More and more news stories are being reported from around the country of councils and local authorities rolling out widespread switch-offs of street and outdoor lighting, as people become increasingly aware of how ecologically irresponsible it is to have lights on 24 hours of the day, seven days a week.
The latest story on this front comes from a neighbourhood in Sheffield where streetlights have been burning brightly non-stop for almost a month.
Retiree Geoffrey Hopkin from the area complained about the issue on behalf of local residents, reported the Star. Having voiced concerns about the cost of the bill and who would be paying it, he added: "Also, what about the impact in terms of carbon footprint from the extra electricity?”
When his worries were finally heard by the council, the body said they were being left on by the company Northern Powergrid, which was trying to locate an electrical fault.
Sheffield Council has said the work will be completed by May 24th, which should see the back of the matter. However, this shows how regular members of the public are recognising how irresponsible it is for people to leave lights switched on unnecessarily - be it the fault of an official authority or a homeowner.
Elsewhere, businesses in France are being hit by legislation which will see them forced to take more responsibility to switch off lights, while just last month Oldbury and Olveston in South Gloucestershire announced they would be launching a switch-off initiative to cut back on both public spending and the villages' carbon footprints.
If you are guilty of guzzling power - perhaps your porch lights or garden lights are set to a timer which sees them blazing all night? - then it may now be time to have a rethink about how you could be doing your bit for the planet.
