EARTH HOUR 2009 (Philippines)

Last MARCH 28,2009, the Philippines joined other countries in commemorating EARTH HOUR. Well, after work I went home early that evening to get some rest while joining the whole nation on this Earth Hour . It's one hour of turning off the lights from 8:30-9:30 pm. Earth Hour is a global effort encouraging people from all over the world to turn off electricity from 8:30 to 9:30 pm to raise awareness about the effects of climate change and global warming. The event here in MANILA started with the darkening of the Rizal Shrine and there was also a gathering at SM Mall Of Asia in Pasay City. I know people who went to MOA(Mall Of Asia) that evening and they told me that everybody was in high spirits. Some of them even brought this battery generated "LIGHT SABER" thing. There was a concert after the event. According to Yeb Sano, Philippine representative the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), more than 15 million Filipinos were estimated to have joined Earth Hour on that night and a total number of 647 cities and town participated in the event that made the Philippines rank #1 among all the countries that joined this said global event. Hmmmp!! Another of those united statement to really save PLANET EARTH. My country is home for a lot of diverse species and mainly Marine Biodiversity. The Philippines is one of the half dozen countries that share the Coral Triangle but more than 18% of the region's coral reefs were damaged or destroyed in a bleaching event linked to rising sea temperatures back in 1998-99, underlining the immense risks climate change poses to the environment, food security and the economies of coastal and island countries and communities. I guess It's about time to make some preventive measures regarding further devastation.


Earth Hour Philippines organizers are aligning the event with climate-friendly energy initiatives through the Switch Movement which is considered as the social mobilization platform of multi-sector energy stakeholders spawned by the 2008 Philippine Energy Summit. Lately, we have experienced here in MANILA some unexpected rain showers admist the hot weather of summer.Signs of climate change indeed KABAYAN. According to Francis Chua, chairman of the Green Army and head of Earth Hour Philippines marketing committee,there are already negotiations underway with potential Earth Hour national sponsors to jumpstart breakthrough energy practices and technologies from April 2009 to March next year. So I guess next year would be another record to break? Naaaah!! The important thing is the action okay.



Two days after the Earth Hour event I was able to go to SM MEGAMALL and I was surprised to see this EARTH HOUR Merchandises FOR SALE already. From T-SHIRTS, PINS, and what have you. Hmmmp!! PINOY Talaga!! There was even a TV screen that showcased some Filipino Actors/Actresses promoting Earth Hour. Talking about oppurtunities right? Well, as long as the funds would go to the proper projects to save Planet Earth It's safe to say that It's a good merchandise.

So how did EARTH HOUR began? EARTH HOUR was conceived by WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature, also known as World Wildlife Fund) and The Sydney Morning Herald back in 2007, when 2.2 million residents of Sydney participated by turning off all non-essential lights. It is a global event organized by WWF and is held on the last Saturday of March annually, asking households and businesses to turn off their non-essential lights and other electrical appliances for one hour to raise awareness towards the need to take action on climate change. Earth hour following Sydney's lead and many other cities around the world adopted the event in 2008 and was very succesful last MARCH 28, 2009 and definitely Philippines was one nation in this event.



In line with EARTH HOUR, I recently bought this DVD set of BBC's "PLANET EARTH" series which I find very informative and amazing due to the content of the video. Added education for us guys or just recall. It is considered as a follow up to the award winning "THE BLUE PLANET"series which I personally haven't watch yet. I decided to buy first this "PLANET EARTH" DVD series and as of the moment I'm still thinking if I will also buy "THE BLUE PLANET" DVD series too because it's a little big on the budget. He He He!! "PLANET EARTH" is a multi award-winning 2006 television series produced by the BBC Natural History Unit. It was considered as the the most expensive nature documentary series ever commissioned by the BBC, and also the first to be filmed in high definition that took four years to make. Wheeew!! The series was co-produced by the Discovery Channel and NHK in association with CBC, and was described by its makers as "the definitive look at the diversity of our planet".Definitely this "PLANET EARTH" BBC Series is a must for you guys so that you could reflect and go over and appreciate the only planet we live. This was narrated by DAVID ALLENBOROUGH and I promise you that It's a wonderful experience watching the series and you may just think otherwise why we should save planet earth for our next generation to nurture and enjoy. A lot of changes have already happened here on earth in the past centuries so let us not be the one to get extinct right smack on the carelessness that's happening around us. WOW VEEEERRRY DEEEP!! Seriously speaking , there are major threats for climate change and each of us here has an obligation to take actions on it. So everyone... Let us rediscover PLANET EARTH!!

I've included some VIDEOS/MUSIC to spice up my blogpost. Well, of course It's....."The Dr. Stirring Rhod Way"!!!

PLANET EARTH- Duran Duran



ELECTRICITY- O.M.D.

LIGHTS OUT- PETER WOLF

Hmmmp!! So how about a PINOY ALTERNATIVE ROCK tune KABAYAN? I chose this classic song from 90s PINOY ROCK DUO "YANO" entitled "KAKA". YANO was composed of Dong Abay on vocals and Eric Gancio on guitars and this "KAKA" song is very much related on the blogpost topic because of the chorus "Eh Kasi WALANG KURYENTE" in English "NO ELECTRICITY". When I first heard this song back in 1994 at LA ROCK 105.9 I really thought the title of the song was "Walang Kuryente" because the station played the demo just before YANO hit bigtime with their debut album. Btw, "YANO" in English means "simple", a term often used by Tagalog speakers in Quezon. VERY FUNNY song indeed about a person name "KAKA" and his misadventures during a BROWN OUT that led him in a lot of troubles. Hmmmp!! Talking about JINX? He He He!! KABAYAN, can someone translate the whole song in English? Huh? That reminds me of a BUGTONG(Philippine Riddle) that goes like this: "Nanjan na si KAKA, bumubuka bukaka".....remember the answer KABAYAN? Of course It's "GUNTING" in English "SCISSOR". I wonder what EDWARD SCISSORHANDS would say about this. Ha Ha Ha!! I uploaded "KAKA" for you to listen to.

KAKA- YANO


Let's end this EARTH HOUR BLOSPOST of mine with a Video of one of my favorite BMX BANDITS song which was an 89DMZ WAVE180 exclusive. It's a LOIUS ARMSTRONG ORIGINAL "What A Wonderful World".This song was also played on 103.5 KLITE's LITEWAVE back in 2004 by my request. He He He!! So everyone lets make EARTH a Wonderful World to live in. It's the only PLANET we got.

One....Two...Three... LET'S SING "WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD"!!

WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD- BMX BANDITS

Louis Armstrong widget by 6L & Daxii

I hope you guys enjoyed my Special Blogpost about EARTH HOUR and PLANET EARTH. Let us help each other preserve our planet.
THANKS FOR DROPPING BY AGAIN!!

PLANET EARTH!!
...What A Wonderful World!!
-DR. STIRRING RHOD-