Environmentalists are taking a page from North Korea, encouraging Americans to turn off the lights in celebration of “Earth Hour” tonight. The Communist dictatorship, of course, is in the dark every night.
Tonight’s event, scheduled for 8:30 local time, is sponsored by the World Wildlife Fund. It’s the third year environmentalists have embarked on the campaign asking people around the globe to cut the lights. They claim to have swayed 80 million Americans and 318 U.S. cities to flip the switch last year. Some notable landmarks included the Empire State Building, Brooklyn Bridge, Las Vegas Strip, United Nations Headquarters, Golden Gate Bridge, Seattle’s Space Needle and Gateway Arch in St. Louis.
The Competitive Enterprise Institute has had enough. Rather than plunging into darkness and despair for Earth Hour, CEI is asking Americans to keep the lights on for Human Achievement Hour. Pitting the events as human innovation vs. stagnation, CEI’s Michelle Minton said, “We are so proud that millions of people plan to show their appreciation for human achievement by doing things like eating dinner, watching television, going to the movies, and brushing their teeth.”
Even though the World Wildlife Fund boasts an impressive list of supporters, CEI has a list of its own: The U.S. Marine Corps won’t pull its troops from the battlefield, The New York Times will publish a newspaper, approximately 30,000 movies will be screened, and hospital emergency and operating rooms will remain in operation. Wal-Mart also plans to stay open — with the lights on.
