From 8:30 to 9:30, all the lights were turned off in the cafe. Small "fake" candles on each of the tables provided . . . fake light. It was pleasant. The singing was sweet; the audience was happy to be there.
The inside of the cafe was also lit by the ambient street corner light from outside. So here we were in the dark, conscious of people everywhere taking part in the same ritual, mindful of the theme of this year's campaign: Beyond the Hour. We were encouraged to think of how we could make Earth Hour "last longer" by coming up with new ways to save energy in our homes on a daily basis, and not think that because we attended the Earth Hour event, we had done our duty and our part in saving the planet.
The singer, standing at the mike in the dark, drew our attention to what she saw outside across the street: the brightly lit sign of a bank. As I looked out the window at the red and yellow sign, I noticed that two of the offices on the second floor of the building next to the bank were ablaze with lights.
These were Law Offices: the lights were on, but nobody was home, as the saying goes.
Perhaps lawyers don't notice how much electricity costs because they don't have to notice--unlike the rest of us, who scrutinize our hydro bills and try to figure out what we can turn off to bring the bill down.
A few people gathered in a cafe in the dark for an hour can't save the world.
Everybody needs to do his or her part. Even lawyers.
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