But the safety of beaming it back--proposals call for converting the radiated energy into a narrow microwave beam, which would then be collected and converted into electrical energy on earth--makes many people uncomfortable.

FORBES: Galactic Gold Mine?

Rather than being dissipated into the earth, the electrical charge stays in the key, which throws off sparks when approached, say, by the experimenter's finger.

FORBES: Magazine Article

Earth Hour does lessen the electrical load of power plants to some extent, thus making a small contribution for that hour by lessening the amount of coal burned.

FORBES: Moving Beyond The Symbolism Of Earth Hour

When we think of Earth Day, many of us think of good ol' hippies bent on living off the electrical grid, drinking spring water from somewhere and recycling everything -- bottles, shoes and lint maybe.

CNN: 'The Science Guy' says: 'Save the Earth'

Solar blasts heading toward Earth can stoke up beautiful auroras in the nighttime sky, and wreak havoc on communications satellites and electrical power grids.

CNN: Sun flips magnetic field