More "Simple Things First" - Dallas Style
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 05.23.07
Kids everywhere need to be told to turn off the lights. So too, do businesses that leave the lights on all night for the sake of making the building look "cool." Thousands of Dallas' city lights "could fall dark four hours each night under an ordinance Dallas City Council members will consider Wednesday as part of a broader effort to conserve energy and reduce power plant emissions. According to an ordinance draft, businesses citywide would be required to switch off most of their exterior and signage lighting between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. That includes: --Decorative lighting, "such as lighting that illuminates or outlines a building's facades or elements"; --Lighting used to illuminate fountains, sculptures, flagpoles and other similar structures; --Landscape illumination lighting; --Lighting that illuminates premise signs, whether attached to or separate from a building. Violators could face fines of up to $2,000. Among the ordinance's exemptions are security, hospital, traffic control, residential and transportation lighting. State and federal government facilities, as well as businesses open and operating between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m., would also be exempt, according to the ordinance." This is surely an idea deserving of consideration by every North American city. No point in quarreling over the need for more coal plants until we try the simple things first. Use the saved energy to run the Ice Bear and then the day time capacties will be freed up as well. Via:: Dallas Morning News and various complimentary sources. Image credit:: visit-Dallas.com For more simple things to try look here and here.
It's too bad that they feel the need to actually pass a law for this kind of thing. It seems a bit overkill, to me.
A simple PR campaign would probably suffice, since turning off lights would benefit the business owners anyway, by reducing their electicity bills.
Well done Dallas!
Who are they trying to impress with these lights on at 4am anyway? NASA?
I went to my girlfriend's office in a multi-company highrise last weekend, and was shocked to see that every light in the offices and hallways were turned on, just as if it were a workday.
I asked her why her company doesn't turn the lights off, and she said that there aren't even light switches in the office, that the lights are controlled by the building managers.
Totally criminal. They need to do a "Dateline" episode on this.
Don't congratulate Dallas just yet. A lot of the people in control of things downtown are complaining that this will hamper efforts to make Dallas a 24-hour city. They're complaining that the Dallas skyline just won't be the same without the lights from 2-6. Personally, I think it's a no-brainer, but there are a lot of people around here who can think of nothing further than their own bottom lines.
Yeah, it is discriminatory, since it does put a damper on future development, and doesn't seem to allow for sustainable energy sources for the lights. Again, I think this should be a simple PR campaign, not a complex and bureauocratic law.
As Treehugger says: simple things first! A simple request would be a great place to start.
http://www.cojoweb.com/earthlights.html
a few more places we could turn off the lights