That's right—last night was Earth Hour 2009, in which the whole world turns off its lights for an hour to give Gaia a little breathing space. What, you didn't hear about it? Neither did I, til I read about it on Dave's blog... and neither, it seems, did anyone in our neighborhood or visible area. I'm getting the distinct impression that this token and ultimately futile gesture has not breached the bastions of American unconformity. Can it be that the last eight years of propaganda have cost us our perspective, our sense of being part of a global problem and its solution? 
After catching the drift last week at Osage, I managed to forget again too! Until it was too late to remind others and barely time to observe this auspicious occasion ourselves. Off went the TV and, yes, even the computer!, on went a few candles. What do we do, non-electronically, with an hour of quiet and dark? We've forgotten how to behave! Some obligatory chit-chat about the fate of the world, coming fast and furiously it seems... about our personal awareness and commitment and the inadequacy thereof and new measures we should be adopting. And reminders of a simpler time, when it seemed there might be answers to the world's most troubling questions: listening to a few rounds of old folkies (some dead) on... vinyl! The archaic turntable, though powered by the grid, seemed more appropriate than the flickering blue box, oh so addictive.By the time we groped close to the clock with a candle, the hour was more than spent—we'd actually overshot the goal! And had a pleasant evening together to boot... something we should put on the agenda every week. This is an event we can celebrate anytime—it would do us all good to be reminded, I suspect, and... good practice for the future!
So, thanks, Dave, for making sure we didn't miss out this year!
(By the way, there's a great cartoon over at Tree Lobsters.)
No comments:
Post a Comment