Lights Out

This morning a local conservative talk show was talking about a plan in San Francisco and now LA to turn off all the lights in the city (on Oct. 20, 2007) to save energy. The host, who likes to expose the lies of the global warming crowd and their "high priest," Al Gore, even suggested that we turn on every light in our homes on that date.

Now I have a problem with that. No I don't necessarily disagree with his global warming arguments. Nor do I disagree with his complaint that they used to urge people to turn on lights to scare off criminals. So why do I have a problem with his suggestion?

Because I am frugal and I write a frugal/debt-elimination blog. So what does that have to do with it. Simple, if you turn off all the nonessential lights on that day, you can save money on your energy bill. Of course, I urge people to this, not just one day a year but every day of the year.

Although San Francisco's energy-saving event has been in the works for six months, with cooperation from city officials and the chamber of commerce to black out the Golden Gate Bridge, the Transamerica Pyramid and Alcatraz, among other landmarks, Los Angeles officials hope to get the word out in a matter of weeks. They'll use public service announcements, advertising at public facilities and partnerships with local universities. Plus, there are plans for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and Southern California Edison to distribute energy-efficient light bulbs at city and county facilities, said Karly Katona, a deputy for Burke.
- LA Times

Something else that I support is energy saving items, not so much to save energy, but to save money. As such I have been replacing incandescents with compact fluorescents. This is a part, that my friend, on the local talk show, didn't mention.

The blackout effort also encourages residents to replace incandescent lights with more energy-efficient compact fluorescent bulbs. The county has spent $30 million to install energy-efficient lighting in its buildings.

However, if you want your city, town or burg to participate, there are plans for a national night.

More than 100 cities have contacted San Francisco organizers, wanting to plan similar events; a nationwide lights-out hour is planned for March 29. More information on the L.A. event can be found at www.lightsoutla.org.

My suggestion is to make this an everyday practice for your home and business. Let the cities do such stunts for the bigger things once a year. Of course they will still have to have warning lights for plans, but does the Golden Gate bridge need so many lights just for aesthetics?