The world [allegedly] plunges into darkness as millions [allegedly] switch off for climate change

ORGANISERS of Earth Hour are claiming that this year's event has been the most successful yet, with 126 countries and more than 4000 cities and towns taking part in the global protest.
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The Earth Hour executive director, Andy Ridley, said it was not possible to put a figure on worldwide participation but it would be in the "hundreds of millions".  [how was this number calculated?]

"It has been much bigger than we thought," he said. "It's just massive. The trend without doubt is going in one direction - people are really concerned about the issue."

But there are signs Earth Hour may be losing some of its momentum in Australia - where it originated four years ago - with just 41 per cent of Australian adults in capital cities saying they took part in the lights-out protest, according to a poll by AMR Interactive. That figure is down from 58 per cent in 2008 and 47 per cent last year.

Greg Bourne, the chief executive of WWF Australia, one of the originators of the idea, denied the Australian figures were disappointing: "Forty per cent participation across Australia is still a credible show of support."

2009 flashback: Reuters Claims One Billion People Took Part in 'Earth Hour' | NewsBusters.org

Four paragraphs later appears "BILLION PEOPLE TAKE PART." That isn't supported by what follows, which reports that the founding organization "is hoping one billion people from nearly 90 countries will take part."

Global Warming Out in the Cold -- In These Times

There’s no denying it: the past winter was a bleak, brutal season for climate scientists and global-warming activists. The most obvious change, climate-wise, was in the realm of public opinion, which cooled considerably to the idea that human activity is warming the earth.

The trillion-dollar question is: who will now lead the climate [hoax] battle? | Environment | The Observer

Political and business leaders gather this week in an attempt to revive the world's faltering challenge to global warming. But they face a battle to lift the cloud of scepticism that has descended over climate science and chart a new way forward
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"We are in a world of disarray. The US is laughing and there is no evidence that rich countries have the appetite to take on the US and go it alone. It is a mess," said Martin Khor, director of the South Centre, an inter-governmental developing country think tank based in Geneva.

It is a depressing backdrop for Wednesday's talks in London, but it does not mean that all is lost.