Light Pollution: How Seeing the Stars will Save You Money and possibly save your life if you are fem

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Light Pollution How Seeing the Stars will Save
You Moneyand possibly save your life if you are
femaleDr. Harold WilliamsMontgomery College
Planetariumlocated at the Takoma Park/Silver
SpringCampus http//montgomerycollege.edu/Depart
mennts/planet
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What Is It?

• The Night Around Us.
• Our Communities.
• The Night Above Us. Dark skies.

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The Bottom Line on Why

• For a functional, comfortable, and beautiful
  nighttime environment.
• For an environment friendly to
• humans, including the aging eye,
• wildlife,
• plants,
• the night sky.

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Where to light and when?

• Only where it is needed.
• Avoid obtrusive light.
• No wasted light or energy.
• Only when needed.

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How much light?

• The myth of The More the Better.
• Use IESNA or CIE recommended levels.
• Environmental lighting zones.
• Consider the location where you are.
• Use good transition lighting.

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North America at Night
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Poor security lighting, using an old fashion 175
watt mercury fixture
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Almost a definition of light trespass, at an
installation in San Francisco, but could be in
Silver Spring.
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Glare from a walkway light.
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Glare, luminance overload, bad transition lighting
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Why so much bad lighting ?

• Lack of awareness.
• Even in the lighting community.
• Builders, contractors, owners, operators.
• The public. Governmental staff.
• Apathy, or inertia.

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Keys to Quality Lighting

• See the effect, not the source.
• Shine the light down.
• No glare!
• Light only where and when needed.
• Dont over light.
• Use energy efficient sources.

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Use of a full cut-off fixture for a parking lot
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A good antique (or period lighting) fixture, full
cut-off
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Here is another good example, using lighting
fixtures with good control of the light output.
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So

• It works, right? Its common sense.
• Use only good lighting!
• Lets fix the bad stuff!
• Educate everyone build allies.

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Your Sixth Sense!

• Melanopsin
• Suprachiasmatic nucleus
• Pineal gland
• Melatonin

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Melatonin C13H16N2O2
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Eye
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Some demographic evidence

• Artificial lighting in the industrialized world
  circadian disruption and breast cancer by Richard
  G. Stevens in Cancer Causes Control (2006)
  17501507
• LIGHT AT NIGHT CO-DISTRIBUTES WITH INCIDENT
  BREAST BUT NOT LUNG CANCER IN THE FEMALE
  POPULATION OF ISRAEL in Chronobiology
  International, 25(1) 6581, (2008) by Itai
  Kloog, Abraham Haim, Richard G. Stevens, Micha
  Barchana, and Boris A. Port

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Some Other Issues

• Visibility
• Safety and security
• The aging and disabled eye
• Human health, and animals and plants.
• Energy
• We all win!

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IDA

• The International Dark-Sky Association
• Newsletter.
• Information sheets. Images. Slides.
• CDs, videos, and so on.
• Web site www.darksky.org
• Join IDA ! We need you.

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IDAs Goals

• To preserve and protect the nighttime environment
  and our heritage of dark-skies through quality
  outdoor lighting.
• Membership based. Over 10,000 members, from all
  the states and 70 other countries. 500
  organizations.

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International Dark-Sky Association

• 3225 N First Avenue
• Tucson AZ 85719 USA
• 520-293-3198 Fax [phone]
• ida_at_darksky.org
• www.darksky.org

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Recent State of Maryland movement for good
environmentally responsible lighting

• Maryland General Assembly Roadway Lighting Bill
  HB816 new (very good legislation). The honorable
  Alfred Carr email who introduced this house bill.
  State Senator Jenny Forehand has introduced a
  companion bill in the Maryland Senate SB891
  (some more information on this bill, too).
• Maryland Outdoor Lighting Task Force Report from
  2001 Maryland Outdoor Lighting Task force report.

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Some good local Montgomery County lighting laws
that have not passed yet

• Outdoor Lighting Standards Established Bill No.
  4-07.pdf, not yet passed as far as I can see.
• Zoning Text Amendment in Montgomery County
  07-01.pdf, not yet passed as far as I can see.
• How come? If you can find out please tell me!