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- Category: International Dark Sky Association
We'll start with Bozeman, MT and an article by Katheryn Houghton of the Bozeman Chronicle (photo by Ryan Berry of the Chronicle) from Jan 2020: "Bozeman updated its light standards in 2017 to replace its streetlights with LED bulbs, which use less electricity and last longer than the high-pressure sodium bulbs the city previously relied on.... Some complained the new lights took over the night skies and seeped through their windows, an issue former commissioner Jeff Krauss repeated often in recent years on the board...[and] city staff have said they could dim and add shields to lights that are too bright."
The city owns and maintains 768 of the lights in town - the majority of which are LED -and the state has fewer than 70. Northwestern Energy owns the biggest chunk - 1,400 street lights - and a majority aren’t LED." Northwestern is now retrofitting with LEDs across the state. But ultimately there is a problem. Bozeman doesn't know who owns 1,100 of the 3,300 light fixtures in town.
Now we come to Keith Smith reporting in a recent 31 July article in AAAS Science: "Dimming or extinguishing street lights can reduce light pollution, but its efficacy has been difficult to measure. Barentine et al. [in Journal of Quantitative Spectroscopy and Radiative Transfer] monitored the sky brightness over the city of Tucson, [AZ], during a test of a new municipal street lighting system. The city authorities dimmed their streetlights at midnight, allowing the authors to determine that street lighting now contributes only 14% of Tucson's total light pollution. Further reductions must focus on other sources, such as private businesses and illuminated advertising."
Light polution is a serious issue being addressed by the International Dark Sky Association https://www.darksky.org/ The approach to reducing sky light pollution needs to focus on updating lighting codes and standards, but we need to convince our lawmakers there is a problem: Become a science-citizen to measure light pollution and advocate for a modern lighting ordinance in your town. There are many other things you can do - go to:https://www.darksky.org/get-involved/
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- Category: International Dark Sky Association
One Hundred Fifty years ago there were no street lights and there was no light polution. You could see the dark night skiy. The International Dark Sky Association and National Geographic have teamed up to present a 3 minute video to show the thrill of seeing truly dark skies. The experience is related by both adults and children who view what the night skies offer. Join that experience and become active in reducing light polution. Watch the IDA-National Geographic video "Under Dark Skies". Visit: https://thenewsspace.com/under-the-dark-skies-national-geographic/
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- Category: International Dark Sky Association
Call to Action: The International Dark Sky Association (IDA)is seeking 2,000 globe at night measurments. IDA wants night sky enthusiasts around the world to rate the brightness of their night sky with the Globe at Night night sky measurement campaign. The data will be used to educate decision-makers and the public about the urgent need to apply pragmatic solutions to mitigate the effects of light pollution. Measurements can be made now through April 5,2019.
Do you care about perserving our dark night skies? International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) is a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to protecting the night skies from light pollution. "Today, IDA is the recognized authority for night sky protection and has taken the lead in identifying and publicizing the negative impacts of artificial light at night on human health, wildlife and climate change."
Here at Observatory Park in Fairfax County we know that we have some of the regions darkest skies. But it may not be that way in the future. With the expansion of Tyson's Corner business district, and the communities of Reston and Herndon having increased population, we need to become involved in civic planning and urban development.
But there are solutions: inappropriate or excessive use of artificial light can be curtailed by improved light fixtures or repointing them. "The fact is that much outdoor lighting used at night is inefficient, overly bright, poorly targeted, improperly shielded, and in many cases, completely unnecessary. This light, and the electricity used to create it, is being wasted by spilling it into the sky, rather than focusing it on to the actual objects and areas that people want illuminated."
Read more about the International Dark Sky Association at https://www.darksky.org/
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