EARTH Hour came and went on March 28, 2020 but we apparently didn’t need it because the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic is cutting usage of water and electricity in Cebu.
Governments around the world and their agencies are seeing a reduction in water and electricity consumption as quarantine and isolation orders are being implemented in most countries.
Earth Hour is an annual event marked by the turning off of non-essential electric lights for one hour, usually from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., to raise awareness on energy consumption and its effects on the environment.
Cebu is seeing drops in both water and power consumption as a result of the closure of businesses with the enhanced community quarantine.
The Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD) and the Visayan Electric Company issued statements last week on the impact of the quarantine on their consumption. While the MCWD admitted that there are areas that remain to have low to no water pressure, the Visayan Electric said there is excess power supply and no possibility of an outage unless it is an emergency.
The MCWD said there was a 13.9 percent drop in water consumption in March 2020 compared to the same period last year. For the Visayan Electric, it saw a 30 percent drop in Metro Cebu’s power consumption recorded on March 30, two days after the implementation of the enhanced quarantine in Cebu City last March 28.
Aside from Earth Hour, those advocating the protection of the environment also lead in the celebration of Earth Day which is held every April 22. Its website at Earthday.org says that this year, the movement is to go “Earthrise:Earth Day goes digital.”
This year marks the 50 years of Earth Day. Let’s see what assessment they have with the reduced water and electricity consumption worldwide.
* * *
This will be the first Palm Sunday in my adult Catholic life that I will not hold in my hands palm fronds to be blessed in Church then attached to our house doors.
So, how does one celebrate Palm Sunday without those palm fronds? As Msgr. Joseph Tan said, “Ang importante sa Palm Sunday is the Eucharist. Pakapin ra na siya ang blessing of the palm to re-enact the Gospel when Jesus entered triumphantly in Jerusalem. It is really the mass that matters. Karon, dili man ta ka-participate physically, we encourage (the faithful) nga mutan-aw sa live broadcast sa mass online or on television. Our participation is only limited to that.”
(What’s important on Palm Sunday is the Eucharist. The blessing of palm fronds is just extra, to re-enact the Gospel when Jesus entered triumphantly in Jerusalem. Since we cannot go to mass physically, we encourage you to watch the live broadcast of masses online or on television.)
Tan is the media liaison officer of the Archdiocese of Cebu. The SunStar accounts on Facebook will stream live the 8 a.m., 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Sunday masses from the Basilica Minore del Sto. Nino.