Image source: Flickr shor, uploaded on February 1, 2008 by seen_it_

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“There is a role — and savings — for individuals as well. When retrofitting, purchase fully shielded lights. Install motion detectors. When swapping out lights (such as to CFLs), energy efficiency isn’t the only consideration. If it were, you’d merely be highly efficient with your ongoing light pollution.

Instead, consider lessening the light output, or lumens, of your new light bulbs. (Comparing lumens on the box of light bulbs is like comparing grams of sugar on the sides of cereal boxes.) Aim your lights down. Or simply turn them off.

Four hundred years ago, Galileo peered into the darkness as others had not. Equally important, he did something about it. That’s where we are today. Like Galileo, we have looked up at night and have seen that something is amiss. Now we need to change our way of thinking, for the old way of lighting up the night sky indiscriminately no longer works. Much is at risk.”

Consider the following hypothetical thought experiment:

The year is 2060. Light pollution is still considered a non-issue. Current lighting trends from 2010 have continued to brighten our streets, roadways and cities. Light pollution has engulfed the sky. Day and Night are no longer mutually exclusive. For those who have seen the stars, we now represent the elderly population. Several generations of children have grown up and for many of them, they’ve never seen the night sky and have only heard stories or old photographs of such a sight. Turtle and nocturnal creature populations have declined to severely critical levels or have become extinct. It’s possible a cure for breast cancer may of been found, but one of its catalysts remains. Our bodies yearn for darkness, to help align our circadian rhythm once again.

Now it’s time to separate fact from fiction.

Facts:

Light pollution adversely affects all creatures with circadian rhythms.

Light pollution is 100% irreversible.

Light pollution will engulf the sky if action is not taken.

Take action for your lighting needs. Tell your city council members, senators and leaders about your light pollution plight and let them know that light pollution is a real blight to everyone. Lets have darker skies!

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“Our telescope used to spot stars with magnitudes of 17 or 18. However, at the moment, we are only able to catch magnitudes of 13 or 14.” – Zhao Junliang, the former head of Shanghai Astronomical Observatory.

Another one bites the dust. The Sheshan branch of the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory’s second largest optical telescope can no longer participate with other international telescopes. Why? There’s too much light pollution in and around Shanghai. The Sheshan branch of Shanghai Astronomical Observatory lies approximately 23 miles outside of Shanghai on Mount Sheshan, which at the time, proved invaluable to mapping the stars above. Presently, the Sheshan branch of the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory is considering remote sensing options in Chile or Hawaii, as well as relocating the observatory to a better suited location. Similar to other nations around the world, China has ignored the effects of light pollution and ruled its effects as ‘inconclusive.’ Whilst the negative health effects of water and air pollution are readily ostensible, nations around the globe haven’t considered the health effects of light pollution due to a lack of palpable evidence. Light pollution affects all life on Earth. Most creatures on the planet, including humanity, functions on a biological clock. This clock, known as the circadian rhythm, is defined in the The American Heritage® Science Dictionary as:

A daily cycle of biological activity based on a 24-hour period and influenced by regular variations in the environment, such as the alternation of night and day. Circadian rhythms include sleeping and waking in animals, flower closing and opening in angiosperms, and tissue growth and differentiation in fungi. See also biological clock.

Furthermore: 

Our Living Language : The circadian rhythm, present in humans and most other animals, is generated by an internal clock that is synchronized to light-dark cycles and other cues in an organism’s environment. This internal clock accounts for waking up at the same time every day even without an alarm clock. It also causes nocturnal animals to function at night when diurnal creatures are at rest. Circadian rhythms can be disrupted by changes in daily schedule. Biologists have observed that birds exposed to artificial light for a long time sometimes build nests in the fall instead of the spring. While the process underlying circadian rhythm is still being investigated, it is known to be controlled mainly by the release of hormones. In humans, the internal clock is located within the brain’s hypothalamus and pineal gland, which releases melatonin in response to the information it receives from photoreceptors in the retina. Nighttime causes melatonin secretion to rise, while daylight inhibits it. Even when light cues are absent, melatonin is still released in a cyclical manner.

Light pollution positively correlates with breast cancer, a decline in sea turtle population and sleep disorders.

Heavens above: great conditions for night-time observations
Image Credit: telegraph.co.uk

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“We can make the whole family feel like Galileo. When you can see the planets in detail with your own eyes, it makes you ask questions as to how big they really are, how the solar system was formed and how to peer beyond our own Milky Way to the galaxies beyond. We can also help you find and recognise different constellations, planets, nebulae and star clusters that you never even knew existed.” – Carmelo, who runs AstroTour Isla Bonita

Situated off the northwest coast of Africa, the island La Palma, in the Spanish Canary Islands, attracts visitors from around the world because of its astro-tourism. Much of La Palma’s geography is high altitude mountains, untainted by light pollution. In fact, it is home to the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory, where much of the telescopes are optical and infrared, and offers the second clearest skies in the northern hemisphere, rivaled by the best, the Mauna Kea Observatory, Hawaii. The Roque de los Muchachos Observatory is situated at 7,860 feet above sea level, where it rests above the cloud line.

Roque de los Muchachos Observatory.
Credit: Nik Szymanek (ING), IAC, ENO

Much of the success of La Palma and the other Canary Island observatories lies in their urban planning policies. Settlements on the island must follow strict lighting guidelines in order to prevent light pollution from obscuring the night sky. Aside from being a warm climate year round for travelers primarily from Europe, the Spanish Canary Islands have carved a niche for themselves with astro-tourism.

Credits for the images

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Can you see the difference? Whilst most individuals may not have a floodlight, the fact remains: unshielded lights waste energy and contribute to light pollution. As population trends continue to rise, it’s inevitable energy consumption will also continue to rise. Expanded population growth will expand the size of towns, cities and metropolises, as well as their general city infrastructure. Presently, the majority of towns, cities and metropolises use 40 year old lighting technologies to light their homes, sidewalks and expressways. Who is this infamous light? Enter high pressured sodium lighting. These unshielded lights emit quite a bit of heat, require high wattage lamps to illuminate the ground and remain woefully inefficient. From an infrastructure standpoint, these lamps have a horrific longevity to energy efficiency ratio yet no alternative ’seems’ to exist. The solution is shielding. When a light is shielded, it directs the light downward, where it’s needed. With the direction of the light in its proper place, one does not require the same watt light lamp found in a high pressured sodium lamp. The reason? High pressure sodium lamps require high wattage lamps to compensate for the loss of light into the heavens or otherwise known as ‘light trespass’ – see figure above. Shielded lighting eliminates that inefficiency and allows for more energy efficient and lower wattage bulbs or lamps to do the ’same’ job. All of these benefits translate into, from an infrastructure perspective, thousands or perhaps millions of dollars in energy savings depending on the size of the settlement. From a human perspective, the benefits of shielded lighting translates into a triumphant return of the night sky. Light pollution is a serious scourge on human and animal health and life. We have the technology to completely, 100%, no ifs or buts, eradicate light pollution entirely. The question lies in if we have the courage, determination and patience to fix it.

It’s ironic that I founded Starry Night Lights to protect the night sky only to find myself spending less time outside enjoying it’s incredible beauty, but, such is life. Last night, however skies cleared and I simply couldn’t pass up the wonderful views of the January full moon, known to native americans as the Wolf Moon.

Temperatures were in the upper teens, but the stillness of the night (and the many layers of clothing I wore) made it feel quite comfortable. I had to clear a path through the snow just to get to the telescope but was up and running pretty quick. Full moon nights aren’t typically my favorite nights to observe, since the brightness of the moon hides much of the night sky from view. However, the moon is a special target that offers so much detail that you can spend an evening just looking at it. I took the accompanying image using my Canon Rebel XTi attached at prime focus through an Astro Physics Starfire 160 (6.2″) telescope.

As a special bonus, the red planet, Mars was just a few degrees to the east of the moon (it’ll be west of the moon tonight). Mars has grown considerably bigger and brighter over the past several weeks and it was just starting to show some surface detail (skies were clear, but not all that steady).

If you find yourself under clear skies this weekend. Wrap up in something warm, turn off any outdoor lighting you might have (you won’t need it to see), and checkout the beauty of the night sky. If you have binoculars or a telescope, be sure to point it towards the moon. The views will be quite rewarding. NOTE: set your equipment outside for at least a half hour prior to viewing if at all possible so that it can equalize with the outside temperatures for better viewing.

Some of the features you can look for during a full moon. Credit: Starry Night Software
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Although the moon poses as an annoyance to astronomers, due to its natural light pollution, I’m sure they’ll and everyone will appreciate the moon tonight. Tonight the moon will reach its perigee, its closet point to the Earth. The moon is not in a circular orbit and thus, we’re allowed to see the moon at such ‘close’ (perigee) and ‘long’ (apogee) range. This will be a moon to remember for the year, for it will appear at its largest. The first full moon of the year has many names, such as Old Moon, Wolf Moon, Moon After Yule, and Ice Moon; in “Hindi it is known as Paush Poornima and its Sinhala (Buddhist) name is Duruthu Poya.”

Image credit: whatis.techtarget.com/WhatIs/images/perigee.gif

So what exactly can one see on the moon? Well, for starters, one can find the ‘man on the moon.’ This image of the ‘man on the moon’ forms from the light and shadows across the moon’s face. The darker crevasses on the moon’s face are known as maria (singular mare, Latin for sea), where oceans once existed 4 billion years ago, whereas the lighter areas are the moon’s cratered highlands, where asteroids have battered it for many, many years.

Happy mooning!

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You’ve probably heard the adage ‘the children are the key to our future’ many times throughout your lifetime, but I find education on the subject of the environment pivotal to young and old learners alike. Denying the importance of the our environment denies the importance of our existence. So for those with progeny or thinking of begetting offspring, what values can you instill? According the article, teaching the importance of conservation would be ideal. By doing so, your children would learn the importance of saving, say monetary funds or conserving a habitat, which would later pass on to their children. As all children grow up, parents could inform them the savings of buying bulk. Whilst the initial price may seem high, the return one would receive over time would demonstrate another form of saving – efficiency. I find it equally wonderful and disheartening that products continue to become more and more energy efficient. Wonderful that the consumer can ‘pay for’ the said device from the energy savings alone; disheartening that the consumer understands the initial high cost as ‘too much’ in the short-term. Teaching saving and efficiency values to children and young adults would help admonish future generations to think expenses in the long-term rather than the short-term.

Light pollution represents short-term thinking. A town, city or metropolis requires lights to light their streets. The nearly 40 year old standard of High Pressure Sodium Light exists as an easy choice that’s been around for ages. They’re inexpensive and get the job done. But at what cost? High Pressure Sodium Lights are notorious for being high maintenance, costly to repair and terribly inefficient. They’re also infamous for creating sky glare or otherwise known as light pollution due to its unshielded, high wattage light bulb. Yet why do towns, cities and metropolises continue to build more of these inefficient lights? That’s a good question. I suppose the alternatives pose a much larger upfront cost than the ‘originals’ do, but here’s the truth: the alternatives in the long-term will save more money and pay ‘itself’ off. If you’re convinced and ready to think in the long-term, come visit Starry Night Lights‘ selection of shielded, energy efficient lights for all your lighting needs.

Image credit: http://www.sombreroshelters.com/
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“Sombrero Shelters and Zeta Solar have launched its Mass Transit Solar Applications that is considered to be the most exciting solar powered product launch of the year. These applications are powered by the sun and they utilize the most successful Zeta Solar Technology. Electrical power is gathered by these applications during the day and this power is used to charge maintenance free battery cells that power efficient LEDs to shine brightly at night.”

Sombrero Shelters and Zeta Solar have come to a distribution agreement to make solar power nationally ubiquitous. According to the CEO of Sombrero Shelters John Bright, the move makes perfect sense, since the deal suits the company’s interest to move the company in the direction of mass transit. Sombrero Shelters targets a somewhat niche market of installing in places that larger, conventional shelters simply can not due to size restrictions. Zeta Solar on the other hand, specializes in high efficient, cost efficient lighting stand alone solutions.

“The Solar Mini Pod, the Solis Pole and the Solar StopLight are the range of Zeta Solar products. The Solar Mini Pod is a well designed bus shelter lighting kit, which is cost effective, vandal resistant and aesthetic in appearance and it can also be installed on an existing shelter. The Solis Pole can be used for a number of applications including vehicle and street lighting activated traffic signage. The Solar StopLight provides higher security for passengers and bus drivers by illuminating the bus stops. The StopLight is simple to install, slim line, maintenance free and completely waterproof. Zeta Solar products are eco-friendly and possess long lifetime and high reliability. They eliminate light pollution. They do not require mains connection and hence no utility bills.”

Image credit: http://philgamer.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/dark_alley.jpg

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HEADLINE:  “OLYMPIA – Downtown business leaders and the city have joined forces to clean and light another alley, reducing both grime and crime, they say.”

“Dirty alleys encourage rodent infestation, standing water and impediments to emergency vehicles.

The city’s long-term goal is turning the alleys into a work of art. Eventually, murals would be added to the backs of buildings. That cuts down on graffiti” – Downtown code-enforcement officer Ruthie Snyder

When one thinks of an alleyway in a city, one does not think of it as a place of safe refuge. Often, an alleyway carries a negative connotation and paints a picture of homelessness, graffiti and crime. Rather than passively accepting alleyways for what they are, enter the city of Olympia and its fairly new city initiative to turn alleyways into “clean, well-lit spaces with lights and murals.” Work has already been done on “a block of alleys between Fourth and State avenues and Jefferson and Cherry streets” and between “Fourth and Fifth avenues and Washington and Franklin streets” so far. The city initiative’s  choice of lighting is also laudable:

“The lights that are installed are “dark sky” lights that are shielded and point down so they don’t create light pollution that muddies the sky with a yellow glow at night.”

Shielded lighting works. Period. One can achieve the same amount of brightness found in a regular high pressure sodium light yet save tremendously on energy costs and clearer night skies. I am curious to see if the city initiative would consider and test out motion sensing lights as part of their plan. Starry Night Lights carries a variety of shielded lighting and motion sensing products for all your needs.

BRIGHT LIGHTS: Pittsburgh officials worry that a total switch to LED streetlights will make the streets too bright after dark. (Photo: caseywest/Flickr)

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Admonished by University of Pittsburgh’s Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation, Pittsburgh, Penn., may replace its high-pressure sodium lights to light-emitting-diode (LED) lamps this upcoming summer. The University found that LED lamps rank substantially higher in longevity than high-pressure sodium lamps. In addition, LED lamps offer a more environmentally solution to lighting due to their higher watt per lumens ratio. Therefore, considering the overall lifespan of an LED lamp, the LED lamp is clearly the superior choice. The University estimated an annual savings of “$1 million annually in energy costs and $700,000 in maintenance fees” and a C02 emissions cut of approximately “6,818 metric tons per year,” if the city switched to LED lamps. Of course, three caveats emerge: blue tint, light pollution and poor heat dissipation.

First, the article states that concentrated light emitted from LED lamps manifests as a blue-tinted light. These concerns are partially true, although I find it prudent to crush these half-truths. It’s true, some LED lamps produce a blue tint. The concern with the blue tint lies in its colour wavelength it emits: blue is a from High-energy visible light (HEV). Most LED lamps are blue / white ‘cool’ LED lights calibrated to emit ‘white’ light – hence the blue tint. Presently, blue ‘cool’ LED lights rank the highest on the energy efficient scale. True ‘white’ warm LED lamps have been an obstacle to match the efficiency of ‘cool’ LED lights but significant strides have been made to make it a reality.

Second, the article states that that concentrated light emitted from LED lamps may produce light pollution. Following the Rayleigh scattering principle, the scattering of electromagnetic radiation by particles with dimensions much smaller than the wavelength of the radiation, resulting in angular separation of colors and responsible for the reddish color of sunset and the blue of the sky, light emitted by blue / white ‘cool’ LED lights would emit more light pollution due the shortened wavelength and higher frequency of blue on the ROYGBIV or electromagnetic spectrum. Scientifically, it’s absolutely correct. Although there is a way to drastically or eliminate light pollution all together: direct the light downward.

Third, the article states that that concentrated light emitted from LED lamps have poor heat dissipation. Poor heat dissipation is a ubiquitous fact for all high-pressure sodium lights; they waste energy and decrease the lifespan of the bulb. This once shortcoming for high-pressure sodium lights, has now become a laudable advantage. Why? An article back in December of last year mentioned how a town switched to Blue / White cool LED lamps for their traffic lights and found that the lamps can not melt snow due to its cool operating temperature. Fortunately, no drivers were harmed. Perhaps when warm LED lights can match the efficiency of cool LED lights, the public will see quite the contrary.

I’ll admit, LED has its limitations. It’s a burgeoning technology that offers tremendous energy savings and advantages over high-pressure sodium lights once the technology matures.

As of now, Pittsburgh, Penn., is one of the few nationwide cities that does not have a lighting code whatsoever.

“Several subcommittees of the Pittsburgh City Council will develop a better streetlight network and, as the city is one of the few nationwide without a lighting code, will propose a Pittsburgh lighting code. Once these analyses and codes are in place, the city will make a final decision regarding the switch. At any rate, Pittsburgh hopes the research study and task force studies will serve as “a standard tool for municipalities worldwide to evaluate streetlight technologies.” The city hopes to begin installation of new lights later this summer.”

At the very least, Pittsburgh will have a lighting code and given their concern for light pollution and safety, their heart is certainly in the right place.