(Beware! This whole site is but a mirror of a site by Cliff Haas, who discontinued his work in 2007.
The only addition is this warning from 2022, appearing also at the start of LiteLynx.html.
No other changes will be made by me, Jeník Hollan nor anybody else.)

Light Pollution Awareness Website

Main >> Business Park >> Architecture

 
Light Pollution Awareness Website

Welcome to the
Light Pollution Awareness Website
 
Home of the LiteLynx List™  Click the cat to visit  
 
LiPAW Quick Reference Index
Alerts Hot News What Is Light Pollution? Shielding

Learn about the gift that keeps on giving!

 
The LiPAW Has Been Granted The Following Prestigious Awards!   Thank You Very Much!
StudyWeb Award Winner

On December 2, 2000, the Light Pollution Awareness Website was selected as a featured site in Lightspan's StudyWeb® as one of the best educational resources on the Web!   StudyWeb® is one of the Internet's premier sites for educational resources for students and teachers.   Since 1996, Lightspan's expert reviewers have scoured the Internet to select only the finest sites to be included in StudyWeb's listing of educational links.

Griffith Observatory Star Award Winner

On October 25, 2001, the Light Pollution Awareness Website (LiPAW) was granted the Griffith Observatory Star Award for presenting useful, thorough, and accurate information in a well-organized and attractive way, making the night sky more available to everyone.

Stellar Link Award - presented by astronomylinks.com

On November 4, 2001, the Light Pollution Awareness Website (LiPAW) was awarded the Stellar Link Award by astronomylinks.com.   Astronomylinks.com is a website dedicated to the finding and presenting of the best astronomy and space links on the Internet and your site was found to shine out among the best.

DarkSky Alerts!   We Need Your Help!
Section Added June 12, 2002

Frequently in more areas every day our night skies fall prey to various circumstances putting them in peril presumably due to a lack of awareness.   Your help and participation is sorely needed to help protect and preserve this very important World Heritage, especially if it is in your neighborhood, at your favorite park, campsite, or local green space area.

The Dark Sky Alerts section of this website often contains vital information that is extremely timely in nature and this very important issue requires your immediate attention and proactive participation.   Benjamin Franklin once wrote, "There is no sword as mighty as the power of the pen."   He was right then and the same axiom remains true today.

Please review the following items listed in the Alerts area and take a few moments of your time to write a politely phrased note expressing your concerns to the appropriate parties included below.   It may be your letter that makes all the difference to preserve and restore the fragile view of the dark night sky that is everyone's inalienable birthright. Thank you in advance because your help with addressing these issues is greatly appreciated!

"Artificial Light Could Be Causing Breast Cancer" - NPR 4-7-05
An interesting broadcast aired on National Public Radio on April 7, 2005 where Drs. Richard Stevens of the Uconn Health Care Center and David Blask of the Bassett Research Center in Cooperstown, New York were interviewed about findings their cutting edge research have discovered on breast cancer.   This broadcast is a must hear for everyone interested in nighttime lighting.   Visit the Health section of the LiteLynx List for more information.

ALERT! When is National Dark-Sky Week?   National Dark-Sky Week occurs in April and is celebrated from 10pm to 12am (Eastern and Mountain time zones) and 9pm to 11pm (Central and Pacific time zones).   Learn more about it and then contact your town officials and local newspapers to encourage as much participation as you can! It's fun! Who would refuse a calory-free Milky Way for everyone just by looking up outdoors to see our stellar address in the Universe? Visit http://www.ndsw.org to learn more.

ALERT!   Night Sky over Mount Palomar Observatory In Jeopardy!
Bright city lights cast shadow over studies at Palomar Observatory

ALERT! Dark Skies are under attack in Arizona!   Read the details and history showing how the billboard industry is proactively attacking the serenity of the night and TAKE ACTION before it is too late!   If you are an Arizona citizen please write to your legislative representatives urging them to vote NO on SB-1012, HB-1168, and HB-2364!   Teach Representative Hart that the night skies over Arizona are more important and far more valuable to humanity than greed and trashy roadside advertisements!

ALERT! CONGRATULATIONS! Your Efforts Have Helped to Save Brazos Bend State Park!   3-23-04   The link to the left will open a new browser window to a website showing how your effots helped to preserve the George Observatory at Brazos Bend State Park south of Houston, Texas.   Thank you for your support!

ALERT!! 10-27-2002 Middletown and Portland, CT Needs Your Help   Significant negative damages will occur to the night sky and surrounding habitat areas if this bridge gets decorative lighting installed.   The lighting design involves an initial cost of over $763,000 to install 172 unshielded neclace lights that have no targets to illuminate (except the sky and water below) and 160 upward shining floodlights that will only hit 5% of their intended targets!   The annual electricity cost to illuminate this folly will be over $19,500!   Rensselear never considered negative impacts when designing this bridge lighting project.

Note the reflections in the water below and beyond this bridge.   This illumination reflects up into the sky and also increases predation for all animals living along the waters' edge on both sides of the river and in the water itself!

Adding to this negative impact, Wesleyan University's Van Vleck Observatory, which houses an antique Alvan Clark 20" refracting telescope on its original Warner & Swasey mount, is located less than 2 miles away from this bridge.   This venerable telesope, a half size replica of the Clark at the Yerkes Observatory, has been recently converted for visual astronomy and the general public is invited to the eyepiece once per month through an observing program sponsored by the Astronomical Society of Greater Hartford.

  • Spanning the Funding Gap - Middletown Press 10-27-2002
  • Voice your concerns to the Editor!
  • Arrigoni Bridge Lighting - Rensselear Polytechnic Institute Lighting Research Center
  • Negative Impacts and Ecological Consequences - Urban Wildlands Group
  • ALERT!! 10-13-02 The Charleston, SC Area Needs Your Help!   Significant negative damages will occur not only to the night sky but also to natural habitats for endangered loggerhead turtles nesting on an island within view of this bridge if its cables and support structure are illuminated.   Please see the following articles and use the convenient links below to send your concerns about this project. Be sure to include your contact information to get your letters printed.

    Bridge-lighting Project Raises Some Concern
    ** Click Here to Mail Your Concerns to the Sun Times Editor

    21st Century Bridge Features White Cables, Futuristic Lights
    ** Click Here to Mail Your Concerns to the Post and Courier Editor

    ALERT!! Friends of Magnuson Park Needs Your Help!   Please visit their website at www.saveourpark.com and help them out in any way you can!   Email links are provided at the site.
    ALERT!!! YOUR HELP IS NEEDED!!!   PLEASE HELP SAVE THE NIGHT SKIES OVER CHERRY SPRINGS STATE PARK!   Click Here To Provide Your Comments to the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Regarding the Leasing of State Forest Lands For Fossil Fuel Exploration.   Details on what is happening at Cherry Springs State Park in PA (June 2002) is Available Here: Click Here For Details   Please help by writing to the Pennsylvania DCNR with your concerns today!!!
     
     
    Hot Light Pollution News!
    Section Added December 2, 2001
    Lights out after hours? - The Observer 5-11-06

    Connecticut municipality considers establishing nighttime curfews on commercial outdoor lighting after business hours.
    Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park Designated As A Dark Sky Preserve - Saskatchewan Canada
    Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park designated as a Dark Sky Preserve - Alberta Canada
    Dark Skies over the Millennium Teachers introduce students to light pollution!   Try this outstanding educational project in your school, too!
    The George Observatory at Brazos Bend State Park Has Been Saved!
  • Law to free the night sky of glare sees light of day - Houston Chronicle 4-24-04
  • Utilities Can Be Sued for Dark Streets 12-19-03
    Ecology of the Night Symposium Muskoka Heritage Foundation
    Rensselaer Tackles Light Pollution Research - LP: Lighting Answers 4-17-03
    National Dark-Sky Week Set for April 1-8, 2003
    New Organization Founded to Help Fight Light Pollution   Visit the CRL Website
    ECTV's Report On The Recent TAAS Conference Earth Change News 11-26-2002
    Southern Maryland Man Accused In Deadly Shooting - Washington Post 11-1-2002
    CT League of Conservation Voters 2002 Questions now includes Light Pollution in the issues of environmental concern.
    Light Pollution Goes Mainstream Sky & Telescope 10-28-2002
    Light Pollution and the Protection of the Night Environment Venice: Let's Save the Night
    Putting A Lid On The Light - Christian Science Monitor 9-19-2002
    Some Nashuans Want the Lights Turned Down -- New Hampshire Public Radio - 7/15/02
    What's New at CADdetails.com - Light Pollution -- ASLA Land Online 9-2002
    Night Light - NPR: Living On Earth 8-28-2002 Real Audio Clip
    Light Pollution Mitigation for Vermont Prison - Environmental Building News 6-2001
    No Light At Night: Night Time Black Outs And Vandalism - California Energy Extension Service
    Feed the Shelves Project
    The Two Sides of Light - Canadian Broadcasting Service 6-11-2002
    Protecting the Night Sky - National Public Radio "Talk of the Nation" 5-02-2002
    Czech Republic Enacts World's First National Light Pollution Law - Space.com 3-18-2002
    Calgary Sheds New Light On Environmental Stewardship, Saves $2 Million!"
    Right to Light Connecticut Magazine March 2002
    DPUC Investigation Into CL&P's Notification Of Municipal Streetlighting Customers Regarding Public Act 01-134 March 1, 2002
    Street Lights Proposal Is Scrapped -- Shropshire Star, 2-26-2002
    Brighter Lights Coming -- East Hampton Star - 2/14/2002
    Appreciating The Night Sky - National Public Radio Audio 2-11-2002   (Download RealTime Player)
    Appreciating The Night Sky - National Public Radio Article 2-11-2002
    Blinded by the Light - The Globe & Mail 1-12-2002
    And Now, a New York Version of Star Wars -- New York Times Local Edition Front Page 12-22-2001
    Groups back ban on 'light pollution' -- Times Union 12-20-2001
    Cliff Haas wants to illuminate everyone about the glaring errors
    that cause light pollution
    - Rocky Hill Life January 2002
    Light Pollution Makes Front Page News On Sunday December 2, 2001
    Law sheds light on pollution but power company's motives darker -- Record-Journal 12-02-2001
    Light Pollution Makes Front Page News On Sunday, December 9, 2001
    It's not nice to fool Mother Nature -- Record-Journal Front Page 12-9-2001

     

     

    Have You Heard About Light Pollution?   What Is It?
    Energy Waste   -   Safety Hazard   -   Health Risk   -   Public Nuisance

    Light Pollution Is An Important Social Problem That Affects Everyone, Including You!

    Do any areas in your community look like these images shown below?   Do the clouds seem to glow a pinkish orange, or white at night over your area like there is a fire on the horizon?   If they do, your community has a very serious energy waste problem that is caused by obtrusive outdoor lighting that truly needs your help to be addressed.   Please ask your Town Manager, Mayor, Alderman, Selectman, and/or Council Members to visit this website.   Ask for their help to develop and establish fair and comprehensive community regulations that will help rid your area of obtrusive outdoor lighting that causes Light Pollution.   The overall quality of life and property values in your community will improve if you do.   Your tax dollars may stretch farther as well.   Effective control of obtrusive outdoor lighting enhances sustainable development, provides better security, improves safety for nighttime travelers, and saves money.
     
    Images above ©International Dark-Sky Association
     
    Houston?   We have a problem!   See the latest photo of Earth at Night taken by NASA

    Please Learn About Light Pollution And Share Your Knowledge With Others
    Join The World's Largest LP Forum And Get Your Questions Answered Here

    An interactive reference library and discussion group has been created on the Internet where all who are interested in learning more (or teaching others) about curbing Light Pollution and enhancing the long term sustainable development of their districts, counties, communities and residential associations are welcome to join.   Anyone who works in community planning, public works, or zoning departments is highly encouraged to join this Forum.   Membership is free!   Local, state, and Federal officials are cordially invited to join this oracle offering unique information to learn many revolutionary ways to address various enigmatic aspects of obtrusive outdoor lighting by applying sound engineering principles of the IESNA, IDA, and CIE.

    The benefits of taking proactive measures to comprehensively address a subject as seemingly simple as outdoor lighting can help to significantly improve profits and reduce accident liabilities for business, reduce expenses for municipalities, improve the nighttime safety and visibility for all drivers and pedestrians, improve the quality of life for citizens, enhance property values, and vastly improve the welcoming peaceful nighttime visual appearance of communities and their surrounding environments.   The International Dark-Sky Association and the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America can provide information that will help your community achieve these worthy goals.   Many of their members belong to the DarkSky List Forum and they volunteer many hours dedicated to helping others learn more about these issues.   These concepts provide a win win solution for everyone.

    Our ultimate mission is to restore the dark night sky around the world to the condition it previously existed for our ancient ancestors eight generations back or more, where we can finally all enjoy the splendor of a profound natural resource offered only by a stellar vista that provides the view of up to 11,000 visible stars on any cloudless summer night the of the year.   Everyone young and old is awed by the natural beauty of the stars overhead, and it is a view that is rapidly disappearing around the globe solely because of obtrusive outdoor lighting.   The solutions are elementary -- If illumination is truly needed to improve safety or security be sure to use only as much light as needed for the task.   Install only well shielded and properly aimed outdoor lighing that remains within the property boundaries.   Use light only when and where it is needed for a specific task at hand.   Keep light from shining above the horizontal plane and into neighbors' yards and windows, and turn the lighting off or reduce it to minimal amounts when nobody is physically present to benefit by it.

    This very important natural resource has enveloped the Earth since the dawn of time itself and it is worthy of our aggressive protection for all future generations to enjoy and admire.   Were it not for man's imagination and burning desire to explain and quantify the physical interactions occuring between the stars and the planets traveling across the the night sky, Johannes Kepler, René Descarte and Isaac Newton may not have developed the Calculus to the extreme degree that they did.   Without the Calculus it would not be possible to have modern engineering and design as sophisticated as we know it today.   The fundamental principles for many of the worlds physical sciences and religions are based on the observations of the stars over the millenia, and we owe them the protection they deserve shearly out of respect for what God and they have provided us with.   Please join us and thank you very much for your concerns over this very important issue.


    Click to join the DarkSky List Forum
     

    Thank you for visiting this website published to help improve long term sustainable development for all municipalities, improve safety for drivers and pedestrians, improve the quality of life for citizens, enhance the nighttime community appearance, benefit our health and well being, and raise public awareness about a fragile and precious natural resource that is being rapidly destroyed.   The starry night sky has all but disappeared in many areas and has been effected to varying degrees for nearly 90% of Americans!   With dark-adapted eyes, we should be able to see at least 2,600 stars under mildly polluted residential skies on any clear moonless evening.   In remote rural areas that have not suffered urban sprawl and overdevelopment it is possible to see four times that many stars on a clear night.

    Today, in most urban areas, and now even many suburban and rural areas less than 100 stars visible in the night sky.   This happened because of wasted illumination needlessly spilled to the sky from poorly shielded and improperly installed outdoor light fixtures.   Obtrusive ourdoor lighting shines visible glare and severely diminishes our ability to see properly in the nighttime environment.   This condition also has a serious effect on our safety and quality of life.   Most of us have not noticed the dwindling view of the stars because Light Pollution crept up on us slowly, one obtrusive light after another over the past three decades.   Most children born today will never know the splendor of a star filled night sky and that alone is tragic.   My own daughter never saw the Milky Way until she was 14 years old, and that is our stellar address in the Universe.   We pump so much stray light into the sky today that we cannot even see our own stellar back yard.

    Light Pollution occurs when too much artificial illumination enters the night sky and reflects off of airborne water droplets and dust particles causing a condition known as skyglow.   Light Pollution occurs when unmanaged glare emitting from improperly aimed and unshielded light fixtures causes uninvited illumination to cross property lines or shine bright light into drivers' eyes.   When this happens, the safety of pedestrians is often placed in jeopardy.   That pedestrian put in this condition may be you or your child someday.   Light pollution also occurs when too much artificial illumination causes nighttime visual performance to be impared.   It is completely unnecessary and as a result it causes damage and confusion for both flora and fauna alike.

    Light Pollution affects everyone's quality of life and many of us do not even realize it.   How so you might ask?

    • Light Pollution robs us of our right to privacy and fair legal use of our land when glaring unshielded lights shine artificial illumination onto our property at night.   It is an unwelcome violation of our space and is known as Light Trespass.   Many communities have nuisance laws that prevent this abuse so check with your local Zoning Enforcement Officer if it is happening in your yard.

    • Light Pollution also robs us of our right to a good sound night's sleep when artificial illumination coming from poorly aimed and unshielded light fixtures shines glare into our windows at night.   Occasionally, poorly aimed lighting gets so bad that even the best blinds and drapes cannot end the spill of light into a room.   When excess light spill gets as bad as it is shown in the photos below, the only way to achieve a dark bedroom at night seems to be to board up the windows because blinds, shades and room darkening drapes do not work against it.

    • Too much artificially generated light at night can have very adverse affects on our health by disrupting natural hormone production that our bodies require!   Research in this area is indicating more links to some very interesting medical questions about how natural circadian rhythms, when disrupted, can increase the risk of certain types of cancer.   For instance, low levels of melatonin have shown to increase growth of tumerogenisis implanted into rats with in vivo studies and has also proven to facilitate the growth of certain human breast cancer cells with in vivo research studies.   Artificially generated light at night affects the pineal gland's ability to produce melatonin (the sleep hormone).   This effect is governed by highly specialized receptor cells located in the eye's retina.   This same circadian disruption occurs in blind people as well, provided their eyes have retinas.

      Research indicates this hormonal effect is not being governed by a visual response, but rather, by autonomic responses when even small amounts of light penetrate the eyelids over a period of several hours, such as while we are sleeping.   Higher intensities of light (1000 lux or roughly 100 footcandles) will disrupt melatonin production immediately, however, the same levels of disruption will still occur with very low levels of light over a longer period of time, indicating the effect is cumulative. (Dr. Richard Stevens, et al., UCONN Health Center)

      Scientific research has not yet determined just how much artificially generated light at night will peak the hormonal response threshold to the point where it will cause various physical damages in the form of premature cancer development to occur in humans.   However, enough evidence has been collected to indicate that we should take great care to always assure our bedrooms and surroundings remain as dark as possible throughout the night.   A very interesting research article was published in October 2000, in Cancer and Causation magazine titled, "Light in the Built Environment: Potential Role of Circadian Disruption in Endocrine Disruption and Breast Cancer", written by Dr. Mark Rae (Director of Rensellear Polytechnic Institute's Lighting Research Center) and Dr. Richard Stevens (Epidemiology Department at University of Connecticut Health Care Center).   This article can no longer be listed at this website due to copyright permission being recinded by the publisher, however, copies may be available from the publisher's website for a modest fee.   Another recent article was released by the Associated Press on October 16, 2001, titled "Working Night Shift in Bright Lights Increases Breast Cancer Risk, Studies Find", where it states that men and women who work the night shift in brightly lit environments suffer a 60% greater chance of developing breast cancer!   Yes, men can get this disease, too!   Light is not nearly innocuous as we have traditionally been lead to believe in the past.   More extensive research continues along these lines every year.

    The examples listed above occur to a great number of people every night.   These conditions are commonly known as Light Trespass.   It should be one your rights not to be forced to suffer this kind of abuse.   In some communities this practice is against the law and is clearly defined in local or state ordinances.   In communities where no lighting ordinance exists, the suggested solution made by the lighting offenders and many town officials is usually to purchase blinds, shades, or room darkening drapes.   If that doesn't work you can always move somewhere else.

    These are ridiculous suggestions because they require you to spend your own hard earned money in order to keep someone else's light from beaming into your house!   What if that light is spilling onto your property with such intensity that it no longer allows you a view of the stars overhead?   What do you do then?   Put up a 50 foot high fence to block the light?   That view of stars has been there since the dawn of time itself, and it should be each person's inalienable right to view unencumbered, the way it was always intended to be.   This starry night view is possible to achieve again through the application of responsible nighttime lighting.   How many people do you know who have requested someone else to shine lights into their windows all night long?

     

    Click the photos below for a larger view. Close browser window to return.
    This is the back yard of an avid amateur astronomer's observatory believe it or not.
           
    Veiling luminance         Light trespass from photo at left

    Photos ©1999 C. Haas

    What is wrong with this picture?   How about keeping the light on the property where the luminaire is installed and on that property only?   Is this act of simple consideration too much to ask for?  

    If someone introduces artificial illumination into the nighttime environment it should be their responsibility to control it.   Luminaire owners and installers should assure illumination is kept within their property lines and not spilling all over the neighborhood and also into the eyes of all drivers and pedestrians passing by.   Proper aiming and shielding by light fixture owners allows nighttime lighting to be easily controlled.   Unfortunately, this considerate behavior usually does not happen, however.   That occurs because no National or local law exists that defines your right to not be flooded with light at night, and until some form of law does exist to prevent this from happening you are open game for anyone who wants to put up a light and shine it on your property!

    Light pollution also affects your quality of life in the following ways:

    • Light pollution severely affects our nighttime visual acuity because it blinds us with glare coming from obtrusively bright streetlights and unshielded floodlights.   The eye will always adapt to very low levels of illumination, but it will also always be attracted to the brightest object in view.   Well designed outdoor light fixtures do not show the source of illumination when they are properly shielded and installed so no light shines above the horizontal plane.   When the source of the illumination is visible it is always brighter than the target area being illuminated.   That is the source of what we know as glare.   Glare is the adversary of all who travel or try to protect property in the night.   Glare belongs in the prison yard of a 1950's movie, not along the community streetscapes we travel, or in our back yards.

      Glare generated by obtrusive outdoor lighting should not be allowed in any community nor on any roadway because it diminishes our ability to see properly and can adversely affect the safety of drivers and pedestrians.   Depending on the brightness, glare coming from an unshielded fixture can disable drivers from being able to see anything except the light itself.   When this is allowed to happen, pedestrians are put in very serious jeopardy because they disappear in a veil of luminance.   If outdoor lighting is properly aimed and also shielded it does not produce disabling glare and this improves both safety and security for everyone.   Bring this to your town manager or state legislator's attention.

    • Wasted electricity from excess illumination spilling into the sky and across property lines wastes an enormous amount of energy needlessly, serving no useful purpose whatsoever.   If you see roadway, billboard or security lighting shining into the treetops it is needless waste.   In areas where electricity is generated by using fossil fuels, this needless waste contributes to additional greenhouse gases in our atmosphere, which have been attributed by numerous noted physicists and scientists to be contributing to global warming.   This past decade was the warmest ever recorded in over a century of record keeping, with 1998 being the warmest year ever.   As a result, governments the world over have agreed to abide by the Kyoto Protocol, which mandates the reduction of man made greenhouse gas being pumped into our atmosphere by the burning of fossil fuels and agricultural management protocols, among other things.   The International Dark-Sky Association estimated in 1996 that nearly 1.5 billion dollars of electricity is being consumed for illumination carelessly spilled directly into the sky each year by the United States alone.   Considering inflated fuel and overhead costs since then it can be conservatively assumed this figure today exceeds 2 billion dollars annually.   The extra electricity waste being caused by light spill that results in light trespass beyond property lines has not been calculated but it could easily triple if not quadruple the amount going into the sky.   Six to eight billion dollars of electricity consumption burns an enormous amount of light bulbs!   The majority of this electricity is generated by burning fossil fuels, also.   It only makes sense to conserve electricity where possible, and turning the night into daytime conditions is neither prudent nor necessary.

      Got Light?   Click on this image to see a larger version of the "Cathedral of Light" erected at a Nazi propaganda rally held at Nuremburg in 1936.   ©1936, Der Parteitag der Ehre vom 8. bis 14. September 1936. Offizieller Bericht über den Verlauf des Reichsparteitages mit sämtlichen Kongreßreden (Munich: Zentralverlag der NSDAP., 1936)

      History of this infamous event is available at..."The Oath Under the Cathedral of Light at the 1936 Nuremberg Party Rally".   It is something that should never be forgotten due to the severity of events and enormous human suffering that soon followed.

      Visit the following website and see if you notice anything similar to the 1936 "Cathedral of Light" held in Nuremberg?   Review the recent Towers of Light Proposal" suggested to honor the thousands of people who recently succumbed to a terrorist act on September 11, 2001.   Please take a moment to send your comments at that website if you do not approve of their memorial proposal.   These people deserve much better in the form of a memorial to honor their passing and demonstrate the spirit of America.

    • Light pollution caused by obtrusive luminaires that are not properly adjusted and shielded needlessly robs everyone of their inalienable right to view the stars.   This view has been an integral part of this planet since the dawn of time itself.   We can no longer see our stellar address in many areas and the problem is growing worse with each new powerful light that gets installed.   The Milky Way actually frightened many people after power went out in a Los Angeles earthquake in the mid-1990s.   People were afraid the earthquake had caused the mysterious cloud that traversed the night sky because they had never seen it there before.   That mysterious cloud was actually the Milky Way!   The Milky Way galaxy is our stellar address in the Universe and most of us cannot even see our own back yard any more.   Many of our children and young adults now think Milky Way is just another candy bar, never having seen the splendor of its awesome beauty overhead.   Community leaders can fix this problem by instuting comprehensive outdoor lighting ordinances that require shielded lighting that does not shine illumination above the horizontal plane or by including this requirement in the local zoning regulations.


    Affecting the Cure for Light Pollution


    The cure for this needless waste of electricity and extra light spillage is relatively simple to achieve.   Use properly aimed shielded fixtures that keep the illumination within the property line where the luminaire is installed.   Use low wattage energy efficient bulbs that provide only as much illumination as needed, distribute the illumination using shielded fixtures that point light downward and do not shine glare above the horizontal plane, and only use outdoor nighttime lighting for as long as it is absolutely necessary.   Security lighting provides the best performance when administered using infrared proximity sensors that cause lights to turn on suddenly when someone approaches a building.   This causes an immediate change of the surrounding environment that will drive most people with ill-intent away and it also raises immediate attention to the area from both neighbors and law enforcement officials.   Security lighting that remains on all night draws absolutely no attention.   More often than not, events occurring on such a property will go unnoticed because anyone seen there is usually perceived as belonging there.

     

    Here are some excellent guidelines how to Take Action!


    How can you help cure Light Pollution?   You already have a very good start.   If you have read this far, you are now aware of many of the problems relating to Light Pollution.   Please consider joining an educational organization like the International Dark-Sky Association, or a light pollution awareness group in your area.   Learn as much as you can about it and inform others along the way as you go about your daily routine.   Please contact your local officials and also Congressional representatives in Washington, DC, to request they take proactive steps to address the light pollution problems that are affecting the quality of life for you, your family, the local community, and the entire Nation as a whole.   Help others achieve methods of reducing light pollution when you can by providing them with ideas and good lighting suggestions from what you have learned.   Inform them of reputable manufacturers you know of that offer good lighting products.   Politely suggest they shield and point their lights downward to keep the illumination on their own property.   The New England Light Pollution Advisory Group offers an informative "Good Neighbor Outdoor Lighting" brochure that can help, too.   Most people are in the dark about good outdoor lighting practices and they will most likely appreciate your advice.   Your voice can and will make a difference.

    Many states and communities have recently passed laws regulating outdoor lighting practices over the past decade, and the trend is accelerating on a worldwide level at a record pace.   Conserving energy and natural resources is the burgeoning new way to enter the millennium.   Light pollution costs much less to cure than it does to perpetuate, and there is no messy toxic residue to clean up afterwards.   Putting an end to light pollution is a responsible and ethical thing to do, and it will enhance the quality of life for nearly every citizen in the process.   It is an equation where the whole equals more than the sum of its parts.

    Establishing outdoor lighting ordinances will help to prevent this kind of eye abuse from occurring to you and other members of your community.   Controlling outdoor illumination does not affect business in a negative manner in any way, shape, or form whatsoever.   In fact, it actually helps boost profits for businesses that are achieved through utility cost savings.   Responsible nighttime illumination using luminaires that employ full cutoff optics (FCO) that do not shine glare or create too much illumination makes roads and parking lots much safer for both drivers and pedestrians.   Removing glare and skyglow also helps to beautify the nighttime appearance for communities, changing them from appearing like the midway concession stands at a country fair into a warm and inviting place to live that can instill a great sense of pride for everyone in the community.

    In the interest of reducing glare to improve safety, security, and visual acuity after dark, the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America recently dramatically lowered their recommended illumination levels for the nighttime environment.   Their publications can help teach DOT officials, utility companies, town planners and zoning officials how to achieve this desirable effect with both grace and elegance.   The IESNA publication of Recommended Practices "Lighting for Exterior Environments" RP-33-99 is available to order from the Internet at: http://www.iesna.org   It is a good read and well worth the investment.   Every town should have a copy and abide by this excellent advice when applying light to the night.

     


    Abstract

    Read an abstract about Light Pollution presented to the 2000 World Congress on Managing and Measuring Sustainable Development.   Where Has the Night Sky Gone, and Why Should We Care? is a presentation that may help to raise awareness and help us discover new ways to manage our environment better than we have done in the past.



    To learn more about the issues of light pollution please visit the LiteLynx List™ research page.   You will find:

    • Numerous organizations helping to educate others
    • Existing and proposed laws to control light pollution
    • Numerous articles printed in magazines and newspapers
    • Photos showing light pollution
    • Links to discover who to write to in order to establish a cure for light pollution
    • Lighting manufacturers and related information

    IDA Lighting Code Handbook Version 1.12

    International Astronomical Union Working Group on "Controlling Light Pollution"

    You may wish to bookmark this next page.   The award winning LiteLynx List is world renowned and it continues to grow and evolve as the research into Light Pollution, health and sustainability issues continues.   Please visit this site again frequently, and tell your friends to stop by, too.   Better yet, ask your local, state, and federal representatives to visit this site also.   The LiteLynx List is dedicated to bringing you the latest and most comprehensive long term sustainabile development information avaliable.

    Please visit the   LiteLynx List ™   research page.

    As someone who is interested in learning more about the enigmatic aspects of outdoor lighting and how it relates to Light Pollution, you are cordially envited to join the DarkSky List Forum (DSLF) interactive reference library and discussion group.   The DarkSky List Forum replaced the original IDA DRKSKY listserver when Bryan Greer transferred its ownership to IDA/IESNA member Cliff Haas.   The concept of the DSLF has changed dramatically and it now includes members from all walks of life including but not limited to designers and engineers, local, state, and federal officials with varying levels of responsibility, management and engineering level personnel from world class luminaire manufacturers, planning commissioners, zoning board members, town managers, IDA members, and professional and also amateur astronomers.   Anyone who wishes to learn more about how to improve long term sustainability of their communities is welcome to join.   This Forum, just like all other forums or listservers of this type, is not to be considered an *official voice* of the International Dark-Sky Association.   To join the DarkSky List Forum, simply click on the icon below:

    Click to subscribe to DarkSky List Forum

    Shielding Plans and Diagrams   New Item 12/05/2001

    Click on the link above to learn how easy it is to create and apply shielding for outdoor lighting.   Economical solutions can easily be created with readily available materials using simple tools that most people have in thier homes.   The goal is to send the light where it is needed and not into people's eyes, across property lines, or into the night sky.

      
    Lets go from this:To this:
    Sky photos Copyright ©2000 Joe Roberts
    It is possible to do!   The American National Dark Sky Act can restore the night sky to its full splendor!
      
    This is how our planet looks at night from a satellite view!   All of the light you see is caused entirely because of bad lighting that is not shielded or pointed downward.   Each year the US wastes two billion dollars on electricity that is sent needlessly to the sky at night!   This wasted light costs you money, robs your rights to see the stars and invades your right to privacy!   Please write to Congress requesting Light Pollution Reform!
    Photo ©IDA from NOAA DSMP Satellite 
      
      
     

    Featured Links

     
    September 2001 SkyWise Glare Cartoon
     
    Excellent photographs of responsible and obtrusive outdoor lighting by Eric Fitzpatrick
    Changing the World One Light at a Time -- Hartford Courant 8-6-2001
     
    Buy Dark Sky Lighting Here
    Click here to visit Elights today!
     
  • Rejoice! Connecticut now requires FCO lights on ALL roads per Public Act 01-134!   New Item 6/15/2001
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  • A Groundbreaking Light-Pollution Law - Sky & Telescope 6-27-2001
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    Read what the International Astronomical Union Commission 50 Working Group on Preventing Light Pollution has to say:
    Environmental News Service Article -- August 17, 2000
    Light Pollution Dims Stars, Wastes Energy
     
    IDA Information Sheets
     
    Beginner's Guide to Lighting Regulation
     
    Astronomical Society of Greater Hartford Light Pollution Information
     
    International Astronomical Union Commission 50 Working Group on Preventing Light Pollution
     
    Visit the LiteLynx List™ research page  Must See! Updated regularly
     
    Breakthrough in Queensland Australia
     
    Light Pollution: The Bane of Astronomers Amateur and Professional
     
    Visit the DarkSky List Forum   Shine all light down! Learn how here...
     
    Seeking FCO residential lighting? Click here:
     

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