“You can never have an impact on society if you have not changed yourself”

                                                                                   -  Nelson Mandela

Starry Night Lights is dedicated to improving the quality of our night sky, by providing lighting that reduces light pollution, and allows us to enjoy the beauty of our night. It is our belief that by using more efficient and environmentally friendly light bulbs, one will both improve the environment and save money. We also encourage individuals to choose lighting that will not have negative consequence on close neighbors or on wildlife. In fact, we offer motion sensitive lighting options which offer a very sensible way to preserve energy and money.

Starry Night Lights offer many different forms of lighting that can help one take a step in lighting their home with sky and neighbor friendly lighting. These many forms include:

-          Low Voltage Deck & Pathway Lighting

-          Recessed Lighting

-          Area Lighting

-          Bollard Lighting

-          Low Pressure Sodium

Each of these systems of lighting, are designed to give light only where it is needed. They are also designed in a way to ensure that the darkness of the night is not compromised, but yet they still serve as excellent and useful lighting. Starry Night Lights also seeks to incorperate as many different designs and styles as possible, into our lighting systems. This way one can protect the environment, and have up-to-date appliances.

Recent information published by U.S. and Italian scientists shows just how invasive and damaging light pollution has become. Nearly two thirds of the Earth’s population experiences unwanted light. Indeed in many urban areas it never gets dark. Even small amounts of extraneous light has huge effects – on birds, which fly into buildings; on some tree frogs, whose mating patterns are disrupted; on some hatchling turtles, which become confused; and on ALL life forms (yes, even human health is affected by light at night) when light at night disrupts critical hormone functioning. It is estimated that light pollution – as well as wasting energy – has been growing at 10% per year since the 1960s.

You can help wildlife and provide nice ambiance on your deck with this wildlife friendly outdoor deck light (HCO-GACL1) by Hadco Lighting. This fixture has a top cap and housing that are hand-formed solid copper with flamed-cut edges. This keeps light on the ground where it belongs, not up in the night sky where it is completely wasted and unwanted. The bottom, of course, is open. The fixture is 5 ” high and 3 1/8 ” wide with an antique copper finish. A xenon lamp is included.

You can sleep better at night knowing that you are not contributing to the harmful effects of light pollution upon our planet….

We can consider “bad” lighting to be any light that contributes to light pollution. It is misdirected lighting that spills into your neighbor’s yards, up into the night sky and/or your overly bright light that glares into one’s eyes. You can probably think of several examples of bad lighting in your communities, store lights, street lights, and I hope not your neighbors’ lights.

Along with wasting money, energy and valuable natural resources, light pollution makes it very difficult and maybe even impossible to absorb the wonder and vastness of the Milky Way, with its hundreds of billions of stars.

How about “good” lighting? That would be lights that are turned off when and where they are not needed as well as lights that are directed down to that they do need to illuminate. They also do not intrude into someone else’s property.

We must decide that we don’t want to infringe on another person’s darkness.

At Starry Night Lights we specialize in good lighting. There are hundreds of choices depending on your taste.

The kich-9846-4803 (shown) is a casual, dark sky, neighbor friendly light is by Kicher Lighting. It has a brass body that is 17″ high and 8″ wide and it is suitable for wet locations. This is just one example of what we would call a good light.

Al Gore’s documentary “An Inconvenient Truth” caused quite a stir and it seemed that for the first time people were taking global warming seriously. But it was not Al Gore who took the first step in making the world aware of the global issues that our world was suffering from. In fact, the Environmental Movement was started by everyday American citizens, who personally felt the repercussions of what human consumption was doing to the Earth.

The Environmental Movement is a political, social and scientific movement, which had its start in a grassroots effort to get the government and individuals involved in the issues of our environment. It was their hope that the government would control the management of natural resources, by creating legislation and awareness that could protect the environment.

The movement began in the United States in 1832, through the conservation movement. The leaders of this movement were Henry David Thoreau and George Perkins Marsh. The movement grew in the 19^th century, with the rise in industry and its effect on air and the Earth. Environmental awareness increased after WWII, during this time several events made concerns over the condition of the environment more important. These events included: radioactive fall out, impact of chemicals on the environment, oil spills and the like. By 1972, the United Nations held the first Human Environment conference which led to the development of special government agencies like the UN Environment Program to help regulate and set environmental standards.

The environmental disaster at Love Canal in New York further increased the strength of the Environmental Movement. The problem began when an elementary school, was constructed near a ‘toxic burial site’, which resulted in health problems for the citizens of Love Canal. Lois Gibbs, a citizen of the town, with a high school education, started an awareness movement for the dilemma at Love Canal. By revealing how people of the town had been suffering from; a high rate of cancer, birth defects, epilepsy, asthma, infections and so forth.

Eventually, after much fighting, the government relocated the citizens of Love Canal. It also created the “Superfund Act” which held polluters accountable for misdeeds. Just as Lois Gibbs took a stand for what she knew was right, we at Starry Night Lights encourage you to do the same. Even in small ways, one can help the environment.

This Limoges Leaves wall sconce from the Limoges Collection of Justice Design Group brings fine translucent porcelain to the world of lighting. Each fixture reveals its delicately sculptured form and detail when illuminated.

This fixture will the enhance the interior of your home by providing subtle lighting. Recent studies have indicated that intense light at night may increase the incidence of cancer. This fixture produces beautiful, practical but low levels of light.

It uses incandescent or fluorescent bulbs. It is suitable for damp locations where no water directly touches or enters the fixture. It is not suitable for steam rooms. The dimensions are 3.75 H x 11.75 W x 5 projection. The shade material is not paintable.

We at Starry Night Lights are huge fans of the stars and constellations and we would like to encourage you take up star gazing. It is a fun and easy way to enjoy the night and the beauty of our world. Getting started is easy; you do not even need a telescope! There are many things that you can see with your naked eye, and if you want a closer look binoculars are also a useful tool.

101: The most obvious and recognizable object in our night sky is the moon. It can even be clearly seen in the daytime, though in a different form than at night. We can also see five of the nine planets, with our naked eye as well. Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn, are all bright enough to be seen, though rarely all at the same time. The planet that is the easiest to spot is Venus, which is said to the third brightest object in the sky.

There are also many famous stars and constellations which grace the night sky. We discuss a few that are popular and relatively easy to find in the winter sky. The most famous or most easily recognized constellation is the Big Dipper, which makes up part of Ursa Major. Close to the Big Dipper is the star Polaris or the North Star, which is the brightest star of Ursa Minor. Polaris is practically in direct unison with the Earth’s axis, causing it to appear motionless, with the other stars revolving around it. As a result it has served as a navigational guide for many different peoples. In addition to the Big Dipper, Orion the Hunter is the second most famous constellation. This is mostly because of three stars which make up the belt of the Orion and serve as locators in finding the other constellations. Hanging from Orion’s Belt is his sword. The sword is home to the winter sky’s most amazingly accessible deep sky object, the Orion Nebula. This beautiful, stellar nursery is a birthing place for stars and can be faintly seen with the naked eye, though binoculars or a telescope are required to see the wonderful details that it contains within. To the north of Orion the Hunter, lays another famous constellation, Taurus the Bull, whose star Aldebaran gives off an orange glow. While below Orion the Hunter, lays the brightest star, Sirius ‘the Dog Star’. At the upper left of Orion, one can find the red supergiant star Betelgeuse, which is about a thousand times the diameter of the Sun. Also in this same direction one can find a pair of stars, known as Gemini or the Twins. South of the belt one will find the blue supergiant Rigel, while above Orion lays Capella in Auriga or the Charioteer. Lastly, to the east of Orion’s shoulder lays the constellation Canis Manor the Little Dog. After learning how to recognize these constellations and stars, other less apparent constellations will be a breeze to find.

Winter Stars Map:

As years go by and light pollution continues to plague our atmosphere, we are losing our privilege to look into the night sky and see stars. Yes, light pollution is clouding our night sky and keeping us from enjoying; stars, constellations and the other treasures of the night sky. Little by little, stars that exist in the sky are disappearing from our sight. In all honesty this situation is very saddening, and just as certain species have suffered extinction, we are allowing our stars to become ‘extinct’. Meaning that though they may exist, we cannot see them or enjoy them, making them appear extinct.

(Example of Light Pollution)

Consequences of light pollution are not merely limited to being able to see the stars, they also include, large amounts of energy and money wasted on aimless lighting. We at Starry Night Lights understand that lights can be comforting, especially at night. We are not pushing to stop lighting at night, but rather we are pushing for effective and practical lighting. Meaning that lights on commercial buildings, billboards, shopping malls, car dealerships and empty parking lots- do not need to remain on at night with them serving no practical purpose! If one actually pays attention to this fact, one will realize that billions of dollars and energy are being spent for no sensible reason, while such money could be put into improving education or other practical purposes.

We are not picking a vain fight, its simple really- do not light what does not need to be lit! By doing so, we will all be saving money, energy and the beauty of the night sky. Think about it, what if you looked up into the night sky and you could not see the stars… how would you feel, would you not be disappointed that you had not taken time to have enjoyed them earlier? Would regret not taking the steps to keep the stars shining and visible?

If one is skeptical about these things, there is a little experiment that can be done to understand the extent of light pollution. Go into the city and try to see the stars, afterwards go into the country or a less lit area and then try to see the stars. It will then be clear, that light pollution does exist, and that it serves as a cloud hiding the beauty of the night and the dazzle of the stars.

Some recent studies have indicated a possible correlation between light at night and breast cancer. Breast cancer is 5 times more common in industrialized nations than it is in underdeveloped countries. Blind women have a lower-than- average breast cancer rate.

While still a hypothesis, it is believed that light interferes with the production of melatonin, a tumor suppressing hormone, in the brain. Melatonin is produced at night and its levels drop in the presence of light. One study by the University of Haifa in Israel overlaid satellite images of the Earth onto cancer registries. Their findings indicate that this is a correlation that should be considered.

What can be done about this in our homes? While I don’t think it is necessary to stumble around in the dark every night there are some easy things that we can do. The main thing would be to limit your exposure to bright light at least 3 hours before going to bed. Limit your computer time to around 15 minutes at night. Get curtain for your windows so that streetlight and/or your neighbors lights does not enter your rooms. Use night lights in your bathroom for those late night visits. It has even been suggested to use red lightbulbs, as their low wavelengths is thought to minimally affect melatonin production. How about utilizing motion detectors on the outside of your home? Your home would still be provided security and you would be saving energy since your lights would be shining only when needed. Most importantly, your sleep and your neighbors’ would not be interrupted by unnecessary light. Checkout Light Pollution And Your Health for more information.

Often time, climate change and global warming are only discussed in reference to humans and their world; however these factors are also having very negative effects on wildlife. In fact, about one-fourth of mammals are considered to be ‘threatened’, while the numbers are only slightly less in the case of birds, where more than a thousand different species are also considered to be threatened. This is a very severe and crucial situation, especially because thousands of species have not even been discovered or documented as of today! Unfortunately, we may lose some very precious creatures to our large consumption habits and to our lack of concern for our ecosystem.

Loss of habitat, rising temperatures and pollution, are playing the biggest factors in the reduction of wildlife. Sadly, our wildlife has been attempting to keep up with these changes by adjusting and evolving, however sometimes these adjustments do not get made in time and frequently many species’ numbers have become significantly less. The loss in numbers has also been affected by:

-          the consumer lifestyle

-          increase in waste and pollutants

-          growing urban development

These effects are not far from home, for those who live in the United States. In fact, our coasts have met with a large decrease in the population of sea turtles that live along our shores. Unfortunately as beaches become more urbanized, there is less room for turtles to lay their eggs and a less of a chance that the baby turtles will get to make it to the ocean. This is mostly because baby turtles depend on the light of the moon to guide them to the ocean, and with all the lights that shine onto the beach, the turtles frequently lose their way and end up never making it. Regrettably this could be reversed if people paid a little more care to ensure that their lights faced down, and were placed at a location that could not threaten nesting turtles.

There are many other species that are suffering from unfortunate fates, similar to sea turtles. For example, polar bears are losing much of their habitat as temperatures rise and cause their habitat to ‘melt’ and shrink. Also, many bird species have had population decreases because of growing urbanization which has made it difficult for them to bear young successfully.

We at Starry Night Lights, encourage you to take these facts into consideration and to take whatever steps possible to improve this circumstance, in order to protect our planet and its many treasures.

The ancients often looked to the sky and to constellations and stars, to find their way as they traveled at night. As a result the importance of the stars as indication ‘markers’ grew substantially. Thus, certain stars and constellations have become common and recognizable symbols in our night sky. The most popular of these is the Big Dipper, made up of seven stars which make up Ursa Major, the Great Bear. Other recognizable night markers include the Planet Venus, which is said to be the brightest object in the sky after the sun and moon. Of course, the most obvious marker of the night is the Moon which serves as a ‘night light’ for the entire world.

In addition to Venus and the Moon, four other planets can be easily seen: Mercury, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. The three remain planets: Neptune, Uranus and Pluto were not discovered by scientist until recently, with the help of better technology.

Meteors (shooting stars), comets, are also special features of our night sky. Meteors can actually be seen on a regular basis, though for a period of less than a second. They are the most glorious, when seen in groups through ‘meteor showers’. We see meteor showers when the earth comes in contact with particles outside of our atmosphere. They are a special treat that can be seen almost annually.