The Environment Report

MANILA, Philippines—You’re sipping a Frappuccino, shopping in the mall or driving along Roxas Boulevard. Suddenly, the lights go out—for a full hour.

Don’t fret. It means only one thing: “Earth Hour” has struck.

More than a few establishments will descend into darkness beginning 8 p.m. Saturday to mark their participation in the global movement to address climate change.

The environmental group World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)-Philippines says the event will see a large portion of well-lit and bustling districts in Metro Manila go about their usual business but with the lights shut off.

More than 30 other cities across the world — including Sydney, Toronto, Chicago and Copenhagen — stage their own “dark episode.”

In the Philippines, the WWF and other Earth Hour ambassadors will converge near the fountain of the Cultural Center of the Philippines for a countdown and a short program.

Global event

The global event was first launched in Australia on March 31, 2007, moving 2.2 million people and 2,100 business establishments in Sydney, including its famous landmarks, the Harbor Bridge and Opera House, to shut off all lights for an hour.

The WWF reported that the collective effort reduced the city’s energy consumption by 10.2 percent, which was like taking 48,000 cars off the road for an hour.

The group is encouraging every Filipino household to join the activity tonight by simply switching off their lights at home.

Ecological sins

Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) president Angel Lagdameo, archbishop of Jaro, on Friday urged the faithful to support Earth Hour, reminding them it would be sinful to ignore pressing environmental issues.

Damage to the environment is a sin because it destroys life, according to the prelate during an interview over Catholic-run Radio Veritas.

“We may be ruining the future of the young Filipinos ... There may not be anything left for them if we continue to exploit our natural resources,” Lagdameo said.

Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales, archbishop of Manila, made a similar call. He asked the faithful to atone for “ecological sins” and “to reverse the tide of destruction that modern life and human selfishness have wrought on it.”

Local governments

Four local governments, namely, Pasay, Parañaque, Manila and Makati have pledged to turn off the lights in important landmarks and establishments.

All the lampposts, including the colorful “lollipop” lights along the bayside stretch of Roxas Boulevard from Parañaque City to Manila will be turned off as well as those in some parts of the EDSA highway.

But turning these two major thoroughfares into zones of total darkness will require more than just a flick of the switch.

Since most of the lampposts installed in the metropolis have light-sensors which make them automatically turn on at night, the flagship local governments and power retailer Manial Electric Co. have assigned workers to unscrew the light bulbs for the event, said Yeb Saño, WWF-Philippines climate and energy program head.

The resplendent decades-old clock tower in Manila and the historic Rizal Park will also plunge in total darkness, said Gregg Yan, WWF-Philippines information and communication officer.

In Makati City, all streetlights along Gil Puyat Avenue, Ayala Avenue and J.P. Rizal Street will be switched off. Church bells will ring and sirens of fire trucks will go off to signal the start of Earth Hour.

Malls, too

For an hour this Saturday night, lights in all Ayala-owned malls and Ayala-maintained buildings will go down, too.

After much discussion, officials of the SM mall group have decided to turn off 50 percent of the lights inside all of the group’s 31 malls in the country for an hour tonight.

“However, all exterior lights—including the SM logo—will be turned off,” said Liza Silerio, SM vice president for operations.

“This is the first time we are going to do this. We never turn off the SM logo because it has always been a sign of the role of the malls in the communities we are part of,” she told the Inquirer.

2.5M shoppers per day

“Through Earth Hour, we are able to give back to the public by being a venue for important global messages,” said Annie Garcia, SM Supermalls president.

Silerio said the activity would create awareness among tenants and shoppers. “SM shoppers number around 2.5 million per day. During weekends, especially Saturday nights, they exceed the three million mark.”

Among the companies participating in the event are Philips Lighting Systems, Coca-Cola, Starbucks, the Jollibee, Greenwich and Chowking fast-food chains, HSBC, Canon, Intel, Leo-Burnett, Manila Peninsula and Shangri-La Hotels.