10 Ways to Spend Earth Hour 2010

Over 1000 Philippine Cities and Municipalities Prepare for the Switch-off 

TODAY, 27 March, the Philippines joins the rest of the global community in making a symbolic call for united action against climate change through Earth Hour, as households, communities and public and private institutions turn off their lights from 8:30PM to 9:30PM.

Since 2008, Earth Hour Philippines has become a celebration of climate change solutions. It is important to bear in mind that Earth Hour does not end when the lights are switched back on. The switchoff signifies the start of a very personal and lasting lifestyle change to minimize our ecological impacts and to do our bit for a more sustainable planet. Personal pledges can take many forms, from upgrading to energy-efficient appliances to planting and stewarding a small grove of native trees. Here are ten ways to help you make a difference during and after Earth Hour 2010:

1 – Document Your Earth Hour Celebrations

If you’re planning to join one of the Earth Hour celebrations around town, whip out those DSLRs and point-&-shoots! It’s time to snap up photos and videos of your Earth Hour celebrations in your locality! You may even win DVD players, cellphones and other prizes. For more information, simply log on to: wwf.org.ph/earthhour/2010/03/a-contest-earth-hour-photovideo-documentation

2 - Host an Outdoor Evening Party
If you plan to stay in your neighborhood, get the barkada together for an Earth Hour eco-party. Set-up the front yard or go to the village park. Fire up the flashlights or headlamps, dine on organic food and have your resident musikero provide the acoustics. Talk to your friends about how you’re each reducing your environmental footprint and share ideas and solutions for saving more energy, cash and carbon dioxide.

3 – Encourage Kids to Play Outdoors
Earth Hour is a perfect time to talk to your kids about the Philippine environment and why we need to protect our planet from the dangers of climate change. Remember the good old days of Patintero, Taguan and Luksong Baka? Ever explored that old creek a block away? How about an afternoon spent birdwatching? Encourage your kids to unplug all electronics and rediscover the joys of outdoor play.

4 - Do a Recyclables Hunt
Get your flashlights and scour your cabinets and shelves for cans, bottles and boxes that you don't normally recycle. Make a list of all the non-recyclable containers you’re using now (like plastic shopping bags) and figure out ways to reduce your consumption of items that end up in our local landfills. A fun tip: get reusable grocery bags ... and reuse them!

5 - Green That Workspace!
Working the graveyard shift at a local call center? Even if you can’t turn off all the office lights, look around and see what you can unplug, turn down or use less of (like consuming less paper by printing double-sided). Every day millions of computer screens and speakers are left on overnight - shut ‘em off! And talk to your fellow employees about what they can do to help make a difference too.

6 - Involve Your Local Leaders
If your village or barangay isn't already hosting an Earth Hour event, ask your local government to set up a community "green" discussion in a public building from 8:30 to 9:30PM on 27 March. Help organize attendance by reaching out to local environmental and community groups, and come prepared to ask your leaders what they’re doing to make your area greener.

7 - Clean Up Your Street
Grab a flashlight and walk down your house street, picking up trash and recyclables as you go. It's a great chance to do some stargazing too! What’s more, a walk under the stars brims with romantic potential.

8 - Unplug and Just Chill Out
Most of our daily activities like watching TV and texting require loads of electricity, but do we really need to do so much stuff all the time? Stay home, minimize carbon emissions from your car and just have an hour of steady time. Turn off the screens, shut off the beloved cellphone and just take some "you" time to reflect, read or talk to your family. After all, why should you do more when you can do less?

9 - Give Yourself an Energy Makeover
Use Earth Hour as a reason to make your home more energy efficient: Replace those cruddy old incandescent bulbs with newer and more efficient CFL bulbs. Install power strips to turn computers and electronics on and off more easily, since appliances on standby mode are still at about 30% consumption.

10 - Make a Pledge for the Planet
Earth Hour shouldn't end at 9:31PM — it's a chance to take a first step toward lowering your overall impact on the environment. So use part of that hour to make a personal pledge to do more — recycle, take public transportation, remember to turn off or unplug electronics, and beyond. The only way we're going to stabilize our climate is if we make real changes in our everyday lives. You’ll hit two birds with one stone by saving on both cash and carbon emissions.

Remember: Turn off your lights from 8:30PM to 9:30PM on 27 March
But the first step is to turn off your lights on 27 March from 8:30PM to 9:30PM as part of the world’s largest social mobilization event. Tomorrow, around one billion people across time zones all over the world are expected to take part in this massive display of solidarity for the planet.

In 2009, the Philippines ranked first among 88 nations in terms of local participation in Earth Hour. Over 10 million Filipinos in 647 cities and municipalities switched off their lights during Earth Hour, saving an estimated 611MWh of electricity - equivalent to a temporary shutdown of a dozen coal-fired power-plants. This year, the event organizers - WWF, the Department of Energy, Green Army Network Foundation and SWITCH Movement - aim to mobilize 15 million Filipinos in 1000 towns, cities and municipalities to take a symbolic stand against climate change.

1000 Cities and Municipalities Breached

As of 1930H of 25 March, a running total of 1041 Philippine cities and municipalities have confirmed participation. More are expected to pledge support before the global switchoff tonight.

The public is invited to the main switchoff event at the SM Mall of Asia from 7PM onwards. The program will include entertainment numbers from Arnel Pineda, Moymoy Palaboy, Princess, Ballet Philippines and the Philippine All Stars. Ayala is also spearheading several Earth Hour events, including a street party at the Bonifacio High Street. Similar celebrations will take place in many other cities and towns across the country.

Official Earth Hour 2010 partners include Ipanema, Motolite, SM Malls, Ayala Malls, Bonifacio Global City, the Century Pacific Group, Sustagen, Philips, Meralco, Arthaland, Shell, First Gen, Energy Development Corporation, McDonald's, Jollibee, Shangri-La Hotels, ECC International, GMA-7, ABS-CBN, Net-25, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Philippine Star, Infinit-1 Communications, FocusMedia Audiovisuals, Leo Burnett, Radio Veritas, Sonshine Radio, ECC International, Dig It All, Friendster, Discovery Channel and the National Geographic Channel.

Groups that have pledged commitments are the Archdiocese of Manila, Archdiocese of Cebu, Diocese of Kaloocan, Diocese of Parañaque, University of the Philippines, Technological University of the Philippines, Manila Doctors College, Silliman University, Adamson University, Asian College of Science and Technology, Colegio de Santa Catalina de Alexandria, Foundation University, St. Paul University Dumaguete, Ayala Foundation, Ms. Earth Foundation, Ms. Teen Earth and Ms. Kids Earth, REACT, Philippine Business for Social Progress, Ortigas Foundation, Girl Scouts of the Philippines, Manila Jaycees, Hotel and Restaurant Association of the Philippines, Outdoor Advertising Association of the Philippines, Philippine Science Centrum, World Youth Alliance, Habitat for Humanity Philippines, Iglesia ni Cristo and Gawad Kalinga.

Other companies which have pledged support include BPI, HSBC, Coca-Cola, Tetra Pak, Starbucks, Canon, Abenson, Chowking, Unilever, Globe, PLDT, SMART, BME, PhilBIO, Piandré, ATP, Toyota, the Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Ascott Group, Dusit Thani Manila, Hilton Cebu, Robinsons Malls, Chevron, SGV & Co and Ricoh Philippines. (30)

For more information:

Naderev 'Yeb' Saño
Earth Hour Philippines National Director
nmsano@wwf.org.ph

Gregg Yan
Earth Hour Philippines Communications Head
gyan@wwf.org.ph

Mika Palileo
Earth Hour Philippines Secretariat
840-2134 / 789-76622 loc. 5200
ehp2010secretariat@gmail.com

Document Earth Hour With Your Camera And Get A Chance To Win Valuable Prizes!

Earth Hour Press Release

The lights will go off for one hour on Saturday, March 27, 2010 at 8:30 pm in key cities and towns in the Philippines and all over the world. It's called Earth Hour.

Earth Hour 2010 is a global call to action to every individual, every business, and every community. It is a call to stand up, to take responsibility, and to get actively involved in working towards a sustainable future. People all over the world will turn off their lights and join together in creating a vital conversation about the future of our precious planet.

Last year, the Philippines ranked 1st worldwide in terms of total number of cities and towns that participated in Earth Hour. This year, the goal is to get 15 million Filipinos in 1,000 cities and towns all over the country to participate in Earth Hour 2010. By switching off our lights at 8:30 pm on March 27th, we convey a simple yet powerful message: each of us can make a difference in the fight against climate change.

You can document participation in Earth Hour in your locality, using your mobile phone or digital camera. That way, you can help show the whole world how committed we Filipinos are to united action against climate change. The top sixty (60) entries—30 digital photographs and 30 videos—will be included in the official Philippine audio-visual report to the global Earth Hour Secretariat and will be posted on www.earthhour.org

 In addition, the entries that most capture the spirit of Earth Hour will be gifted with cellphones, DVD players, and official Earth Hour t-shirts as tokens of our appreciation.

Contest guidelines:

1. The contest is open to all Philippine-based individuals, aged 15 years and above.

2. To qualify, entrants must register via SMS through 5777. Their respective mobile numbers will serve to tag any number of entries.

3. To register—

a) Send to 5777 (Smart & Globe users only) the following text message from your mobile phone:

GREEN(space) REG(space) firstname(slash) middleinitial(slash) lastname(slash) EARTH

Example: green reg Juan/C/De la Cruz/Earth

b) Then, turn on your messaging facilities by sending a second text message to 5777 as follows:

GREEN MEMO ON

4. There will be two categories: photo and video. Digital cameras and cellular phones may be used. All entries must be about an Earth Hour event (taken between 8:30pm and 9:30pm on March 27 or other related activity undertaken in line with Earth Hour and which captures the spirit of Earth Hour).

5. To submit multiple entries, one must label each one as follows:
a. For photo entries: 09xx-xxxxxxx-p001, 09xx-xxxxxxx-p002, etc.
b. For video entries: 09xx-xxxxxxx-v001, 09xx-xxxxxxx-v002, etc.

6. Photo entries for digital cameras must be printed in 8R size. Send all entries with a copy in CD format, which includes the name, registered mobile number, address, email, category and signature of the entrant. Entrants need to submit a brief description of the event/activity captured in photo/video (no more than 50 words).
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7. Video entries must be no shorter than one (1) minute and no longer than three (3) minutes each. They must be submitted as mpeg or avi files with live or recorded audio or music, in DVD format, then stored in a hard plastic DVD case. Name, registration number, address, email, mobile number, category and signature of the entrant must be written on both the DVD and its case

8. Photo and video entries must be submitted by March 31, 2010 (or at least postmarked if sent through mail on the said date) to:

Earth Hour Secretariat
6/F, PNOC Building 6, Energy Center
Merritt Road, Ft. Bonifacio
Taguig City, Metro Manila

9. The top sixty (60) entries—30 digital photographs and 30 videos—will be included in the official Philippine audio-visual report to the global Earth Hour Secretariat and will be posted on www.earthhour.org

. In addition, the most interesting entries that capture the spirit of Earth Hour will be gifted with cellphones, DVD players and official Earth Hour t-shirts as tokens of our appreciation.

10. Winners will be notified by email and via SMS (text) from 5777. To claim their prizes, winners should show the text message or email sent by the Secretariat confirming their awarded entry and bring one legal ID with photo (SSS, driver’s license, passport or school ID.). Provincial winners will claim their prize at a designated area to be provided by the Secretariat.

11. All entries become the property of Earth Hour Philippines.

In the Philippines, Earth Hour 2010 effort is being organized by WWF-Philippines, the Department of Energy (DOE), the Green Army Philippines Network, and the SWITCH movement.

Various organizations—representing civil society, the business community, the religious sector, the youth, national agencies and local governments—have already committed their full support for Earth Hour, the global expression of a desire for serious and sustained action on global warming.

Join Earth Hour 2010! Turn off your lights at 8.30pm on Saturday, March 27 and document your participation to publicly register your commitment to the global community!

Indonesian fishing license moratorium needs to be backed with reduced fishing effort – WWF

Indonesia is implementing a moratorium on new licenses for trawl and purse seine fisheries this month until the status of their declining fish stocks fully recover.

“While recognizing this as an initial step towards the right direction, we would like to see this supplemented by an immediate reduction in fishing effort and strong enforcement of “no take” zones to help fully exploited fish stocks in the Coral Triangle to recover” says Dr Lida Pet-Soede, WWF Coral Triangle Programme Head.   

“We would also like to seek further clarification on the criteria being used to determine stock recovery and how this is will be evaluated. WWF is willing to participate and contribute to this process” adds Dr Pet-Soede.

As of 2007, more than 10,000 trawlers and 22,000 purse seiners have been found in Indonesian waters. These numbers have likely grown in the past few years alone, largely contributing to overfishing, mostly of fully exploited juvenile tunas, and illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing in the area (IUU).

“These existing fishing fleets are highly capable of bringing already fully exploited fish stocks to an even greater overfished state” adds Dr. Pet-Soede.  

Trawling, which can catch as much as 30 tons of fish in a single operation, was banned nationally in 1980 but was once again made legal two years later, specifically in the Arafuru Seas in Papua.

In 2008, a regulation to allow shrimp trawling in the East Kalimantan province was issued.

Today, demersal fish stocks and shrimp are fully exploited and overfished in the Arafuru Seas. Similar results have occurred in the Flores Seas and Makassar Strait in East Kalimantan.

Purse seining has likewise become an issue in Indonesian fisheries. As much as 57% of skipjack, 71% of yellowfin and 75% of bigeye tunas caught by Indonesian purse seiners are juvenile and fully exploited. 

Purse seining of small pelagic fish, or free swimming open ocean species like Skipjack tuna and sardines in Indonesia accounts for as much as 80% of the total catch in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean. This however also includes big pelagic fish, which have been overfished in the Sulawesi Seas and Pacific Ocean. Pelagic fish, both big and small, have now been classified as fully exploited in Indonesia.

Indonesia is regionally part of what is known as the Coral Triangle, the world’s centre of marine life. This region contains spawning and nursery grounds and migratory routes for commercially-valuable tuna species such as bigeye, yellowfin, skipjack and albacore, producing more than 40% of the total catch for the Western Central Pacific region, and representing more than 20% of the total global catch.

Tuna in the Coral Triangle, which spans the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Timor-Leste, supports the economies of many developing nations and represents the livelihoods of millions of people in this region and beyond.

“This moratorium on new fishing licenses for trawlers and purse seiners will certainly stop the bleeding but not the wound, so to speak. A reduction in current fishing capacity is key to addressing problems of overfishing and bycatch of juvenile tunas in the Coral Triangle.” 


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Note:

• The Coral Triangle—the nursery of the seas—is the most diverse marine region on the planet, matched in its importance to life on Earth only by the Amazon rainforest and the Congo basin. Defined by marine areas containing more than 500 species of reef-building coral, it covers around 6 million square kilometres of ocean across six countries in the Indo-Pacific – Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Solomon Islands, and Timor-Leste.
• It is home to 3,000 species of reef fish and commercially-valuable species such as tuna, whales, dolphins, rays, sharks, and 6 of the 7 known species of marine turtles.
• The Coral Triangle also directly sustains the lives of more than 120 million people and contains key spawning and nursery grounds for tuna, while healthy reef and coastal systems underpin a growing tourism sector. WWF is working with other NGOs, multilateral agencies and governments around the world to support conservation efforts in the Coral Triangle for the benefit of all.
• For information on Coral Triangle go to: www.panda.org/coraltriangle 

For further information:

Dr Lida Pet-Soede, Head, WWF Coral Triangle Programme (Bali, Indonesia), Email: lper@wallacea@wwf.or.id, Tel: +628123818741
Paolo P. Mangahas, Communications Manager, WWF Coral Triangle Programme (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), Email: pmangahas@wwf.org.my, Tel: +60378033772
Dewi Satriani, Marine Communications, WWF-Indonesia (Jakarta, Indonesia), Email: dsatriani@wwf.or.id , Tel: +62811910970