Happy belated Earth Hour

Last night I went out for supper with a few friends, and we ended up at Second Cup for post-dinner hocho. The coffee shop is located right downtown, and it was fun to sit at a table by the window and watch people walk by.

As the daylight dwindled, the staff turned the lights out in the shop and brought out tea lights for all the tables. I thought this was a bit odd, since there were people sitting nearby who were trying to study, and clearly, having the lights on would help them see better. I was hoping that the streetlights would soon come on so it would be a bit easier to see, but they didn't. Oh well, that didn't bother us much, we just talked until the shop closed, at which point we left amidst the heady aroma of a multitude of candles being extinguished at the same time.

When I got home, I got a message from another friend reminding me of Earth Hour, where everyone around the world banded together and turned off their lights for one hour, starting at 8:00 local time. I was dismayed to find that I had missed it, so I decided to turn my own lights off at 11:00, since I'm sure it was 8:00 somewhere.

So I surrounded myself with candles and read for an hour. When I turned the lights back on and blew out all the candles, the smell brought me back to the coffee shop earlier that evening. And that's when it hit me...

candles on the table... lights off in the coffee shop... no street lights...

I had already celebrated Earth Hour that day, and I never even realized it!

And, not only did I celebrate Earth Hour, but I did it TWICE in one day. How's that for effortless environmentalism.