A failed attempt...

I'm not so sure that last night's "Lights Out" experiment was too successful here in LA. I would imagine that there was more compliance in San Francisco, where people not only talk about being green, they take action. Frere Pigatschmo was worried that the streets would be filled with "freaked out" citizens when suddenly the city shut down to total blackness. Scanning the landscape at around 8:30, there were a few dark patches, but things looked pretty much the same. Of course the giant skyscrapers downtown remained fully illuminated. I'm sure there were lots of hard working souls in them (on a Saturday night!)

As part of a new job I have, I go into huge office buildings with completely empty floors - like 10 - 20,000 square feet per floor - there's no carpeting, there's no toilets, but without fail, the a/c is blasting and the lights are all on 24/7. In some cases, not only is the a/c blasting, but you'll find open windows or doors cooling the air outside. Is this an attempt to bring the global temperature down? Genius! By the way, it's supposed to be 101 degrees in LA tomorrow, which I think has something to do with the Santa Ana's, but still, can we get Al Gore over here with some palm fronds and a bucket of wine coolers?

(satellite photo of 2003 blackout in Northeast)