[magnitude6] Re: USA Model Lighting Code (fwd)

[Jan Hollan <jhollan@amper....muni.cz>]

I realized my answer to Bob (and partly to a letter by Don Davis) meant
for IDA section leaders should go to mag6 too, as did one of the letters
by Bob. Here it is, once more for some:

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Thu, 16 Dec 2004 13:28:14 +0100 (CET)
From: Jan Hollan <jhollan@amper....muni.cz>
To: RLGent1@aol...
Cc: ida@darksky..., ida@amper....muni.cz
Subject: Re: USA Model Lighting Code

Dear Bob ( ; hello to all the IDA Section Leaders),

thank you for informing us about the standpoint of Don Davis. I'm sure you
omitted a link to the FixTheMLO web site just by being in a hurry (sending
just a response to the letter of our ever increasing group, without
offering that very letter as well, would otherwise resemble the reaction
of the totalitarian Czech communists-ruled state on the famous Charta 77
declaration by Vaclav Havel et al).

No tragedy, the only thing which is urgently needed, is putting the link
to the main MLO IDA page: please include

             http://fixthemlo.org
to the
             IDA's Model Lighting Ordinance - darksky.org
        URL: http://darksky.org/ordsregs/mlc/modlicod.html

The proper place for it is just after the
            IDA Board Statement Concerning MLO - December 10, 2004

 a suitable way would be perhaps:
            written as a reaction to the initiative
            FixTheMLO, http://fixthemlo.org
 (I think there is no need to reproduce the letter at the IDA site)

This place is at the bottom, just before the heading
            Model Code Development Resources


Not including the link is even worse than the continuing silence of IDA
about the existence of Dr. Clark's two-part paper on Outdoor lighting and
crime (and of the more recent paper by Paul Marchant, both being
accessible from http://amper.ped.muni.cz/light/crime).

Please realize, that the list of Resources contains an alarming

  The IDA Model Outdoor Lighting Code Presentation by James Benya

 which demonstrates the incompetence of the MLO group leader clearly (I
wrote to Dave about it earlier, pointing at Dr. Cinzano *scientific*
papers on light pollution, he assured me that the presentation is not the
last word.)

It's important to show there are long-year IDA members with very different
views of the issue!

The argument that MLO is not for international use weights nothing. As a
clear signal, that IDA does not stand behind the best existing
legislation, wishing much looser rules instead, whose complying with
cannot be moreover verified in reality, made a lot of damage already to
our common goals.

The remark that IDA obtained many comments to the draft already, which
were often contrary to each other, is alarming. Does the MLO group really
mean, that the result should be a compromise between the interests of the
dark sky advocates and those of the lighting industry wanting
business-as-usual?

It resembles me the development at our Environment Ministry. It also
thought (under a strong pressure from who knows who...) that the best ones
for protection of the night environment would be the ``lighting experts'',
not environmentalists, and the outcomes are known to you.

The argument that you (or the Board, or the MLO group) are doing your best
  ``at developing the best
    code that will control light pollution and be widely accepted''
 does not calm me. If this is the best, how could we expect anything much
better?

Widely accepted, by whom? By citizens or by the IDA members and
not-members as luminaire manufacturers etc.? Do you know any real problem
with the current good (=strict enough) legislation? If yes, please publish
it and write it to us! I'd like to learn myself from the errors done
elsewhere in the past. If you cannot give any proofs that the existing
best legislation does not work, please stop undermining it!

The problem is, that the current draft is a PUBLIC one. Some people might
really think that IDA changed its mind (some do in fact, ceasing to be
members). I hope there is still a possibility how it could avoid losing
its face and credibility. But it assumes that Dave and Board does not
continue saying everything is OK. It is not. A large mistake has been done,
it's five minutes after twelve to admit it.

I regret I cannot really contribute to the happy atmosphere of the
approaching holidays at the moment, but still wish you the best in the
next weeks!

jenik






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