Economic Problem: A Project in Economics

Earth Hour Founder Challenges Filipinos to Inspire World

Earth Hour co-founder Andy Ridley challenged the Filipinos to use their "united voice" to inspire other countries to participate more in the environmental cause.

"Use your voice. That unity of voice is amazing. It is an important thing to share with other countries," Ridley said, lauding the Philippines for its "massive, extraordinary engagement" in Earth Hour.

He spent Earth Hour 2012 on Saturday in the Philippines for being declared a "hero country" for topping the global town and city participation level for the last three years.

"If you’re able to that, you are sending an incredibly important message to the most powerful people of the world that everyone can change the world they are living in," Ridley told Yahoo! Southeast Asia.

It is the first time the co-founder, also the executive producer, to spend Earth Hour out of Sydney, Australia since its establishment there in 2007.

"Just the fact that so many people in the Philippines take part, share their voice and concern for the planet, and unite for that common purpose has already proven our point that people care," Ridley said.

Gia Ibay, National Director of Earth Hour Philippines, pointed out that Filipinos' competitive nature made the Philippines a "hero country."

"Filipinos have this sense of… yung gusto nilang makisama, ayaw nilang magpahuli. Alam mo naman ang Pinoy ganun ‘di ba especially when they know that the world over is participating in a cause as good as Earth Hour," she told Yahoo! in a separate interview.

Taken from: http://ph.news.yahoo.com/earth-hour-founder-challenges-filipinos-to-inspire-world.html;_ylt=Aqqe.8Sv0p96iTZprU0EPt3rV8d_;_ylu=X3oDMTFmZmdnMDVtBG1pdANJQiBtb2R1bGUEcG9zAzUEc2VjA01lZGlhSW5maW5pdGVCcm93c2VMaXN0;_ylg=X3oDMTMzN3NtOTByBGludGwDcGgEbGFuZwNlbi1waARwc3RhaWQDZTYxZGUzOTUtYWU0Zi0zODBlLThlZmYtODI1NWY0YTc2ZDcyBHBzdGNhdAN3b3JsZHxhc2lhBHB0A3N0b3J5cGFnZQR0ZXN0Aw--;_ylv=3

My Personal Reactions:                                             

            I remember going alone to Gaisano Mall to eat dinner that peaceful night of March 30, 2012. I was not so used to seeing the city with less people roaming around. Summer vacation has already started; some youth went home to their provinces, some set a tour somewhere in the country, some fled abroad, and some get busy finding summer jobs. I was supposed to meet my boyfriend that evening but he’s still on his trip back to Davao that’s why I decided to eat dinner at Chowking. I removed my headphones when the manager of that fast food chain approached me. I was surprised when the manager informed me that the place will turn dim at 8:30-9:00pm because it is Earth Hour. I was shocked because I'm uninformed about any recent happenings for I didn’t have a television. As I took my meal, I began to think of things about the Earth Hour and reminisce what happens during that event. 

            To those who don't know what Earth Hour is, Earth Hour is a worldwide event organized by the World Wide Fund for Nature(WWF) and held on the last Saturday of March annually, encouraging households and businesses to turn off their non-essential lights for one hour to raise awareness about the need to take action on climate change. Based on its definition, this event which only happens once a year gives positive values to the citizens around the world. Looking through my personal views, I can see that even if this event just happens once, it produces a lot of good benefits to people. I was happy to see how people around the world, even if they don't know each other, joined hands in a goal; A goal to give awareness around the world on how the mother nature is severely injured nowadays. With just a simple way, but when a lot of people cooperate in doing it, it can make a BIG difference. In my opinion, the benefits aren't just for the whole town, nor for the whole country, nor for the whole world but also for ourselves. Economically speaking, by doing this simple activity like turning off the lights, saves electricity- with that, our electricity bills might decrease and the surplus electricity will be saved for future needs. Many of us already know that there's a great possibility of energy shortage someday if we keep on being careless in utilizing it. The logic is that when we contribute in saving energy, we can help in extending the amount of time that there will be enough energy resources for all. Why for all? Because we are part of it. Another thing is that event also unites a lot of races towards doing something good. As you see, big things came from small things. One of the positive outcomes of this Earth Hour is that it provides information to people and opens the eyes of those who are unaware of the worsening state of Mother Earth. It is good to impost a creative activity to convince and attract people to join the movement. Aside from that, it doesn't also address to conserving energy resources but also to all resources because it is like a chain- everything's connected. To illustrate, most countries use coal in energy power plants, the result of coal burning is the pollution on the air and also to the atmosphere. Therefore, too much consumption of electricity which came from coal power plants increases the harmful effects. In addition, Earth Hour also refers to the alternatives on how to wisely use our resources and the event of switching the lights off for one hour around the world is one of those temporary solutions.

                        On the contrary, things also have its negative outcomes. Based on my experience, I observed that there’s a decrease of number of the people who shop at the mall even though it’s not yet closing time. When fewer customers enter an establishment, it results to less income. Some inconsiderate people use this as an opportunity to maximize their usage of electricity since the others are sacrificing their share for the better. Another negative result will be the decrease of production of some products because operations need light to ensure the good quality of their products. In the streets, accidents and crimes also might happen because obviously it’s dark.

Although this happening seems to be successful, I suggest that the government, media, and all the citizens around the world must join hands in improving this more. First, the people must be informed about the Earth Hour months before the event date and therefore, the media must increase their efforts in informing and encourage the people to join the event. As for the government, they must create a law that is similar to Earth Hour- people around the country must turn off unnecessary lights for an hour every month. Citizens must be well informed of the recent updates and they should be educated especially about the alarming condition of Earth and the benefits of taking part in preserving it. As for the people who are aware, they must help in informing those who are unaware.