I live on a county road where the street lights are few and far between. My street is absolutely pitch black at night, and I'd like to install a sodium light on the power pole that borders my property on the street side. I'm assuming that these are fairly efficient, since they are used everywhere, and as such, would like one in my back yard on my shop, too. My questions are:

1. How should I go about getting the county to put a light on the pole on the street?

2. Is this style of lamp the most efficient way of lighting my back yard as a "Night Light?" I'm not looking for massive illumination, but I'd like to be able to see if someone was in my back yard without having to turn on the outside house lights.