminating information. Yet these are token gestures as far as the obligation of the government to protect the welfare of its people is concerned. What we require from our government is to stop being mediocre by just becoming a supporter and participant of citizens-led initiatives like the Earth Hour and earn "pogi points" alone. Government has to put in action its commitment to environmental protection by going to the root causes of the problem giving solutions instead of just getting into popular campaigns.

Being a participant is a recognition that a problem exists and that action is required; but is one hour putting off of our lights and electrical devices part of government's solution? I guess it is not. The Earth Hour is not even a substantial step in addressing the complex problems caused by the energy sector and the government.

Earth Hour might be a good contribution from the people but simply it is not an adequate effort from the government's end.*