What is wrong with the dark? (pollution, charge, energy, garbage)
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We see a lot of hype on TV about all the devices we have that are 'vampires' consuming power. All the little power transformers to charge our phones, the cable box, the DVD player, etc., etc., etc.
Ok they are consuming power, small amounts, and in every household it surely adds up.
Why do I never see anything about the huge amounts of power consumed by unnecessary outside lighting? Why do people feel the need to create a pool of light pollution in the middle of a quiet dark neighborhood? Another observation is the people that do this are almost always from the north. If you drove down my street at 2 AM and noted all the houses with outside lights, vs. houses in the dark, the lighted are from NY or NJ primarily.
It is lovely here, very few street lights, and while you can't see the milky way anymore due to light pollution, you can see lots of stars. Now a couple from NY bought next door, and they have at least 1000 watts of outdoor lighting on 24/7 as the don't even turn them off during the day. No timers, no motion detectors, just always on.
When will the 'that ain't green' crowd broach the topic of outside lighting, or is this just a taboo topic as too many people are scared of the dark? In 24 hours they consume more power than my vampires do in a year.
Think of the energy savings if downtown metro areas would simply cut back on their late night lighting.
Last Thanksgiving, my wife & I went to see our sons in Minneapolis. We got there extremely late - something like 2:30 AM. Driving in was bizarre, because ALL of the downtown skyscrapers had about 90% of all their lights off. I'm not sure what was going on, but it got me thinking...
I've also noticed many people (at least here) seem to leave all of their indoor overhead lights on. In most cases that means that, for a particular room, they'll be using more light bulbs at a time than if they were using their table lamps. But disregarding that, having overhead lights on when you're just watching tv seems miserable. I personally much prefer table lamps with fairly low-wattage bulbs. But then again, I like the dark more than most probably.
Texans leave their lights on as well, so it's not just a northern thing....
We live in the city, on a corner (so 2 street lights) across from a small JW Church which has a monster light in its parking lot all night long. While they can argue it's necessity at night until 10 or so (they always have services til then), there is ZERO need for it to be on all night. Between that, the street lights, and the general light pollution, I can see pretty well in my yard at night - which is ok when I'm trying to do something like painting after dark, but not so ok otherwise....
I get particularly annoyed come Christmas time when neighborhoods do their over-the-top displays. Huge waste of power.
We used to have a light outside on a motion sensor, but the stray cats set it off so often, and with the other lights, none additional were necessary, that we disabled it. We never even turn on our porch light.
That is my reason for leaving the light on in at the front and back door of my home. It's a mild deterrent for intruders, peeping toms, and any other undesireables. Only drawback is it attracts bugs, but I'll take bugs over prowlers any day.
It is a common indicator of someone who has only recently moved to Maine. Folks coming in from 'away' often setup "Security lighting". Making their property lit-up like day time. The glow can be seen in the treeline from neighboring homes, as new folks light up the sky.
After a year or three, they either turn off their lights, or they move away. They either 'discover' the night sky, or else, well, some folks have a hard time adjusting to rural living.
I think that urban dwellers have a lot more crime to contend with, and since urban areas are usually already well lit-up; they never realize that the night sky is pretty.
Our closest town that has a 'downtown' has no street lights.
We have outdoor lights, but they are set on a motion detector, so they only turn on if someone is around the house. Otherwise they are off.
I have outside lights, on a motion detector. They come on when we get home after dark, when I walk the dogs before going to bed, even come on when a bear comes by to check out the garbage can.
Again using less power in a year than the paranoid neighbors use in a day.
It is a common indicator of someone who has only recently moved to Maine. Folks coming in from 'away' often setup "Security lighting". Making their property lit-up like day time. The glow can be seen in the treeline from neighboring homes, as new folks light up the sky.
After a year or three, they either turn off their lights, or they move away. They either 'discover' the night sky, or else, well, some folks have a hard time adjusting to rural living.
I think that urban dwellers have a lot more crime to contend with, and since urban areas are usually already well lit-up; they never realize that the night sky is pretty.
Our closest town that has a 'downtown' has no street lights.
People moving here from the closer in suburbs do the same crap.
We see a lot of hype on TV about all the devices we have that are 'vampires' consuming power. All the little power transformers to charge our phones, the cable box, the DVD player, etc., etc., etc.
Ok they are consuming power, small amounts, and in every household it surely adds up.
Why do I never see anything about the huge amounts of power consumed by unnecessary outside lighting? Why do people feel the need to create a pool of light pollution in the middle of a quiet dark neighborhood? Another observation is the people that do this are almost always from the north. If you drove down my street at 2 AM and noted all the houses with outside lights, vs. houses in the dark, the lighted are from NY or NJ primarily.
It is lovely here, very few street lights, and while you can't see the milky way anymore due to light pollution, you can see lots of stars. Now a couple from NY bought next door, and they have at least 1000 watts of outdoor lighting on 24/7 as the don't even turn them off during the day. No timers, no motion detectors, just always on.
When will the 'that ain't green' crowd broach the topic of outside lighting, or is this just a taboo topic as too many people are scared of the dark? In 24 hours they consume more power than my vampires do in a year.
What is with bringing this to a forum, instead of being neighborly, introducing yourself, and discussing the issue. It never ceases to amaze me that people would rather complain, complain, complain than confront an issue and see if it can be resolved. Have you tried this? Or do energy abusing, light polluting New Yorkers scare you
People from different areas have different lifestyles. Myself, if that was me next door, I'd rather have you come shake my hand and discuss the situation than have you rocking in the corner of your bedroom, sweating and shaking in anger and hatred over a few light bulbs.
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