WASTING ENERGY IS A BAD IDEA

An OTBKB reader writes:

Hello: I live on President, between 7th and 8th; across the street from
me are two brownstones the owners of which leave several outdoor lights
on 24 hours a day. After observing this for weeks and weeks, and
pondering whether I should send letters reminding them of the wasted
energy and money and general waste, I finally yesterday approached one
owner while she was standing outside her home. I introduced myself, and
politely asked if she was aware that the lights were always on. She
replied thusly: Yes, we know, we tried a timer but it doesn’t work, and
with nannies and other people in and out all the time, and since I
don’t want to come home late at night to darkness, we just leave them
on.

I thanked here for her time and came back home. That was on a
sunny, bright afternoon. The lights remained on that day, and are
burning brightly as I type. I give up, but am amazed that people are so
wasteful.

Any tips out there about getting people to understand that wasting energy is a bad idea?

2 thoughts on “WASTING ENERGY IS A BAD IDEA”

  1. give up on her. many MANY MANY other areas to direct your attention towards, such as corporations wasting energy/resources, etc.
    fight the good fight!

  2. Give her a burned-out bulb?
    Seriously, though, a timer is about as simple a device as any, and if the owner claims it “doesn’t work” (how? did it not automatically switch to daylight savings?) this one seems impossible. Light sensors are equally simple, both will work for a decade without maintenance.

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