Earth Hour Baby Boom

Yeah

Another good idea--and there are precious few of them these days--from Down Under: Turn off some of that major light pollution for one hour Saturday night.(NB: Earth Hour was Saturday, March 29th.)

It's called "Earth Hour" and was started last year in Sydney. This year, over 370 cities and towns around the world are expected to turn off most of the lights at landmarks and major government edifices at 9 GMT for 60 minutes. The idea, which you've no doubt guessed, is--no, not to cause panic in the streets--but to increase awareness of global warming.

We think it's a great idea if only because of the energy it will save. The only potential drawback could be the overall increase in the planet's carbon footprint. That's right, more babies.

On the other hand, we could all turn off our televisions for the hour (advertising dollars be damned) and shut down our (no, don't say it!) computers as well. Then we could just turn on a lamp with an energy-saving CFL bulb and read a book. (Okay, if you must, a Kindle.)