You are listening to the program “1001 green things” of Phuc Khang Corporation – the pioneer of green building development in Vietnam. This time, I would like to tell you a story of “THE BULB AND THE SUN”.

Sitting alone in a some-meter-square room, the Bulb looks at the Sun who is shining brightly, “with a faint sneer of satisfaction”, whose arrogance provokes anger and scream. “You are shining, so am I; but why are you praised, admired and respected while I am just a small and normal item which can be dumped at any time and place. I am only needed when you become covered by clouds or hiding in the other half of the earth.” And the Bulb lowers its voice which is not so high or disturbing as before. The Bulb is lamenting: “You are praised because you are not manufactured. I am ignored because I am made to serve human necessity.”

Suddenly, a warm and slow voice is heard from above. It is of the Sun in reply to the Bulb: “You envy me; you detest me; not a problem at all because it is your thought. But look, when I shine the most brightly, do people dare to stay close to me? They run away from me like cancer because they are afraid that I will harm their health, skin and eyes … They cover themselves from top to toe to prevent me from harming them. At such time, they seem to forget that I myself provide them with warmth and life. My natural light is a source of vitamin D which increases the height, prevents rickets and malnutrition, enhances the immune system and aging resistance. You have inferiority complex because you think you are needed when I am covered or hiding in the other half of the earth. Way wrong! Look, although I am sometimes not covered or hiding, they still draw curtains and shade to use your light, not mine.”

Upon hearing that the Bulb still has to work while the Sun is shining brightly outdoor, the Bulb expresses another anger: “I am ready to serve them at any time and place so that they can study, work, play, live, enjoy … but sometimes they forget my existence. They rush out of homes, leaving me on meaninglessly. On schedule, they are given the bill the number in which triggers their complaints that I consume large amounts of electricity. There are cases when my friends are forced to work with excess capacity, so they become totally worn out. We are blamed to be in poor quality and then dumped. You are high there and no matter how radiant and harmful you are, they cannot react to you but us.”

The Sun speaks to the little Bulb in a reassuringly calm voice: “Do not think that I am happy up here. I am certainly not, my little Bulb. Why don’t you take a look? When the earth temperature rises, people surely blame that on me. I sometimes have unspeakable grievance. People develop industries, increase population, cause deforestation, exploit natural resources to serve their demands and development, take advantage of vehicles, dense traffic, which gives CO2, creating ozone depletion and global warming. Yet, they show ignorance and pay no attention, just yelling how hot it is or how high the temperature is. It is still not on their conscience that they themselves are the causes for their own complaints and grievance.

The Bulb thinks that the Sun sounds reasonable. Winds from air conditioners are now preferred to those outdoors. People enjoy staying in cars or riding vehicles to hustle and bustle rather than comfortably sitting in public transportation designed with green and clean standards. They deforest to develop the economy, they cut down trees to build roads or get logs. People live as they want, not as they are advised or obliged to.

The Sun keeps up without waiting for the Bulb’s reply: “Correctly, they only concentrate on current benefits. They have never thought whether the future generations would be living sustainably. And then we keep on being complained although we fulfil our responsibilities. And you will feel impotent against being forced to work with excess capacity or being complained due to their extravagance, the habit of spending more than they can save.

The Sun sighs and the Bulb muses. Two opponents now become “components”, who can empathize, confide and share with each other. Neither the Sun nor the Bulb is to blame. They fulfil their responsibilities or usages. They wish to be respected or used reasonably and economically, protected persistently and sustainably.

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Ladies and gentlemen,

You have just listened to a personified conversation between the Sun and the Bulb. Thanks to the conversion full of confiding and complaining of emotionless items, we startle ourselves to review our habits, behaviors and lifestyles. No matter resources are limited or limitless, used or overused or manmade, it should be used reasonably and economically in order to be developed persistently and sustainably.

In the next broadcast, you will listen to a confidence from a father whose son is a firefighter. Is he happy or sad, proud or worried? You should stay all ears for your own answer.