Just a quick reminder if you are inclined to help the planet with just a little gesture of turning off all your lights, airconditioning, televisions, etc. for a measly 60 minutes this evening from 8:30 – 9:30 p.m., Manila time. We did this last year and were pleased to have been a part of the effort. This year, I believe the goal of Earth Hour is to get a billion people to participate. Manila is going for a “record” of sorts by having the largest proportion of the population participating, so please don’t forget. Sometimes, simple gestures like these seem silly, but I think every little effort counts. At home we have changed many of our bulbs to long-lasting bulbs rather than incandescent ones. The last time our roof was repaired they added a lot more insulation to keep the house cooler. And we have attempted to curb our use of vehicle fuel in the past several years. On the flipside, we have planted or caused to be planted several hundred trees a year, filtering the air that we personally sully… And yes, turn off your computers as well, and I would be happiest if there IS a drop in visits to Marketmanila.com today from visitors around the globe as a result of Earth Hour. I only hope the electric lines and plants don’t blow up from the sudden drop in usage and the sudden upsurge in requirements an hour later. :)
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Ensure also you have surge protector hooked up on all your major appliances for ensuring their utmost functional capabilities.
Thanks for reminding us…
thanks for reminding! will definitely turn off my lights during earth hour tonight!!! your site is really like a small coffee shop on the internet, enjoy ako! interactive with readers :P
Yes we are on this at 8:30pm-9:30pm including the kids which we have explained to them the importance of Earth hour day.
We will participate… for the love of Mother Earth.
almost everyone here participated on the earth hour.. many households turned off their lights and we even received candles on our mailbox so that we could use that instead of turning on the lights..
just turn the power switch to “off?” or unplug, too?
we have just arrived… we left the house at 8:30 pm and it’s now 10:20pm. of course we turned off all the lights, tv and the computers. no, we left the fridge on.
We just did this too, here in Korea. We burned off all our excess birthday candles, to the delight of my son.
Woot! Had dinner by candlelight.
Though I also left my refrigerator on.
We also did this last night here in our dorm. It was fun because we played tag in the dark and scared each other to death… :D
MM,
Maybe its just me but i find it weird that abs cbn led the countdown for earth day and then while everyone was supposed to save electricity during that time, they had performers do a show using all their stage lights and sound system at MOA. Did they really get the essence of the whole exercise? Was it just for show?
Teny, I totally agree with you regarding the irony of ABS-CBN. I turned off the tv when they started their MOA feed. They even made a point of telling folks (days earlier) to turn of their lights but NOT their TVs so they won’t miss the ABS-CBN shows. Hypocrite?
Oh, yes. I turned off the lights too, not just the TV, hehe.
My family observed the Earth Hour here in Scarborough, Ontario. It is considered one of our family get-togethers and by 8:00pm the candles were already lit along the driveway, the patio and the backyard. Popcorn and drinks are served while we stayed outside enjoying the blessed crisp weather of spring. The children are aware why do we support this worldwide event and at the same time this a great moment of spending quality time together with my parents, my siblings and handful “pamangkins”. For sure, will do again next year.
The turning off of the lights should be a symbol or the start of our conviction to lessen electric consumption. Hence, we all should find ways to do this and educate others. I agree some people are hypocritical and many probably are misinformed or uninformed. I am starting with my family and office staff.
Our problem with the fast degradation of the environment is for me caused by overpopulation and over consumption.
For Earth Hour last year, we turned off all our lights at home, then left the house to go to an airconditioned, brightly-lit mall to have a comfortable dinner. I felt it kinda defeated the whole purpose of the exercise. We didn’t “feel” a part of Earth Hour. It was like any other Saturday night where we’d just go out for dinner.
So this year, we were determined to be conscious participants in this gesture. We stayed home to have dinner in our pitch-black backyard. We got bitten by mosquitoes. We tripped over pebbles and broken tiles. We had to keep lighting and re-lighting the candles that got blown out by the breeze. We rolled little wax balls and wished we brought crayons to make melted crayon paintings. We couldn’t play music (our piano is electronic), so we took out the xylophone, wazoo, harmonica and cymbals, to make a noisy backyard orchestra.
We told our kids stories of frequent brownouts we had when we were young. And we said, we wish their generation would be more responsible than ours, about the environment. It was a lovely way to spend Earth Hour. And this time we really “felt” it.
teny, I didn’t watch television… but yes, I do think it was weird that they would encourage folks to turn off the lights but not their televisions…
Well the reason i know this is that after the countdown, a few seconds after their program started. I didnt watch it coz i turned my tv after a min. but it just seems odd that they all had their stage lights on for the program.
Not bad for Philippines who got the world record for most cities participated.
https://www.earthhour.org/mediacentre/default:en/article?id=eh3091404683381987888
Hats off to you guys !!!
yeah, i just read the news on CNN that Phils holds the record for the most communities to have joined the Earth Hour. i would have joined too but i was working and in the hospital lights and electricity are a must. mabuhay ang pinas!
Congratulations to the Philippines for their participation rate! As others have noted, this shouldn’t be a one-time gesture, but a reminder and hopefully a motivator to do a little more. This doesn’t mean living like a hermit in a hair-cloth shirt in a dark cave…if you reduce consumption over-all, you can still indulge yourself here and there and not feel terrible about it.
Some EASY tips for energy conservation that everyone can do.
Vacuum the coils on the back of your refrigerator, freezer, and similar appliances (dehumidifiers, etc.). They’ll work more efficiently if the coils are clean.
INSULATE! INSULATE! INSULATE!!! Adjust curtains/drapes to let sun in or keep it out to warm or cool the house. Insulated curtains or drapes are inexpensive, do a lot to cut thermal exchange, and don’t change the appearance of your house. I recently installed radiant barrier insulation (pure aluminium in a reinforced/perforated sheet…looks a little like a thick foil but is extremely strong and can’t be torn with the bare hands). This cut my winter heating bills by 1/3 (nearly paid for itself in one winter season), and in the summer the house was much cooler as well.
If you have appliances that have a “stand-by” mode (for example, most audio visual systems, computer monitors, etc. have this), turn them off–that means unplug them (or unplug the surge protector that they’re presumably plugged into). If you have an LED light on the appliance that glows when it is “OFF”, then it is still running in stand-by mode. Unplug when you can.
Minimize your transportation expenditures (that includes transport of goods you buy). Carpool, ride a bike, take public transportation when possible. Walk more (most Americans are TRULY lousy at this!!!). Plan your trips so you can get multiple errands done in a loop. Buy LOCAL when you can and support your local producers. Buy food in season as much as possible.
Every little bit counts, we ALL make a difference. Thanks Marketman for sharing!
i slept before 830 pm haha!
We had to go to church for our PANATA before 8:30 but we switched off all our lights before we left. Our church encouraged all the bretheren to participate in the EARTH HOUR. On our way to church we applauded all the household and the companies that participated and booed (tsk..tsk..) those that didn’t. HORRAY to TOYOTA which was pitch black when we passed by their company. The softdrink company only patially participated as we saw some of their light still on. Only the lights in front were turned off. So they don’t count. (boooooo…). Nex year we will switch everything off from the main power supply (fuse box). one hour of the refrigerator being switched off will not defrost the meat as long as the freezer is kept closed.
Actually to make this more successful next year just ask Meralco or NPC to turn off the power. Do a nation wide black out :)
I joined the Earth Hour last Saturday…. but I noticed that our house is the only one among the neighborhood to participate in Earth Hour. I agree with Jun b, a nationwide blackout would be more effective but am sure lots of people will not favor this.
Jun b, lol @ the Meralco idea. I remember blackouts when I used to live in Tondo.
I agree with you kurzhaar. Maybe we can have earth hours more frequently :)
Not watching TV nor reading the papers for days, I was unaware but pleased of the participation of the restaurant we visited during Earth Hour.
I thought it kinda strange that the staff were lighting candles almost at the end of our meal until we were told what was going on. Quite appropriately for the hour , we were dining in the restaurant ‘ Greens” in Quezon City and enjoying our completely veggie meal, licking and savoring the delectable sauces that came with the “mock meats”.