Lights out for lighthouses

GPS technology has condemned the lighthouse, and the lighthouse keeper, to extinction

Alight in the darkness. A beacon for those astray. An isolated place, the perfect refuge from the futility of the world and getting in touch with nature at its wildest: oceans, waves, currents, winds, storms… Few monuments have the romantic aura of the lighthouse, an aura so powerful that many seem to harbor the dream of becoming a lighthouse keeper. A dream that has little chance of coming true: in the age of GPS and automation, the keeper’s job is being phased out. Governments are selling off or closing light- houses and their lodgings. As more and more lighthouses are being switched off, there is the risk a great tradition will be lost.