Everyone in Sydney was asked to turn out the lights – be it in their home or their place of work at 7.30pm on Saturday, March 31st - for one hour, in an effort to reduce energy consumption, and in turn reduce greenhouse gas emissions. That sounds like a fantastic idea. Doesn’t it?

Media reports that there was a 10% reduction in energy consumption, and that’s a commendable effort. This number was actually double the reduction that the WWF were anticipating. That said, whilst the Sydney Harbour Bridge and other prominent landmarks around the city were plunged into darkness, there were many buildings that were still lit up. Out to the east, it seemed that many of the residents weren’t up to the task either.

Eastern suburbs at 7pm and 7.45pm - Photo: Kimberley Crofts

Such a brilliant job was done by the government departments of this state – so much so that there were several floors were still illuminated in the office space on Elizabeth Street near Central Station come 7.30pm. A real shame that they couldn’t pull their fingers out of their collective proverbials to make a strong showing for such an important cause.

We dined in candlelight at Bodega - the darkness added a nice touch to the dining experience, and it goes to show that lights aren’t necessary. Our local pub decided to ignore the event, as did many other businesses in the neighbourhood. Come 8.30pm, the lights were back on in the restaurant, which was a shame, because there certainly wasn’t any need.

Here’s the proof

Call me a cynic, but here’s a closing thought for you. We talk about the energy that was saved, the 10% reduction. But, did those numbers take into account the energy that was used in the production of all the candles that were used? Or, the harmful gases that were expelled from non-beeswax (petroleum based) candles? Furthermore, how was the energy reduction determined? I believe it was based on energy consumption on this date over the past three years. Now, I really do hope that we didn’t have either an unusually hot day on this date which would have skewed the consumption data – but I’m sure there would have been someone who thought about that.

Anyway, it is a positive step in the right direction. Let’s hope that more people can think about doing the obvious (and admittedly, something that we absently do from time to time) – i.e. turning lights off in a room when you’re not using it.

Just perhaps we should have an Earth Hour everyday.