The World Is Getting Darker . . . Literally

If nature is a mirror of humanity. . . .

In the second half of the 20th century, the world became, quite literally, a darker place.

Defying expectation and easy explanation, hundreds of instruments around the world recorded a drop in sunshine reaching the surface of Earth, as much as 10 percent from the late 1950's to the early 90's, or 2 percent to 3 percent a decade. In some regions like Asia, the United States and Europe, the drop was even steeper. In Hong Kong, sunlight decreased 37 percent. (Kenneth Chang, "Globe Grows Darker as Sunshine Diminishes 10% to 37%," New York Times, May 13, 2004)