Let the sun shine in

By Mark Forsythe The Kansas City Post Solar energy has made dramatic advances in the last five years. Photo-voltaic (PV) cells have become more efficient, battery technology has improved, Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) have increased in luminosity and economies of scale have brought the price of components down significantly. Just yesterday I purchased four solar-powered garden lights for $15. Five years ago just a single light like these would have cost $30. Now for half the price I get four times as many and they're brighter and last longer. Kansas City has already begun to embrace some of these technologies. The next time you're sitting at a stoplight, look closely at the lighted signal. Is it one solid light or does it appear to be made up of many small dots of light? Those little dots are LED's. Much more efficient and cost effective than incandescent lights, eventually all stoplights will be made up of LED's. Keep an eye out for cross-walk lights or yellow flashing school zone lights. If the light has been installed recently you will probably notice a solar panel mounted on the pole. In many small ways even our oft criticized Public Works Department is slowly embracing green technology. With the possibility of another MAX route running down Troost Avenue, I think it is important that the ATA consider all the new technologies available to them. Many companies are offering standalone bus shelters that operate completely on solar power, even during the dark and dreary winter months. The advantages are many. No digging or trenching to install power lines, less maintenance and increased durability to resist vandalism. Even without greening our bus shelters, there are other ways to improve transit with little added cost. Consider the solar bus stop. Rather than a small blue sign that says "Metro" tacked to a telephone pole, the fixture to the left is a completely self-sufficient solar bus stop. It has on demand buttons that either light the schedule or activate a call light to alert the driver that someone is waiting. This has been proven to significantly reduce buses passing by stops and leaving would-be passengers behind. Once again the advantages are no digging for new power lines. In most cases the installation of one of these simple posts takes about thirty minutes. Alternative energy is here to stay. Its popularity grows on a daily basis. Its technology continues to improve. Kansas City needs to stay on the forefront and show the rest of the state, and even the country that everything is indeed up to date in Kansas City.