Scheduled to commence at exactly 8:30 o'clock in the evening and set to last for sixty (60) minutes, the Earth Hour is a global event aimed at giving back to Mother Earth by a mere act of switching lights off. Not to be underestimated, when done simultaneously worldwide, the movement poses as an effort to conserve energy. Interestingly, more than just that is the spread of awareness for the environment and the growing issue of climate change.
With high hopes for wide participation, One Big Turn took some time to drive around the city and document any interesting scenery relative to the event.
Among the very few that participated are schools namely Silliman University and Catherina Cittadini (St. Louis) School along with Shell Gasoline Stations and Robinsons Place Dumaguete. It is but heartbreaking that the advocacy for environmental awareness is slowly dying in the city despite widespread campaigns and advertising initiatives done prior to the event.
It can be recalled that last year's celebration was held primarily at the province's capitol area. This year, passing by that area and other known public areas that were dark during last year's Earth Hour observation (such as the Rizal Boulevard and the Manuel Quezon Park) would give one the impression that Earth Hour wasn't ongoing at all. It is deeply saddening that even the Local Government Unit has not been seen exerting any effort to give emphasis nor join other nations in celebration of the Earth Hour.
Despite the lack of participation from the local government and other private sectors, those companies and institutions that bothered to join the movement only show that there are still a few committed parties ready to take action in lessening the effects of global warming and spreading the initiative to let people be aware that we only have one Earth and without it, humanity wouldn't exist.
Over the past few years, Mother Nature has shown its wrath for humanity's abuse and negligence over it. Some may be attributed to climate change and others, simply, nature's answer to people's delinquency to take good care of what has been bestowed upon them. It's a given that whenever it becomes nature's turn for taking back, lives turn out to be, more often than not, at stake. The Earth Hour was never a very difficult advocacy to practice yet the majority of the people in the city opted to turn its back on it. If doing a simple act over a very short duration of time hardly becomes a success, it's hard to imagine what humanity can offer more than that in an effort to reverse the effects of climate change.
Upon heading back to headquarters, One Big Turn spotted a household "joining" the observance of the Earth Hour.
