Yet another downside of being green

The law of unintended consequences is a fascinating one.  I blogged the other day about the tax on restaurant food that’s eaten “here” as opposed to “to go.”  In cafes, smart people order food “to go,” and then consumer it here.  The result is garbage cans filled with food containers.  Oy, the pollution!

Here’s another, and much more fatal, example of the law of unintended consequences:

Cities around the country that have installed energy-efficient traffic lights are discovering a hazardous downside: The bulbs don’t burn hot enough to melt snow and can become crusted over in a storm — a problem blamed for dozens of accidents and at least one death.

“I’ve never had to put up with this in the past,” said Duane Kassens, a driver from West Bend who got into a fender-bender recently because he couldn’t see the lights. “The police officer told me the new lights weren’t melting the snow. How is that safe?”

As reader Lulu says, it is important for conservatives to be stewards of our beautiful earth.  There is no excuse for unnecessary waste, and we don’t need to pollute simply because the greenies’ hysteria is driving us nuts.  Nevertheless, greenie hysteria leads to a thoughtlessness that is scary dangerous.  As for me, I’m expecting a rash of decisions in coming years describing situations in which women are raped in parking lots and stairwells as a result of the darkness created by landlords trying to be green.

(On the other hand, apparently there are some pleasurable aspects to being green.)