Record energy consumption has been accompanied by improving air quality. The EPA reported that urban air quality is almost 60 percent better today than in 1970 in the U.S.
Environmentalists critical of electrified America must have mixed emotions this time of the year. It may be the season of good cheer and goodwill toward all, but it is also the time of the most conspicuous of energy consumption. America the Beautiful is at her best in December when billions of stringed light bulbs on buildings and trees turn the mundane or darkness itself into magnificent beauty and celebration.