Turn Out The Lights!!!!

[YuccaFlatsRanch]

When the turn out the lights, I'll consider them at least semi-serious about saving energy and worth listening to about global warming.

http://geology.com/articles/satellit...at-night.shtml

[rscheiderer]

I remember the energy crisis of the 70s...the motto at our house was "empty rooms should be dark." I hear myself saying it to my husband and grandson a lot recently.

[tinknal]

I'm surprised India is so well lit. I bet this map would match economic indicator maps.

[edmonds]

Most of the light seen in these images are from unshielded outdoor fixtures. Shielded fixtures shine the light down towards the ground, make it easier to see without the binding glare of unshielded lights, and conserve energy because you can use a dimmer bulb. Unfortunately, unshielded fixtures are easier to find in stores, and people seem to love those "lantern" style porch lights. A few communities in the US have lighting restrictions. And some of the newer shopping center parking lots have shielded lights and they look really nice.

You might think you could escape the city lights by moving out to the country. But then you discover that there are country lights, and they seem worse because they appear so bright by contrast to the otherwise dark sky.

[Alice In TX/MO]

Global warming? Does anyone still believe in that hoax?

[ErinP]

I just posted this on another thread, but it's worthy of cross-posting. I find it alarming, actually.

Click here for a link to a larger pic, as well as photos of other countries.
The space pics of night time lights are very misleading because of course they only pick up urban centers.
This shows a more realistic image of what is truly visible on the ground and how much light is genuinely given off...

Most of us do not live in an area where it gets genuinely dark at night. Having lived in areas of the absolute black on the map, and just the pale gray, there's a noticeable difference between how much light is in the night sky.

[mamaof3peas]

very interesting photo!

[||Downhome||]

we had a strech of highway we would travel and there where a number or poorer nieghborhoods and one more effluent and my dad pointed out one day one difference between the two, he asked what I noticed well all the poorer areas had every light in the place on and well the better off had not one. he said to me thats why the rich stay rich and the poor stay poor (well I didnt and still dont buy that entirely I do agree it is a contributing factor) you can still drive that strech and see the same thing (talking about 10,000 and even less to 5 million dollar housing)

[ChristieAcres]

That is so cool since we are so frugal... Leaving lights on is a pet peeve to me, so now I can rest assured that we are slated to be rich....ROFL, of course one can only hope frugality will pay off in a very big way...

[EDDIE BUCK]

That real bright spot in Tenn,bet a quarter its Al Gores climate control fuel saving in action.Lead the way Mr Gore.

[culpeper]

Downhome, may I remind you that 'effluent' is defined as:

Wastewater--treated or untreated--that flows out of a treatment plant, sewer, or industrial outfall. Generally refers to wastes discharged into surface waters.

'Affluent' is defined as:

Generously supplied with money, property, or possessions; prosperous or rich.

Oh! the different one little vowel makes!!

Alex in TX/MO: Global warning is NOT a myth, not even in your own backyard. It is manifesting in a thousand different ways - and it IS global. Each one of us can do something do slow it down. Every little helps.

But back to the OP. I find the picture alarming. Think of the WASTE!! Rscheiderer has it right. Empty rooms don't need to be lit. That applies to industry as well as homes.

Years ago, in my youth, I spent some years in the Outback of Australia, where I might at any one time be literally hundreds of miles from the nearest homestead. Out there, I learned just how many stars there really are in the sky, and what the moon really looks like. A sunset didn't just show up in the western sky, and a sunrise didn't just show up in the eastern sky - it showed up all around the horizon.

I cannot tell you how beautiful it was at night, out there. I remember one night when I spotted the headlights of a car coming towards us from the distance, and I raced to get 'respectable'. I needn't have bothered. That vehicle took nearly 2 hours to reach us. The night-air was as clear as that! Wonderful!

Moving back to the city, where Nature's light-lights were hidden by Man's lights and by pollution, I was made aware for the first time of what damage we've done to this planet of ours. Truly, it was an eye-opener.

Does anyone here use solar-lighting for their garden pathways, outdoor steps and the like?

[naturelover]

Does anyone here use solar-lighting for their garden pathways, outdoor steps and the like?

Those are very commonly used here where I live, or else motion detector lights.

.

[naturelover]

Originally Posted by tinknal

I'm surprised India is so well lit. I bet this map would match economic indicator maps.

Why does that surprise you? India has a population of 1.17 billion people.

.

[meanwhile]

At our house in the country it gets black at night. We can see a glow from Greenville, SC area and another towards Asheville (when we hike up our ridge) but around us it is dark. My older boys bought a house in Asheville to be near UNC-A and when visiting we all had trouble sleeping. At first we thought it was just the "city noise" but realized later it was the lights! Even with mini-blinds and curtains there is still a "glow". Our youngest son (we stay in town 2 nights a week for him to meet Homeschool groups) decided to move his bed into a closet! He gets in there to sleep and calls it his "Sleeping Cave!"

[ErinP]

We can see a glow from Greenville, SC area and another towards Asheville (when we hike up our ridge) but around us it is dark

That means it doesn't get truly dark.
In the truly dark areas, you can't see the glow of anything. Even the occasional yard light is more like a star in the distance. Just a single point of light.

culpeper is right. It's something you have to experience to truly understand.
Most people don't even realize what they're missing.

[HermitJohn]

Originally Posted by Alice In TX/MO

Global warming? Does anyone still believe in that hoax?

The ice caps and glaciers are indeed melting at an ever increasing rate. Deny that and you are just showing how deep your head is in the sand. There is no credible scientist denying that. And we are getting more extremes of wet/dry and hot/cold weather. But no, North Dakota isnt becoming the second Hawaii if thats what global warming means to you.

Believe what you want, twist what you want, man is having bad effect on the planet. Too many humans using too many resources IS a BIG problem. The planet and its resources are finite yet we continue to treat it as infinite.

[Bearfootfarm]

The ice caps and glaciers are indeed melting at an ever increasing rate.

Some are. Others are getting bigger
Overall there is a net GAIN

[MattPA]

HermitJohn, get your head out your (fill in the blank). Global Warming , global cooling is not man made. The world goes in cycles. We only have (I mean had) 150 years of climate data before the global warming alarmists destroyed it because it actually proved them wrong and they make money off the global warming theory. A single active volcano spews more pollution into the atmosphere then all of mankind. And snow, rain take those pollutants back down into the ground where there originated from anyway. And as far as greenhouse gases go, yes we should prevent them from entering the atmosphere in the first case but the oceans (Algea) and forests suck up the CO2 and use it to produce oxygen. So if you want to truly slow down heating stop cutting down trees. And Nigeria has had oil well fires burning for at least 10 years and will not put them out because it costs to much money. And it is true icecaps are melting as they usually do from time to time but then they also grow elsewhere. We have already had several ice ages. The time between these are attributed to global warming. Wow, what a concept.

[ronbre]

lantern style lights can easily be lit with LED's..they have the screw base bulbs now that are just as bright, or brighter, than incandescents..they are difficult to find but i have gotten them at walmart..and are about $4 to $5 each..but they work very well.

[edmonds]

Conserving energy (and money) by using solar lighting and LEDs will not help much with preserving what's left of the dark skies. Most of those solar garden/path lights that I have seen are not shielded, and LEDs "that are just as bright, or brighter, than incandescents" are no better than the lights they are replacing.

To minimize the effects of lights on the night sky, people must use shielded outdoor fixtures, or better yet, turn off exterior lighting when not needed. Unfortunately, some think exterior lights are "needed" all night long and nothing will convince them otherwise.