Owen Courrèges
In many ways, I’m a nostalgist. I believe you have to be a bit of a nostalgist to live in New Orleans. If you don’t admire old buildings, long-standing traditions and an outlook that looks backward as much as it looks forward, you’ll become frustrated pretty quickly in New Orleans.
Frankly, however, this tendency towards nostalgia can make a person appear to be a bit of a Luddite – a person who resents and fears newer technologies.
Case in point: Recently, the Regional Transit Authority began replacing the headlights in streetcars with LED lights. LED’s (light emitting diodes) are highly efficient means of producing light, and the quality of the light produced is superior to fluorescents. Moreover, the LED lights used in the streetcars are actually a combination of multiple smaller LED lights, so if one burns out, the total number of lumens drops only slightly.
Similar LED fixtures have already been integrated into many, if not most, of the stoplights in New Orleans.
But I hate them. I hate them with the passion of a thousand burning suns. To me, the LED streetcar lights are inauthentic. The whole point of having 90 year old streetcars running along St. Charles is nostalgia. Adding modern fixtures to antique streetcars ruins the effect.
Actually, my disdain for the use of LEDs on streetcars goes beyond that. Truth be told, I think older lighting is simply more attractive. Instead of bathing the neutral ground ahead with stark, white light, the older bulbs gave off a more nuanced, coppery glow. The added hue, particularly coming from a single source, simply looks better to me.
For the same reason, I’m always disheartened to see one of the older streetlights in New Orleans replaced with a fluorescent. The old lights are starkly copper and provide a steady stream of light, the new ones are bleached out and flicker. Sure, the fluorescents last longer and are more energy efficient, but is this really progress?
Those who have read my previous columns know that I am a major fan of cost-benefit analysis, an objective examination unadorned by bias and other means of tilting the scales. Unfortunately, it’s difficult to incorporate aesthetic preferences into an objective analysis. What is beautiful and what is ugly tends to be a matter of personal opinion.
However, I refuse to believe that aesthetics are purely subjective. In all of my years, I’ve never met anybody who actually prefers fluorescent light. There’s something to be said for soft hues and consistent, full-spectrum light. That which best approximates sunlight or candlelight is, generally speaking, more pleasing to the human eye.
This isn’t an issue limited to New Orleans, either. The federal government is set to begin phasing in an ban on standard-size incandescent bulbs, starting with 100-watt bulbs. The favored replacement? Compact fluorescent lights (CFLs).
These squiggly CFL bulbs purport to be superior to incandescents in every way. They supposedly last longer, and although they cost more initially, they actually save consumers money over the life of the bulb because they use far less power. Although CFL bulbs let off fluorescent light, this can (the argument goes) be offset by adding a tint to the bulb.
I, for one, am not buying it. I’ve never encountered a CFL that gave off good quality light. For my wife, any kind of fluorescent light is a migraine trigger due to the nearly imperceptible flicker they give off. Moreover, I keep most of my lights on dimmers, and CFLs tend to work badly with dimmers.
I hear the same thing about the new LEDs on streetcars. As I ask around, I hear people say that they’re “too bright” and “blind oncoming traffic.” I’m a little night blind, and I have to agree. I have to squint to stare directly at the blasted things.
Ultimately, then, perhaps I’m not just a Luddite. Perhaps my ire for CFLs and LEDs goes beyond nostalgia. I feel as though government policy should be so unfeeling and technocratic as to force inferior light upon us, whether that light is on our bedrooms or on streetcars.
But even if it really does boil down mostly to mere nostalgia, is that so bad? In a city that boasts the motto of “tradition in progress,” surely there is room for those who prefer the older lighting. If that makes me a Luddite, then I wear the badge proudly.
Owen Courrèges, a New Orleans attorney and resident of the Garden District, offers his opinions for UptownMessenger.com on Mondays. He has previously written for the Reason Public Policy Foundation.
If you run out of 100w incandescent bulbs, we have quite a stockpile. I swear I did not spend *hours* searching for “authentic” lighting for my renovated corner store, only to outfit those fixtures with those useless CFL bulbs!
And, I agree about the streetcar headlights. Ghastly! Almost as bad…applying cosmetics under the sickly glow of a CFL. Yuck. I am too old to give up my clean 100w incandescent bathroom lighting!
I have LED lights in ceiling cans in my house; however, they are the $100+/lamp version and the light is nice and works with dimmers. But where incandescent lighting is appropriate, it is just that – appropriate.
I, too, am prone to light-triggered migraines. For the same reason I prefer reading on a Kindle to an iPad, I prefer good ‘ol light bulbs to the dreaded CFLs – and that’s not even taking into account that mercury levels in those new bulbs.
Another place New Orleans’ lights bother me are the police cars. The blue lights are truly awful. I always wonder if they’ve ever caused accidents. I know I have to look away if there is a police car with its lights on anywhere near me. I’d hate to be an epileptic when those cars are around.
Angie,
Seconded regarding police car lights. I have significant starbursting in my vision, and one of the worst triggers for that are the blue police lights.
All it’s going to take is for those flashing lights to CAUSE an accident with serious injury.
Someone will sue the NOPD, and there will be a parade of expert witnesses, all from the eye care profession saying that when used during night, the brightness of the flashing lights can cause temporary blindness…
It’s not just the streetcar lights. The Avenue is a disaster overall. As we speak, the grass and weeds are knee high. The street is full of potholes. The section between Louisiana and downtown has no dividing line so the tourists don’t realize there are two lanes in each direction for that stretch. Many of the streetlights are crooked or broken and/or have peeling paint, and they all have those unsightly numbers painted on them, to say nothing of the ugly “Look Both Ways” signs at every cross street. Given the importance of the Avenue to the city, you would think the powers that be would care about its preservation, but unfortunately, the opposite appears to be true.
J,
I believe there are eventual plans to repave St. Charles from Napoleon to the freeway, at which time they’ll repair the curbs, streetlights, etc. In the meantime, though, they certainly aren’t keeping up with basic maintenance, and it’s really a shame.
You can’t run out of the old bulbs. They aren’t illegal and you can still buy them even after the ban (manufacture of the bulbs in the United States would be banned, not the sale of). Also Edison bulbs and the like can still be made in the United States.
Elizabeth,
I’m pretty sure that the ban applies to sales as well. Now, the legislation allows high-efficiency incandescents, but my understanding is that you can’t the same lumens as a standard 100 watt. They’re more expensive, and the technology simply isn’t there. Some types of bulbs do escape the ban, but that just shows how silly and full of holes it is.
So I respect that yall want everything fixed and perfect looking and lovely, but wouldn’t this all require money, which we’d have more of if we could improve efficiency and save the city money through things like, oh, more efficient lighting options?
Also, “I have to squint to stare directly at the blasted things.” Why ya staring directly at the light anyway? I think squinting when starting at a light source is pretty standard….
Burrito,
That’s a valid argument. Standard lighting is more expensive. It uses more power and has to be replaced more often. I still don’t think LEDs are appropriate in streetcars, and despite the added expense, I’d really prefer to have softer lighting in historic neighborhoods. We’re not talking about a massive expense, and the difference is aesthetics is significant.
For the same reason, I prefer government buildings to be attractive. I’m sure the city could have saved money by making Gallier Hall as ugly as the new City Hall, but somebody had the intelligence to spring for something nicer. Looks matter.
I agree. I really do hate the LED lights. I bought a ceiling fan for my bedroom at home depot and the salesperson really sold me on one that had LED lighting that never needed to be replaced. I’ve since had to add 2 extra lamps to my room because the LED is so incredibly weak, and garish. And regarding the streetcar, I was driving with a friend down St Charles not too long ago and I remember looking at a passing streetcar and saying ‘I’m not sure, but something just got a lot uglier about the streetcar.’ It wasnt until I read this that I realized what the ugliness was.
If you have to buy fluorescent lighting, ask for 2700 degree bulbs (they burn the same color temperature as standard incandescent bulbs). We live in a duplex, and on one side a 2700 degree bulb CF outdoor light, and on the other a standard incandescent…-you can’t tell the difference at night. Takes a little more digging, but it’s worth it.
I get your point about the inauthenticity of LED headlights on streetcars, but wonder why you’ve no burning hatred left over for the distracting and deeply annoying strobes that have recently appeared.
LEDs as a domestic light source are mostly a poor economic choice, given their staggering purchase price. By contrast, the current generation of CFLs are a fine light source, especially in steamy New Orleans, where incandescents produce waste heat faster than air conditioners can remove it. A conventional 100 watt bulb produces 341 btus per hour. A houseful of these burning is like having a couple of electric heaters running all summer, and wondering why your a/c is having such a hard time cooling your home. Not for me; thanks.
I’ve never encountered a CFL that gave off good quality light.
They’re not exactly hard to find. Big box home improvement stores feature a wide variety of lighting sources, including CFLs in both warm and cool ratings. The warm (2700K) bulbs being produced today are indistinguishable in color from traditional incandescent bulbs. If your fluorescent light source is flickering perceptively, you have a defective bulb or ballast. Replace it, man.
I’m always disheartened to see one of the older streetlights in New Orleans replaced with a fluorescent.
Fluorescent municipal street lighting? News to me. Maybe you’re thinking of mercury or (more recently) sodium vapor lamps. If coppery lighting is your thing, the sodium lamps all over town should suit you just fine.
city that boasts the motto of “tradition in progress,”
What city would this be? Never heard this before, and — judging from your photo — I’ve lived in NOLA a lot longer than you.
Romulus,
I understand that incandescents let off heat, but I still disagree that CFLs can be an adequate substitute. I’ve seen the ones that are supposed to approximate incandescent light and I can still tell the difference. The flickering, as far as I know, is also endemnic to all flourescents. It gets worse if the bulb is defective, but the light isn’t constant. This is what makes them such a migraine trigger.
Also, none of this changes the fact that they work poorly with dimmers. Most CFLs won’t work with them at all, and others only work with some. And the dimmable ones are more expensive. For somebody like me who has dimmers throughout my house, CFLs are a poor option.
You seem to know more about municipal street lighting than me, so I’ll defer to you on that. The light in some of the newer bulbs they’re installing seems like flourescent, or something similar. Apparently I prefer the sodium lamps, but those seem to be dying out.
I’m surprised you never hear the motto “tradition in progress.” It was put on every municipal trash can for a while, and many of them are still out there. I found a photo of one pretty quickly:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/infrogmation/2901774785/
Well, I stand corrected, Owen. That photo was a pretty good example of tradition in progress. I must be falling behind in my trash can reading.
If trash cans are the standard, I always thought the city’s motto was “Marc Morial, Mayor”.