Although electricity is superior in its illumination and is drastically healthier than previous lights, it does not come without a drawback. It contributes to environmental detachment. The convenience of a wall mounted switch can make it easy to overlook that fuel is still being spent to make the light possible. Our forbearers, up to and even including this century, had to make do with limitations on their daily activities according to available light. Contemporary lifestyles, through technology, no longer have this limitation and we are finding it much easier to be wasteful.
Questions are still appropriate today.
Judging how much light is necessary and using only that much would dramatically lessen energy use the world over. A final lighting wonder that has only become practical in the past two decades is photovoltaic or solar cells. Put them in the sunlight and they directly convert sunshine into electricity. Store the electricity in a battery, then use it later to power a light. In this sense we can truly have healthy and economical sunlight after sunset.