Forty-seven years ago today, an eerie darkness spread over much of the northeastern United States from Canada, beginning at 5:16 p.m. A massive electrical blackout caused by human error eventually enveloped 80,000 square miles, putting the health and safety of 30 million people at risk for up to 12 long hours. Even though the blackout of August 2003 affected more people, the 1965 outage is still the best remembered major blackout, as it was the first to make people aware of their total dependence on electric-powered technology. Each year, more than 4 trillion kilowatts of electricity are generated by U.S. power companies. This results in revenues of $121 billion a year. You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau, online at <www.census.gov>.