Observe Earth Hour, Lazatin’s son says

ANGELES CITY – Councilor bet Carmelo Lazatin Jr., son of Congressman Carmelo Lazatin, has urged the people to join the observation of Earth Hour on March 23.

“Sama-sama po tayong makiisa sa Earth Hour sa pamamagitan ng pagpatay ng ating mga ilaw sa loob ng isang oras, mula 8:30 hanggang 9:30 ng gabi,” Lazatin said.

The Earth Hour is an annually-held worldwide event organized by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) where people from homes and establishments all over the world are invited to turn non-essential lights off for one hour to save energy.

Lazatin said there is a common misconception that the Earth Hour is merely a ‘lights off’ project and does not really impact the environment.

“Isipin nalang po natin, ilang bilyong mga tahanan, building, at iba pang establishments ang magpapatay ng ilaw sa loob ng oras? Napakalaking enerhiya na po ang matitipid natin dito,” Lazatin said.

“Maliban dito, ang pagkakaisa ng mga komunidad sa buong mundo para i-observe ang Earth Hour ay nagsusulong ng greater collective consciousness to start taking care of the environment,” added Lazatin.

“Ang Earth Hour ang nagpapakita na kahit ang maliliit na efforts ay nagkakaroon ng malaking epekto kung maraming tao ang makikiisa dito.”

During the Earth Hour last year, which was held on March 31, 2012, the organizers also launched the “I Will If You Will” Campaign, which encourages Earth Hour participants to “go beyond the hour” and participate in other projects to help protect the environment.

Lazatin said that as part of his “Four-Point Agenda” platform for government, one of his priority projects will be concerning the environment, particularly, the implementation of an effective Solid Waste Management Program, part of which will be the establishment of Material Recovery Facilities in every cluster of barangays in the city and an effective information dissemination campaign. (Reynaldo G. Navales)