41
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
this post was submitted on 11 Aug 2026
41 points (100.0% liked)
interestingasfuck
9557 readers
371 users here now
For exceptionally interesting content
Rules:
- Posts must be interesting
- Posts must be based in reality
- No hateful content
- No harmful content
- Beauty is in the eye of the beholder
founded 3 years ago
MODERATORS
The Sphere Las Vegas uses 28 megawatts of electricity, enough for 21,000 homes; 102.716 billion gallons of customer water usage annually; and is the single largest contributor of light pollution to the strip.
Yeah, impressively wasteful.
https://lasvegasxeriscape.com/research/las-vegas-water-usage-statistics/
https://www.drbulb.com/las-vegas-spheres-energy-use-equivalent-to-21000-homes-is-sustainability-achievable/
Dystopian, too.
keyword - impressive
Isn't that enormous beam of light on top of that pyramid hotel a bigger source of light pollution? It's definitely seen from further away
The Luxor beam is indeed bright, covering billions of candela intensity, but the sphere vs luxor are not exactly apples comparisons.
The sphere is effectively a giant flood light that illuminates the area to give it a daytime appearance and floods the area with LED light pollution for miles around. By contrast, the Luxor is a singular beam like a flashlight that can be seen from space whose area of saturation is limited to the immediate vacinity.
Both are light pollution, but the sphere adds more light pollution by area than the luxor beam.
Las Vegas is the city of assholes so at least they are consistent. The city is mostly fed by hydro and solar power.
wtf