Parts of the UK to Extinguish Street Lamps
July 19, 2006 by admin
Filed under Green Living
Essex county – the most populous in the United Kingdom – will be embarking on an interesting experiment this coming fall. In an attempt to reduce the county government’s energy consumption by a third, the council has passed an initiative to turn off select street lamps in its rural townships from midnight until 5am.
Timer devices will be installed on the selected lamps to facilitate the automatic shut-offs and it is hoped that the plan will provide about £1 million ($1.8 million USD) in annual savings, in addition to significant carbon emission reductions.
Environmentalists and star-gazers are happy with the plan, though there is some concern that if too many lights are turned off, folks may feel unsafe in certain areas and resort to driving in situations where they may currently walk. I’ll be interested to see how the plan goes and whether other local governments choose to follow step.
Check out more details via GroovyGreen.
I want to know how much the timing devises will cost to install?
Probably more than the savings.
As a curmugeonly Brit, it’s my civic duty to point out:
1. It’s called “Essex” or perhaps “The county of Essex” never “Essex county”
2. It’s a “county council” not a “county government” – http://www.essexcc.gov.uk
3. What the heck is a “rural township”, a village?
4. We call it “autumn” not “fall”