Dark streets

When landing in a flight over any city at night, ever wondered at the display of lighting on the roads? As you zoom in, you can see many of the streets almost empty of people. Should we be wasting so much electricity? Or can we incorporate some smart sensors that turn them on when required?

Street lighting accounts for 566,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide being pumped into the atmosphere a year. In a recent policy paper, it has been suggested that reducing street lighting could be a significant help towards C02 savings. One of the add-ons is that urbanites can see the night sky in all its splendour!

More than 20 local councils in the UK have reduced street lighting. The savings to the council taxpayer can be significant. An estimated £122m is wasted each year on unnecessary street lighting in Britain. Powys saved £225,000 by cutting back on street lighting. Some of the lights they switched off have been reinstated after concerns from residents, but most have stayed off.

Are the dangers from dark streets bigger than the power crisis? What do you think?