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How GPS Is Killing Lighthouses

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the like-lightbulbs-killed-candles dept.

sakshale writes "Spiegel Online has an article about the impact of GPS systems on Lighthouses. They claim that the popularity of the satellite-based global positioning system has led to the closure of lighthouses along the German coast." As the article says, "critics question whether the new system is reliable and safe enough to warrant the closure of these historical beacons of safety."

4 of 509 comments (clear)

  1. Run by US Gov't? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Isn't GPS run by the United States government? Are other countries sure it's a good idea to be relying on that?

  2. Old news by IBeatUpNerds · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Lighthouses have been obsolete since radar came to be. GPS is hardly the starting point for this. At any rate, I'm a fan of lighthouse preservation efforts as I think they're a very interesting part of our evolution of navagational technology, and, in some cases, quite beautiful. Lighthouses have been pretty well obsolete for 40 years.

    1. Re:Old news by SimonInOz · · Score: 5, Insightful

      You've never sailed a small boat, have you? Lighthouses are wonderful. There is nothing so bad as your vessel being beaten against a rocky shore ... except, perhaps, not being sure what continent that rocky shore belongs to ...

      --
      "Cats like plain crisps"
  3. Lighthouses are still valuable... by aquarian · · Score: 5, Insightful

    ...as tourist attractions. In fact the actual light and other equipment has been automated for years. Many navigational beacons are solar powered, and almost maintenance free.