Cities To Go Dark

"It's lights out come 8 p.m. Saturday for the TransAmerica pyramid, the Golden Gate Bridge, and businesses and dwellings across San Francisco."

"Citizens plan to shut off nonessential lighting for an hour in the name of conservation – and community. Restaurants will serve dinner by candlelight, astronomy buffs will be out with their scopes, and musicians will rock out on power from a biodiesel bus."

"For anyone who has wondered about the wastefulness of the bright lights in big cities, it turns out that some simple fixes do work. US skylines, particularly in California, have become 'greener' in recent years with the help of new technologies, tighter regulations, and simple changes in behavior."

"'If you look at the San Francisco skyline at night, it's a whole lot darker than it used to be,' says Ken Cleveland, director of government public affairs for the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) here. 'Some people in the past would have lighting on their buildings at night as part of their signature, [but] times are changing.'"