A Picture is Worth... Hong Kong at Night
by Michael Graham Richard, Gatineau, Canada on 02.25.08
How will we power the cities of the future? That is one of the Big Questions right now.
Huge gains can be made by focusing on efficiency. So much energy is wasted and doesn't do anything productive. There are also huge almost untapped sources in solar power, ocean power, geothermal, wind power, smart use of biomass (f.ex. algae, waste). How will it work out? We don't know, but as Alan Kay said: "The best way to predict the future is to invent it." Lets all do our part, either by working directly on solutions or spreading information and creating a cultural and political context that will accept change.
Photo by Trey Ratcliff. Go see a full-size version to get the full effect. Via reddit.
Very nice. That's a high dynamic range (HDR) photo, too.
"That's a high dynamic range (HDR) photo, too."
Indeed. It's a very cool technique. If you check out the guy's flickr page, there are more examples of it.
This is a beautiful way to waste energy.
It's also worth remembering that such high density cities are far more energy efficient that most US cities or rural areas. All those large buildings make for high volumes relative to surface area and low transport distances.
I have to wonder what time that was taken. It looks to be about 8 pm. In which case, the lights would go down by midnight.
If its 2 am, thats a problem.
That photo just got added to my faves list on flickr. I agree, a beautiful waste - especially when most of that electricity is produced by coal.
Great - now I'm going to have to venture out to the city again and shoot a ton of HDR shots because this one is the perfect example of HDR tonemapping's ability to make city lights spectacular. If only I lived next to Hong Kong.
Hong Kong is already environmentally-friendly.....so many public transport routes....and over 90% of daily trips are by Public Transport (by Wikipedia and Transport Department Hong Kong)