"Let there be LIGHT!" And there was Light. And Vanity. Vanity. All is Vanity.

Sometimes, I wonder, how people decide on their pet peeve, and (in this specific case) what "triggered" (I do not like to use this word, but hey, I need to show I'm current, right?) this missive to the Forum Page (or Voices in Today's paper). Let's see if we can spot the trigger...

Why does Singapore need so many lights on?

By Lee Teck Chuan

19 December, 2019

As Singapore moves ahead with its eco-friendly drive, have we overlooked how much electricity we are using, especially from lighting?

Are we guilty of light pollution?

Lights have proliferated unchecked along pavements, covered walkways, bridges, corridors, stairways, and in bus stops, car parks, lifts, void decks, playgrounds and parks.

["Proliferated unchecked? He makes lights sound like some runaway weed. "Unchecked"? He thinks light fixtures are free?]



When night falls, human and vehicular traffic is low in many of these places. Given our low crime rate, do we need to keep all places well-lit to prevent crime?

[I'm sure there are studies that show keeping your lights on does reduced/deter crime. But I'll leave it to those who think it important to find those studies to rebut his bald assertion.]

Is this an unintended consequence of various agencies failing to coordinate their plans and installation work, resulting in overlap and waste?

[Is this the trigger? "Uncoordinated agencies"?]

Since it does not hit us in the pocket directly, few among us would mind the extra bulb or two. But ultimately, we, the taxpayers, foot the bill.

Just as noise affects our sleep, so too does light.

[Especially for those of us with no eyelids! or with paralysed eyelids that cannot close!]

Based on scientific studies, light keeps us awake, and may affect our biological clock that oscillates between day and night. When deprived of restful sleep, our quality of life suffers. We may turn grumpy and foggy, and lose concentration, which could result in accidents. Excessive glare also retards our reflexes.

[Is THIS the trigger? The streetlights outside invading his room and searing his lidless eyeballs?]

Light generates heat, too. While we worry about air-conditioners warming the earth, how could we ignore the heat generated by lights? We may need more air-conditioners to cool a larger number of lit indoor spaces. This results in more heat all around.

[Wait! Is this the trigger? Was he irked by publicity messages telling him to cut down on his aircon usage and this is him hitting back at all the "unchecked proliferated" lights? That are threatening to take his precious aircon away?]

Is vanity to blame — the need for grandeur as a people, to prove that we have arrived as a developed country? Or that we can be seen from space, like a gemstone emanating rays in all directions?

[Of course! There has been many a night, when I fly off to space, only to look back with pride and vanity to see the jewel that is Singapore shining against the relative dimness of Malaysia, Indonesia, and I know we have arrived! 

What is this guy smoking?]

Excessive light is wasteful and may harm us. It is time we threw light and took action on the matter.

[And he ends with a... whimper.

No call to action. No concrete suggestion. No solution. And this letter gets published? To what end?]