Earth Hour Singapore challenge still way short of participant target

Ali Smith, Channel NewsAsia 2 Mar 09;

SINGAPORE: In the wake of the global economic crisis, environmental issues have taken a back seat.

Earth Hour Singapore, a global climate change initiative, will take place on March 28. Based on the participant numbers as for now, more supporters are needed to hit this year's target of one million.

Their participation will go towards the global Earth Hour target of one billion people in one thousand cities across the globe.

When the clock strikes 8:30pm on March 28, households and businesses around Singapore will enter into complete darkness for one full hour if they choose to take part.

One man said: "If there's any evidence that it makes a difference to global warming, then I am sure most people would help."

Another individual said: "I don't know what to do without electricity."

The action of turning off lights during Earth Hour aims to raise public awareness of important climate change issues. But environmental experts said switching off the lights is just one of the many things Singaporeans can do to make a difference.

Howard Shaw, executive director, Singapore Environment Council, said: "We love air-conditioners in Singapore and having our air-con set at the right temperature is something we can do to save some really significant energy savings in the home.

"Ultimately, we want people to choose energy-efficient air-conditioners and refrigerators - appliances that have a very high demand."

Cities consume 75 per cent of the world's energy and produce 80 per cent of its greenhouse gas emissions. That is why the focus of the Earth Hour initiative is to educate and encourage the public to practice energy-saving habits for the long-term.

Last month, Deputy Prime Minister S Jayakumar expressed support for this effort.

Commending the initiative by the World Wide Fund for Nature, Prof Jayakumar, who is also the Chairman of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Climate Change, said that the Foreign Affairs Ministry will be taking part in this initiative, with only minimum lighting for essential operations and security switched on.

So far, about a hundred businesses and over a thousand individuals have pledged to participate. This is way short of the target of one million.

But for those who have, it is a chance to think about things they can do to save the planet.

Your can sign up at http://www.earthhour.sg/ if you wish to participate in this challenge. - CNA/vm