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Above:
Bird’s-eye view of Ayala, Makati,
one of the meeting places of environmentalists
observing Earth Hour 2012, half an hour
before said celebration was supposed to begin.
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MANILA, Philippines ― Supporters of the most popular
display of concern for the environment were dismayed by a partial blackout in
the Metro last night.
Thirty minutes before the 8:30-scheduled start of ‘Earth
Hour,’ in which people are encouraged to turn their lights off to counter global
warming/climate change, a large portion of the Philippine capital and
surrounding municipalities was plunged into darkness, thus rendering the lights-off
affair moot for many. Electricity returned shortly after midnight.
“How could we spread awareness of the dangers of wanton
urbanization and environmental degradation, when Meralco [Manila Electric Co.]
can’t keep the power running? I couldn’t even update my Facebook and Twitter
with my phone, because the wi-fi was out!” said World Wildlife Fund official
Essie Umbrinom during a hastily-called press conference by candlelight.
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Related news: Road accidents triple with
Earth Hour’s ‘lights-out’ challenge, says MMDA.
Read about it here.
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“By not having access to power at all, it shifts people’s
focus: from that of complaining against traditional power sources, to
appreciating the electricity we do have. We can’t have that,” he added.
Meanwhile, a ‘climate skeptic’ who requested anonymity said
that the WWF folks behind Earth Hour simply got what they wished for.
“Truly, if manmade global warming didn’t exist ― and it
doesn’t ― these politicians and their ‘green’ energy bedfellows would have had
to invent it,” he said.
For the complete story, click here.
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