Greetings Trish, Green light is percieved by our eyes much better than red light. Especially the red light typical of cheap laser pointers. So an attenuated green laser of a much lower and safer energy can still be seen while a red laser attenuated the same amount would be invisible. However, cheap green laser pointers use a couple crystals to generate green light from infra red light and one of these crystals (KTP) is temperature sensitive. At too low a temperature the light output falls off drastically. Low temp operation also extends the life of this crystal. High temps from a constantly on laser will eventually degrade the crystal. So I'm thinking that maybe operating a green laser with less current will not only result in much lower energy output but will enable the laser to be operated continuously without shortening its life considerably. And be easier to see. Eric