Was Earth Hour a bust? So it appeared in the San Fernando Valley of California, as demographically close to Middle America as anywhere.

I  stood on my balcony before the witching hour of 8:30 p.m., overlooking a vast landscape of twinkling lights, illuminated apartment buildings, pizza parlors, supermarkets and suburban bungalows.

I waited. Even hoped.

The minutes ticked by. I squinted. Could I see a single light winking off in the distance?

Nope.

I glanced up the hill behind my house. Every home’s lights were ablaze. The outdoor bulbs in the garden of my neighbor, a hairdresser, gleamed defiantly. A bright glow issued from the windows of the neighbor across the street, a hospital technician.

8:40 p.m. … no change.

9 p.m….no change.

How could this be when the World Wildlife Fund and its PR agencies were churning out press releases about how from Scott Base in Antarctica to the Great Pyramids of Egypt, lights were dimming to demand that something be done about climate change?

A billion people might participate, they had claimed.

Source – LA Times

Popularity: 46% [?]