Britain's Street Lights Dimmed?

I used to be cynical about this until the University of London Observatory at Mill Hill in North London got a fantastic result a couple of years ago after a long campaign with the authorities, with the lighting on the adjacent A41 dual carriageway, which had been a problem for decades.

The new system of directional lighting, focussed on the road, is so efficient that walking alongside it is quite eerie, and in fact they had to install new pathway lighting in the grounds of the observatory so you can see where you're going ! It just goes to show what good canvassing can sometimes achieve.

Perhaps the govt is unaware of/has forgotten about this, but surely it must be a better solution than what is now being proposed, saving about 30% of the energy at a stroke.

www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co....tech/747/747we74.htm

If the idiots just AIMED outdoor lights properly you could halve the power consumption tomorrow morning. (And bring down light pollution to a quarter).

The lighting industry is a paradigm for bad design,waste and profligacy.
It is the IDIOT BRANCH of all engineering.

Peter.

And I thought I was a cynic :lol:

I thought I was a cynic!

Mike, you summed it up pretty well above there.

I think it is a good idea to be honest. It is no different to every one of us doing the same in our own homes. In the not-so-longterm, the benefits would be obvious. With Tony Blair getting a bit of a hammering of late with proposals to really cut Britains UK carbon emissions, something has to be done.

I heard on the radio news today that the average Winter temperatures in Ireland this year were 7.5 degrees above average - the warmest winter since records began about 125 years ago.

Seanie.

Hi all

I was driving back fron Enniskerry this afternoon, I headed towards the Scalp, just beyond, before the ski slope, the road had been improved, they built new footpaths on the left hand side, and then placed a lamp post at intervals of approximately 5-10 metres, this amazed me as it seemed total overkill, there were dozens of them. Now I can't understand why they are all needed that specific location, but a trip past them some night might be an eyeopener and sunglasses might be required.

Paul

I know where you're talking about Paul, was in the area last Saturday night. It did seem overkill, considering just how quiet the area was. No traffic, actually. Very little in the way of pubs/club pedestrian traffic too.