Leave a Light On For Earth Hour

From Peter Roff’s column in the U.S. News & World Report:

The modern environmental movement believes that mankind’s activities need to be regulated by government. […] It decries human achievement rather than celebrating it. And those who believe this way are once again calling on people to turn off their lights in observance of “Earth Hour.”

The proponents of “Earth Hour,” the Competitive Enterprise Institute says, want people to register their support for the planet by spending an hour sitting in the dark. The institute is taking another route, asking people to “Leave your lights on to express your appreciation for the inventions and innovations that make today the best time to be alive and the recognition that future solutions require individual freedom not government coercion.”

They’re calling it “Human Achievement Hour” or “HAH,” and they want people to observe it by spending the hour “from 8:30 pm to 9:30 pm on March 31 enjoying the benefits of capitalism and human innovation: Gather with friends in the warmth of a heated home, watch television, take a hot shower, drink a beer, call a loved one on the phone, or listen to music.”

“HAH is an annual event meant to recognize and celebrate the fact that this is the greatest time to be alive,” the institute said in a release, “and that the reason we have come is that people have been free to use their minds and the resources in their environment to experiment, create, and innovate. Participants in HAH recognize the necessity to protect the individual persons from government coercion, so that we may continue innovating and improving our lives and the world around us.”