Earth Hour: Why Not Boston?

Should Boston join cities around the world dimming their lights for Earth Hour next year?

San Francisco, Chicago and Phoenix were among U.S. cities that joined the worldwide effort to publicize energy savings. A spokeswoman for Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino said she wasn't sure why Boston didn't take part but added that residents are urged to act wisely all year round regarding energy usage.

A Boston.com readers' forum on the topic has shown support for Boston's participation next Earth Hour, this Earth Day (April 22) or immediately. "Boston should have invented'' Earth Hour, wrote one participant. Of turning off lights at nighttime in office buildings, another participant wrote: "Not just in 2009, but every night!''

According to the Toronto Star, usage fell 9 percent throughout Toronto between 8 and 9 p.m. Saturday -- and 5 percent throughout the Canadian province of Ontario.

Michael Prager writes that author and environmentalist Bill McKibben is pursuing another path to advocate for lower levels of carbon in our atmosphere. McKibben, speaking Saturday in Boston, said he is starting a website dedicated to reducing carbon parts per million in our atmosphere to 350 from 385. McKibben says the amount of carbon, once 275 parts per million before the Industrial Revolution, is rising at 2 parts per million a year.