Have a happy green New Year!

In today's headlines, we learned that the glorious ball dropped in Times Square to ring in the New Year was retrofitted to be a "green" energy saver. Oh, joy. Quoth the BBC News:

"The LEDs on the $1.1m (£550,000) New Year's Eve Ball that will descend on Monday will be able to create a kaleidoscope of colours and patterns on each of its 672 crystal triangular panels."

So, let's see... balance that 1.1 MILLION dollar retrofit against the half a gazillion dollars spent nationwide to launch pyrotechnics into the air for twenty or so minutes, so that we could say, "Oooooooh, ahhhhhhh," and wind up with a strained neck. Let's not forget the amount of pollution those fireworks needlessly belched into our ever-weakening atmosphere. Don't get me wrong - I love watching the beautiful displays as much as the next guy. Still, at some point we need to weigh the consequences of our selfish actions, don't we? You know - walk the walk? We cause needless pollution, scare the living crap out of countless pets, cause a goodly amount of injuries to amateur pyromaniacs (well, maybe that's one for the plus column....), and waste millions of dollars that could be spent to make the planet a slightly better place to live (or maybe feed some starving people).


Yeah, we're really saving some trees with that big ol' ball in NY city. I'm filled with pride - how 'bout you?