LED Traffic Lights Kill People and Polar Bears

Friday, January 8, 2010

Once again, it's the government to the rescue. This time it's mostly state and local, but still the government. A lot of places are now using LED lights in their traffic signals. This saves a significant amount of cash. That sounds good. They use a lot less electricity, so less energy has to be produced, which in turn means less pollution. I'm not against that.

Everything's peachy, right? Wrong.

These lights have a minor problem. In snowy regions, the lights don't produce enough heat to melt the snow and ice. The lights become muted, or white-out altogether. Numerous accidents have occurred and at least one death. Well, that's acceptable. After all, we're saving the planet.

Most people see a white traffic light as a stop sign, and they all take turns at these intersections. So why do we need lights in the first place? Think of the savings. Maybe not.

If cars have to stop and go, that causes more pollution. Local governments have to send out  trucks, with government  workers, to wipe off the lights. More driving equals more pollution, and the extra gas and maintenance cost for these vehicles significantly reduce the savings of these LED traffic lights. Plus all those old, ineffective lights had to be replaced. What did that cost? What was the carbon footprint of this entire venture from conception, through manufacture, to shipping, and on to the installation? Where did all those old lights go? Answer: A lot, huge, and in the landfill. Very environmentally conscience.

So where do the polar bears come in?  

The bottom line is, LED traffic lights have had a negative impact on the environment. This means we will have more hurricanes, ground water will be more undrinkable, rising oceans will become less habitable, We'll have droughts, global warming, famine, pestilence, human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together...

And polar bears starving to death.

Like I said at the beginning, government to the rescue.