If there’s a prevalent American New Year’s tradition it has to be the ball dropping at Times Square; although many of us will never see it live, more than one billion will find their way to a TV at 11:59 to watch it make the descent that signifies the arrival of the New Year. For those of us with green on the brain, however, it can seem a bit like impact-heavy icing on a consumption cake–as if hundreds of thousands of people traveling by subway, car, train and plane to get to resource-draining Times Square wasn’t enough, here comes that light-laden mechanical wonder. It’s a fabulous sight, but an eco-conscious individual couldn’t help but wonder if the party planners in that famous district were also dropping the ball when it came to the environment. Now, before you accuse us of getting all grinch-of-New Year’s Eve on you, know that we love a good party as much as the next person and that the Times Square Alliance has found a way to please everyone (mostly).

This year, when the ball falls through the sky at midnight, it won’t be the ball you’ve seen since 2000; it’ll be  a new, more energy-efficient ball made with Waterford Crystals and Philips LEDs. Yes, the previous ball had LEDs also but not nearly as many–there are about three times the amount on the new ball and that makes it 10-20% more energy-efficient than the prior model (which was also designed for some energy-effiency). How easy on the earth is it? Well, Philips Lighting says the new ball will consume, in an hour, the amount of energy equivilant to running two traditional home ovens for the same amount of time. And that’s something we’re definitely willing to countdown and cheer for.

But with this green step forward comes news of another step in a not-so-green direction: The Times Square Alliance has announced that the new ball will hang, lit up, year round. Even with its new energy-efficient elements that means an impact that wouldn’t otherwise have been there, and we can’t help but wonder whether, if the state of our environment continues to degrade, we may one day see the ball set aside for the sake of saving energy, similar to the wartime “dimouts” in 1942 and 1943.

Still, the fact that even the time ball is getting greener has us optimistic for everyone to live lighter on the earth in 2009. And we send you wishes for a wonderful New Year–whether you watch the ball drop live, on TV, or not at all.

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