Why on earth hour

In the weeks before Earth Hour, I saw a lot of tv advertisements calling on everyone to switch off their lights from 8:30 to 9:30 in the evening of March 28. A few hours before Earth Hour, I was at a restaurant where the waiters were all dressed in black t-shirts with the Earth Hour logo. Just this morning, I came across an article saying that the Philippines was Number 1 among all the countries who participated, with an estimated 647 towns and cities joining. Fifteen million Filipinos were supposed to have joined in the event.

I want to be positive and say that what happened was wonderful and that we have made significant steps in the fight to save the planet but I would be lying if I did. Instead, I am more than a little afraid that the exercise may just mislead some people into thinking that turning off their lights for one hour once a year is enough.

I read news accounts saying that some people joined because everyone was asking them to do so but that they really did not understand what it was all about. It reminded me of how crazed fashionistas did everything to obtain the Anya Hindmarch "I'm Not a Plastic Bag" bag because it was an "It" bag and not because they cared about using less plastic to help the environment.

I appreciate the campaigns calling on each person to do his or her bit for the environment by switching off and unplugging appliances when they are not in use, segregating garbage, recycling junk, and walking or biking instead of taking a car. However, these efforts make it seem as if individuals are largely responsible for the environmental problems that we have and that these little things will help solve it. Perhaps they do, in the way that a single drop of water can create ripples in a pond. But these are not enough to stop legal logging and mining activities that do more damage to the environment than a whole city turning their airconditioners on for the night.

It would be interesting to find out which among most vocal Earth Hour supporters have unsullied environmental records. If they were guilty of violations in the past, have they taken steps to correct their mistakes? Or are they still continuing the same old thing and hiding behind the free publicity that an event like Earth Hour brings?

The Sustainable Forest Management Bill has been languishing in Congress for years. Calls for a total log ban become heard only when horrible disasters like the now semi-forgotten landslide in Gen. Nakar, Quezon happen. Mountains are sliced open and pits kilometers deep are dug in Mindanao even as the people of Marinduque continue to suffer the effects of having their river poisoned by mine tailings. Turning off our lights for an hour once a year will not let these environmental nightmares disappear.

I will continue to do my best to segregate my garbage, recycle what I can, walk instead of taking the car, compost biodegradable waste, turn off and unplug appliances that are not in use and call on everyone to do the same.

At the same time, I will also start finding out how to effectively lobby for changes in the law to implement changes in government policies on forests and mining. If there are fifteen million Filipinos doing the same, maybe Congress will listen. Then again, maybe global warming will have most of the country under the sea sooner than estimated and none of this would matter.

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