Sunday, March 30, 2008

Earth Hour 2008-Results

I successfully shut off nearly all the lights last night in observance of Earth Hour 2008. Except for the kitchen light, which my mom objected to because then she could not prepare ingredients for tonight's dinner. It felt eerily similar to the Northeast blackout of 2003, but without the fear of whether electricity would be 'restored'. And I guess that was one of the points the Earth Hour organization and the WWF wanted to get across; if we do not start conserving energy and finding alternate fuel sources, energy prices would be so high in the future that many may not have enough money to have electricity. Hopefully, the "social activism" that will be spawned from the first ever international EH celebration will force politicians to listen to the people more.

Monday, March 24, 2008

Earth Hour 2008


Earth Hour, founded by the WWF, seeks to promote energy conservation. Turn off your lights this Saturday, March 29!

Sunday, March 16, 2008

Re: Children for Sale

I saw a repeat of Dateline NBC's 2003 undercover investigation into the sex trade and child trafficking in Cambodia last night on MSNBC. It featured reporters with hidden cameras going into the country with one of the highest child prostitution rates. It disgusted me in seeing how young girls, some as young as eight, being sold for sex by men, women, and even a 15-year old hustler. The reporters went to nightclubs in the heart of a city and to a small village in the outskirts, but it made no difference: the sex trade was booming.
Prostitution is disgusting as it is, but involving minors? What morals do we have if we do not stop this kind of sick activity? What pains me even more is that Westerners, especially rich American males, often go there to be involved in this activity. Are they not ashamed of taking away the innocence of poor, underprivileged girls?
However, there is some hope. In 2003, Pres. Bush passed a law that made it illegal for any American tourist to engage in sexual activities abroad with a minor. The Cambodia government has also begun a long and arduous process of reducing the activity. Hopefully we can one day go to Cambodia for sightseeing, and just that.
MSNBC transcript of "Children for Sale"