Last night, I was one of the many Sydney-ites who watched the red, blue and yellow lights go off as part of Earthhour. I was lucky to have been in the Quay, glancing towards the Harbour Bridge when it turned a hauntingly gothic black, with only a white strip of safety road lights.

Earthhour - absence of power but so full of it at the same time. Power to see how things might be and could be if only… yes, culture shift occurs within each corporation and individual. Would it be such a bad thing to ban staff members from entering their work premises on the weekend? Surely this is what laptops and remote access are for! Maybe then, each and every large office building would be black every weekend; not for one hour but from Saturday morning until Sunday night. The prominent corporate logos would be on but it would be a message to others that they care about their staff, the environment and their bottom line. Does this sound too simple? I think not. If multi-national companies can win awards for being things such as Employer of Choice for Women and others then surely an initiative can be created around the reduction of power in the CBD. Wow, if at least 10% of energy in the CBD was saved last night for that one hour, imagine how much would be saved in the longer term. Culture shift.

Has anyone ever noticed that elevators in the CBD offices tend to have a ‘force close’ button AND a ‘force open’ button, whereas suburban lifts tend to only have a ‘force open’ button? Does this say something about our social psyche in the city? Are they specially designed for us time poor individuals who don’t want to let in that slow PA with the high clicky heels, who we know has just got their skinny cap (and is running late for work, just like us)!