Filipina moms love to remind their children to switch-off unncessary lights and electrical appliances. Who can blame them? No one wants to pay expensive Meralco bills. Well, our moms have found new allies among scientists who study climate change. And their message of energy conservation is now being broadcast on a global scale - thanks to the World Wildlife Fund for Nature and other organizers of Earth Hour 2008, a global movement to raise awareness for climate change.

If you join this global movement, you will achieve three goals:

1. You will be part of a worthy cause
2. You will help raise awareness for environmentalism
3. The success of Earth Hour 2008 will spur more global movements and calls for action

As they say, success breeds more success. After this project, there will be more online movements that will call for simple but effective actions. Register now and be part of the online network that will empower ordinary citizens, like you and me, to become modern-day environmentalists.

Sa Mahal Kong Kapatid,

Congratulations! You made it! I’m sure your mind is filled with memories and reflective thoughts as you close a chapter of your life.

Graduation is not only the end of a chapter. More importantly, it symbolizes the first step in your next journey. And as you begin your next adventure, I would like to share with you these two poems and six pictures that have guided me in this game we call “Life.”

You and I belong to the digital generation and whether we like it or not, we leave digital footprints wherever we go in cyberspace. When we use our emails, surf the net, update our Friendster or Facebook, and write posts and comments in weblogs, we leave permanent traces of our past and present that might affect our future.

To help us understand how our digital footprints affect us, let’s use an Edward de Bono thinking tool that I often use in class with my students. It’s called PMI (Plus, Minus, Interesting) and it’s a simple graphic organizer that can help us weigh the advantages and disadvantages of our digital footprints.

…As of this writing, Vietnam’s Ha Long Bay is in the lead and the Philippines’ Tubbataha is in 32nd place. 32!? That’s why we should unite and improve our ranking. With your help, we can make it happen…

…In 2006, the money generated by tourism in Thailand was equivalent to the money brought in by OFWs. Should we look into boosting our tourism industry’s potential as a billion-dollar earner? Can we follow in the footsteps of our neighbor, Thailand? Can tourism be one of the solutions to the “brain drain” caused by the diaspora of our workers?…

…The tourism industry is highly competitive and every country wants a bigger slice of the pie. Tourists rely on online reviews, word-of-mouth, promos and international recognitions. This online elections for The Seven New Wonders of Nature is our chance to boost the tourism industry in our country…