Bronx Zoo Cancels Holiday Lights in Bid to Lessen Footprint

bronx zoo holiday lights photo

If you’re one of the legions of animal lovers who’ve spent a holiday evening admiring the lights at the Bronx Zoo but deploring the carbon emissions they inevitably create there’s good news for you. The Wildlife Conservation Society has decided to move the annual event to daylight hours to create an extravaganza that won’t leave a giant footprint behind when you’re gone.

This year they’re expecting the celebration to include holiday activities like storytelling at the
Children's Zoo, a visit with reindeer on Astor Court, ice carving demonstrations, costumed characters, festive music, sea lion feedings, and the ubiquitous “more”.

Of course, there will be some of us who will rue the absence of holiday lights at the zoo, but the estimated electricity usage during the annual Holiday Lights has been approximately 650-750 kilowatts of electricity per hour. And with the event
running for five hours each night during the holiday season, it has meant about 3,500 kilowatts per night, which equals about two metric tons of CO2 emissions per night, with last years 33 night event giving off the equivalent of one three-person household in the U.S.

This year's event will run from Dec. 6-Jan. 4, and should be a blast.

Via: Press Release

More on the Bronx Zoo
Madagascar! to Open at Bronx Zoo in Green, Refurbished Lion House

Old Zoo, New Tricks