ONE HOUR AT A TIME?

Is one hour for the Earth enough?

When Japan was shaken to its core (literally) by that devastating 8.9-magnitude earthquake and wiped out (literally, again) by the resulting tsunami, the entire world was once again reminded of just who is in charge, which happens to be nature. We are all reminded of how important the environment is, and global warming, and climate change, and its effects on our lives, and all those other environment-related things that we tend to forget once we see things we consider as really important (even though they are truly not) …

Maybe this is what the Earth Hour is really for: a one-hour opportunity for the concerned citizens every last Saturday of March to not only send a message to the rest of the world that they support the efforts to protect the environment, but also push for everyone to take all the necessary steps to save Mother Earth.

The Earth Hour seems a good thing. After all, anything related to the preservation, conservation, and restoration of the environment nowadays will generate a lot of publicity and support because obviously, the survival of our species is at stake. An hour without light provided by light bulbs and fluorescent lamps will save the participants 1-2% of their average March/April electric bills. And these days, every single watt of electricity counts. And aside from the new environmental campaigns to be started in celebration of the Earth hour, the celebrities, businessmen, politicians, and other public figures can even use this as a chance to promote themselves and their projects to the audiences and make more dough. Everybody and everything involved wins, right?

NO. The Earth Hour is a bad thing.

The objectives and goals of a majority of the organizers and the participants are good. However, how can you be sure that all of them are really serious about supporting the green cause? Although (as I mentioned) theoretically this is a win-win situation for all sides involved, let us not forget that the main concern of the Earth hour event is for the environment, not personal gain. Any movement will fail if the heart and mind of a lot of its members are not in the game. In such a delicate and complicated issue like environment protection, unity is necessary for the best solution possible to be generated and implemented. With various factors such as commerce, agriculture, and the economy, that would be an understatement.

The one thing that alarms me with the Earth hour, however, is that it seems to lack intensity or strength; it seems compromised. Surely some of the supporters of this event only limit themselves to only one hour in only one day of the year to wholeheartedly save electricity (or at least, usable energy). And they only limit themselves to turning off the lights. This is just like a guy promising to give his girlfriend the world … and he only gives her a hug on their anniversary. Nice thought, but lacking in execution and effort.

Bottomline is, if you really are willing to save electricity, why limit yourself to just your light bulbs and fluorescent and incandescent lamps for only an hour per day per year? Why not bring it to another level and do it for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year, every single year from tonight until the end of your time? Why not intentionally save electricity (and some of those hard-to-find dough) by using your television, radio, refrigerator, blender, iron, electric stove, rice cooker, cellphone chargers, and all of those electric gizmos you possess? Why not spend some time with family and friends instead of spending 8 hours of your day in front of the computer or TV, watching shows that won’t do you any good? Why not play sports in public courts near your area instead of playing NBA 2K11? Why not use your own hands to do the laundry instead of relying too much on that washing machine of yours?

If we have the power to step on the moon, annihilate cities with an atomic bomb, and make guys like Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga huge pop/cultural icons (even though they certainly do not deserve it), why cannot we maximize our efforts in helping the planet? We can turn the Earth Hour into a second Earth Day (the International Mother Earth Day is April 22). Even better, we should turn the Earth Hour into a daily habit of Earth Day.

The Earth Hour is a bad thing … but for our first step, it is not that bad.

END OF THE WORLD?

Has 2012 come 21 months and 10 days early?

The Earth-shaking, mind-trembling, life-altering (8.9 to 9.1)-magnitude earthquake that rocked Japan to its core was simply both a demonstration of the truepower of nature and a reminder of just how everything changes ... in 15 minutes or less.

If you saw those videos revealing a massive tsunami sweeping (or wiping out) all those homes and towers 5 miles inland with all sorts of debris created from the things it destroyed along the way ...

If you saw those videos unveiling the explosion of the nuclear power plants, along with an amazing yet frightening view of the bursts of flame, chemicals, and smoke into the air ...

If you saw the images of the poor Japanese adults and children, faces struck with shock, fear, and doubt, bodies showing signs of physical and emotional trauma, wondering if there is still any kind of future for them ...

And that's not all. The power of the earthquake moved Japan by 8 feet and shifted the Earth's axis by a few centimeters. Both measurements do not seem huge to make a difference, but since we are "microspecies" compared to the planet, it sure does. Even the emotistical beings will finally notice the quick passing of days, since the Earth now spins faster. Weather patterns will also slowly but surely deviate from its current state. It could lead to Antarctica facing the Sun more directly than usual, which could lead to a quicker melting of polar ice caps already trigerred by global warming. It could lead to the winds blowing in a different direction, affecting the templates of seasons, two or four.

The lesson we can learn from this is that anything can happen in the bink of an eye.

For now, all we can do is pray and hope for the best.

I still have faith that 2013 is still waiting for us ...