22nd March 2008 – SCMP
The article by Charmaine Carvalho (“Frazzle dazzle”, March 17), illuminates the problem of light pollution that is increasingly plaguing our city.
The title of Rosemary Sayer’s biography of tycoon Gordon Wu Ying-sheung is The Man Who Turned the Lights On. Many Wan Chai residents now wish that he would turn them off. His group’s buildings in Queen’s Road East, the Hopewell Centre and QRE Plaza, nightly emit flashing multicoloured displays that turn apartments into discos.
After a day’s work I wish to relax without having my senses constantly bombarded. Hong Kong’s noise and air pollution is bad enough without such crass light shows invading residential neighbourhoods.
Why is Hong Kong wasting so much energy on these displays? The power companies are the major polluters of Hong Kong’s air, and our planet’s fuel resources are finite. Reducing power consumption should be the prime target of a responsible and alert government.
The business sector cannot be relied upon to lead in controlling power consumption.
Y. K. Ho, Wan Chai