Bronx Zoo Cancels Holiday Lights in Bid to Lessen Footprint
by Kenny Luna, North Babylon, NY 
on 08.20.08
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
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The tree at Rockefeller Center last year was run off of solar power. Perhaps the Bronx Zoo should reduce the amount of lights and set up a solar station to power the lights at night.
This is Great!
Agghhhhhh! Not "650-750 kilowatts of electricity per hour" per night or per furlong! Please get your basic science right ot the whole piece is rendered useless and annoying!
Rgds
Damon
Wow, that hair shirt is starting to feel really nice.
So, where's this 'press release'? There's nothing on the Bronx Zoo site, and the only Google references to this cancellation are this story, or trackbacks to it.