The big deal: Has Earth Hour run its course? - thestar.com

McDonald’s restaurants across Canada plan to dim their Golden Arches again this year (staying open for business throughout the hour, of course).
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In 2010, Toronto already seemed a bit disillusioned with the initiative. Toronto Hydro recorded a lower drop in power usage compared to the year before — 10 per cent versus 15.1 per cent. Dundas Square’s billboards went dark — all except for Forever 21’s sign, which awkwardly kept blazing. It’s unclear whether that was a gesture of climate-skeptic defiance or a teenage employee dozing off.

Of course, Torontonians might unexpectedly embrace the day this year, taking advantage of the warmer weather to shut off the heat and even take to the streets. But if we don’t, WWF hopefully won’t take it the wrong way. All gimmicks, even noble ones, have a shelf life.

The Long Emergency: Surviving the End of Oil, Climate Change, and Other Converging Catastrophes of the Twenty-First Century

"...America’s dependence on oil is too pervasive to undo quickly, [Kunstler] warns. . . . In the meantime, we’ll have our hands full dealing with . . . the soaring temperatures, rising sea levels and mega-droughts brought by global climate change. Not long ago, a Jeremiah like Kunstler would have been dismissed as a kook. . . . As brilliant as it is baleful . . . and we disregard it at our peril.” —The Washington Post