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Information from web site of Cliff Haas, CtStarWchr@aol.com:

Subject:  Light Pollution Internet Links

Please consider adding the following Internet links to your website. I volunteer spare time to discover and offer additional Internet resources to help bring a greater public awareness to the issues of Light Pollution. It is a little known phenomenon to most of the general public. Light Pollution occurs when an over abundance of light is pointed into the sky.

Results of Light Pollution effect everyone by introducing more greenhouse gases and other noxious chemicals into the atmosphere from the powerplants that generate extra electricity by consuming fossil fuels. Good lighting is shielded, low wattage, and points downward. These links explain how to do the job with grace and elegance, and also explain the consequences when we do not.

The links that I have collected offer a number of resources for others to learn more about this subject and how to approach curing the problem. I also advocate webmasters who receive these resources to add more links that I have not yet discovered, and forward them to other astronomy and environmentally concerned webmasters in your area. The more people who learn about this subject, the better chance of getting active legislation put in place that will help cure the problem. Spreading the word about Light Pollution to as many people as possible will benefit all who adore a clear dark night sky abundant with stars.

If we all act in unison it may be possible to get the stars back in our night skies sooner than anyone ever believed before. Membership in organizations like the IDA will help reach that goal due to the numbers represented by the collective group when IDA and private citizens approach politicians and zoning officials to institute more comprehensive outdoor lighting ordinances. Thank you for considering my proposal to inform as many people as possible.

Sincerely,


Cliff Haas
Proud to be an IDA member! Please visit http://www.darksky.org

Light Pollution Educatonal & Associations

Light Pollution Articles

Lighting Ordinances & Laws

Outdoor Lighting Information & Manufacturers

Photos of Light Pollution

Links to Government - Write to your representative today.

Seeking Sponsor For Federal Light Pollution Reform Legislation
 

In the arena of nighttime outdoor lighting, anarchy still reigns supreme in most locations.   As an effort to prevent this eye abuse from continuing to hamper our nighttime safety and visual acuity, along with destroying our starry night skies, I have been writing to members of Congress requesting a Sponsor for a new Bill titled the American National Dark Sky Act.   This Act would mandate all states, counties, and municipalities to adapt comprehensive outdoor lighting ordinances for their areas that would adhere to a fair minimum Federal standard.

Such an endeavor would serve to:

Glare is an adversary of all who travel in the night.   Glaring lights greatly hamper good nighttime vision because the eye always adapts to the brightest object in view, thus greatly affecting visual acuity and everyone's safety.   The Illuminating Engineering Society of North America drastically reduced the recommended nighttime illumination levels in 1999 with an effort to address this safety condition.   To achieve the best energy savings, bulb wattage should be reduced to absolute minimums whenever possible, adequate shielding should be used to direct the illumination more effectively, and lighting should only be used where it is absolutely needed and only used for as long as needed.

Bright security lights that produce glare do not prevent crime.   No crime study ever commissioned by the Department of Justice has been able to substantiate this claim.   The best that can be claimed is that bright lights merely make people "feel" safer.   Any good security expert will tell you that a rapid change of the surrounding environment is the most effective for this task.   Infrared proximity and motion sensors connected to security lighting or alarms is the most effective solution for burglary prevention because when lights go on suddenly it draws immediate attention from others.   Bright glaring lights that stay on all night long go unnoticed because most people who see someone approaching under those conditions usually believes the person belongs there.

Please review Iowa House File 265 to see an example of what would make a fair minimum Federal law that all comunities could adhere to.   This will achieve the goals of reducing pollution, improving nighttime vision that offers better safety and security, and it will save everyone including businesses and municipalities an enormous amount of money in the process.

With outdoor nighttime lighting, the most waste of our natural resources occurs when the majority of the population is sleeping!   Light pollution costs less to cure than it does to perpetuate.   When unwanted light crosses property lines uninvited it is a condition known as light trespass.   It should be your inalienable right not to suffer this kind of abuse.   The New Millennium should be a time of reform with a commitment to save energy and natural resources.   The starry night sky is one of our most fragile and precious natural resources that deserves our continued protection.   Please write to your representatives in Washington asking them to address the light pollution and light trespass issues that have been reducing your quality of life for decades.   Federally mandated light pollution reform is a win-win situation for everyone including private citizens, businesses and municipalities, also.   Please consider writing to Congress today.

Sincerely,

Cliff Haas

CtStarWchr@aol.com Proud to be an IDA member! Please visit http://www.darksky.org today.