[anax]

I've made a start on a special section of the site for our project... which you can get to from the Read More link on the Homepage.

I've added a feature to enable people to express their support and any ideas for the project (so feel free ). This thread can remain the conduit for information about the organisational matters.

There's also a facility to easily send an email to a friend about the project... it'd be great if we could spread the word virally too.

[MysticMC]

HOOOOOOOORAY I received a response from Andri Snaer Magnason, the very organizator of the Reykjavik event
Here it is :

Hello Marie
Great to hear about your idea.
It took some time to get the local authorities to buy the idea.
But after it was published in my book, dreamland - self help for a frightened nation it kind of spread and they went for it.
it is basically a night poem:

a poem for a city

all the city lights
will be turned off
from 10:00 - 10:30 PM
an old astronomer
talks about the stars
on national broadcast radio
(...)
The event in Iceland will hopefully be done again, it was a good dress rehearsal but we overestimated the city lightings in some areas where buildings, apartments, neon lights and other signs became quite dominant.
To be perfect gas stations, official buildings and outdoor monumental lighting not connected to the grid have to be spotted. The janitor union could do wonders, the guys with keys and access to the switches...
(then there is weather of course, we had a fixed date so the suburbian areas had stars, not down town reykjavik)
if it is possible a week slot might be better but as we needed publicity and participation we took the chance and had clouds
We had silence, no crime and people walking around in dark neighborhoods feeling a different mood, darkness is not scary and evil but quite romantic.
but - it got people to think, here in iceland we have ,,clean energy" so the only thing happened was that a waterfall was free for half an hour instead of running through turbines. In Scotland it might be different.
I am told that an event like this will happen in Northern Ireland next year in participation with BBC.
Shall I give you their contact number?
here it is:
(...)
let me know if there is anything I can do and if you need more information.
I hope to get a police report from the event. They took it as a black out drill.
but the main thing here was just the essence for a city child to see the stars.
all the best

Andri Snær Magnason

[anax]

Isn't that an excellent response, Mystic .... what a fantastic guy.

Particularly good to read:

[MysticMC]

Wonderful indeed and I'm so glad

Yes I love this line you quote and it's very good for people who have objections or fears related to security Andri

[BikeOnBye]

I don't think we need to switch off all the streetlights, just every second one would make a huge difference to the amount of power we need to gennerate through the night.
It is pointless having so many burning in the middle of the night and when you get into country roads it is just stuff of nonsence!!!!!

Yes they make the roads safer, but why so many burning all the time.

I know someone will come in and say that they are making electricity anyway, but they could slow production down in the oil/gass fired stations and switch over to the wind turbines instead of stopping them.

It would make a huge difference to our footprint.

They would soon get used to needing less power through the night and adapt. You would need to phase the switching off I would think!

BoB

[MysticMC]

I received another response...from the Embassy of Iceland in London (it was just an attempt...didn't think they would reply).

Dear Marie-Catherine Fustin,

Information on this blackout can be found in English on www.grapevine.is.
You could also send an e-mail to info@visitreykjavik.is - this is the City of Reykjavík's information bureau.

Best regards / Bestu kveðjur,

Ok I had already done what they say... But good to hear from them

[anax]

Darren from the Astronomical Society has drawn our attention to

[MysticMC]

I think it's a useful and ludic idea

[moray]

There was an article in the P&J today about Moray Council maybe switching off streetlights, but as a way of solving budgetary crises, not through any altruistic motives. But the MSP was quoted straight away talking about the risk of accidents...

[anax]

I think this story could play very well for us