BACOLOD CITY -- Bacolod City will mark a decade of the “Earth Hour” observance with SM City Bacolod again hosting the yearly event with an hour-long lights off from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. on March 24..
This year’s World Wide Fund’s (WWF) global campaign dubbed #Connect2Earth aims to connect with the hundreds of millions and to different organizations to spark conversations on biodiversity.
With #Connect2Earth, the WWF invites everyone to make a stand to take their commitment to “Earth Hour” even further through transition to renewables, promoting sustainable food and agriculture, adopting climate-friendly legislations and business practices, supporting conservation projects, and raising awareness on climate issues in schools and among the public.
Since WWF started the Earth Hour 11 years ago, it has engaged individuals, businesses and organizations in over 7,000 cities and more than 170 countries and territories during the hour and beyond.
In Bacolod, SM City is the city’s official site for the annual lights out ceremony for the past 10 years.
Bacolod first joined the “Earth Hour” a year after it was launched in Sydney, Australia in 2007.
The mall hosts the event in partnership with the Earth Hour Negros core group, including the Philippine Information Agency, and the City of Bacolod.
Before the main activity on Saturday night, various organizations will hold coastal clean-up activities in the morning.
At 5:30 p.m., the “Earth Hour “ Walk will start at the Capitol Lagoon going to SM City Bacolod to be followed by a film showing at the North 4 Carpark, featuring the 10-Year Milestone of Earth Hour Bacolod, Mangrove Planting, and “Connect To Earth”.
It will be followed by talks of Engineers Richard Meriveles and Victor Thomas Ureta on the illegal logging monitoring device and the electronic waste management system, respectively.
The Lighting of the Giant “Earth Hour” Centerpiece will come next.
At 8 p.m., the “Earth Hour” program will commence with speeches from event partner-advocates and concerned officials and then will be followed by the showing of the SM Cares Campaign and the SM Earth Hour videos.
The countdown for ceremonial switch-off of lights will start 10 seconds before 8:30 p.m.
After the switch-off, guest speakers will deliver messages while participants will join the 2018 “Earth Hour” Pledge until the switch-on at 9:30 p.m.
In last year’s Earth Hour, the three electric cooperatives in the province – the Central Negros Electric Cooperative, Negros Occidental Electric Cooperative, and Northern Negros Electric Cooperative, were able to record a total reduction of 10.7 megawatts in power consumption. (PNA)
