It's a shame that most could not make an effort

We received a letter last night from a reader, during Earth Hour. He was very disappointed in the lack of participation for Earth Hour. While many of you feel it is a wasted effort, it is still something that was planned and should have happened. You may not believe in Halloween or St. Patrick's Day either, but they happen anyway, so this is not about whether you think Earth Hour is stupid or not, this is about apathy in the Grove by local businesses.

Many did participate like Greenstreet and Havana Grove and the Bookstore and the Windisch-Hunt Gallery, they went out of their way to buy candles and bags to put them in and to present movies and have specials and more. Above is Alissia at the gallery, enjoying a work of art by Eric Speyer. People actually enjoyed the art by candlelight. They sought it out, knowing the gallery would do something special.

I know Liliana Dones and the Chamber worked tirelessly to get this to happen. Apparently most of the local businesses don't have much respect for the Chamber or Earth Hour. Here is the letter sent in last night:

I am sitting in the Grove for Earth Hour as I write this, and it is disheartening to see the lack of effort made by the local businesses and city. Cocowalk is bright as day, Johnny Rockets is neon city, the trees are sparkling along the streets (normally I love this by the way, just not at this moment!!).

The signs for Chili's, Starbucks, The Gap, etc. are all high voltage as usual. I know they can't go dark in general and of course the kitchens need to be functional on a Saturday night, but at least show some environmental effort by shutting off the signs for an hour and light a few candles inside.

Greenstreet as usual is one of the few making a decent showing. Hell, even the city's sign advertising the "switch off" is lit up! If the Vegas Strip, Eiffel Tower, Golden Gate Bridge, can go dark for one stinkin' hour, the Grove could have at least made an effort to make a small statement. Disappointing....


Here are some friends in the South Grove who got it. That's Francesca Terry at left with friends who met in a park, shaded the lamp post and enjoyed the stars.

Photos by AnnaMaria Windisch-Hunt