Year 2, Month 4, Day 5: Never Mind, I’ll Just Sit Here In The Dark

The Pampanga Sun-Star (Philippines) notes that important local figures participated in the worldwide observance of “Earth Hour,” turning off lights and appliances in order to foster environmental awareness and better conservation practices:

ANGELES CITY – Mayor Edgardo Pamintuan has called on for a continuous campaign to protect the environment and reverse global warming.

Pamintuan said during the observance of Earth Hour at the SM City Clark Saturday night that people should always be conscious about the environment.

“Sana ay ipagpatuloy natin itong mga ganitong programa para mapangalagaan natin ang kalikasan,” Pamintuan said.

Thousands of cities, towns, and landmarks around the world switched off lights in observance of the Earth Hour.

“When we turn off our lights, let us use it is as an opportunity to reflect about what we can do to contribute in fighting climate change,” Pamintuan said.

Observance of Earth Hour is commendable. But it’s just the merest tip of a (rapidly melting?) iceberg.

Sent March 27:

While a worldwide Earth Hour is an important initiative, the fight against climate change is going to require more from all of us than turning off electrical appliances for a tiny fraction of a year. We need stringent conservation measures to eliminate inefficiency in power distribution systems, and to develop new frugality in our habits of energy usage. Nowhere, of course, is this more necessary than in the United States of America. While the USA is not solely to blame for the planetary climate crisis, its per capita contribution to the slow-motion disaster of global warming is the most significant in the industrialized world. America has for decades made profligacy a point of patriotic pride — a national delusion which has done extraordinary damage to the world’s environment. Reversing this attitude and the habits it has bred will do more to combat climate change than a worldwide hour without electricity.

Warren Senders