New conference paper by @salvabara argues that "setting total emission limits becomes necessary in order to ensure that the negative effects of light pollution do not surpass red-lines of unacceptable degradation of the natural night."
#LightingPolicy
An @ipsos report for the national energy distribution company of France notes (en français) that "80% of elected officials surveyed have already implemented the switching off of public lighting after 10 p.m. in their municipality". (h/t @salvabara)
https://observatoire.enedis.fr/barometre
#DarkSkies #LightPollution #PublicLighting #OutdoorLighting #LightingPolicy #Europe #EU
Lights Out Connecticut and the Menunkatuck Audubon Society recently published this new outdoor lighting policy guidance for CT communities. (Many of the ideas it contains would work well in other U.S. states, too.)
#LightingPolicy #OutdoorLighting #LightPollution #DarkSkies #Connecticut
Reducing #LightPollution involves well-known technical solutions, but public policies that implement them often fail. Learn what "lightsheds" are and how they may overcome this obstacle.
The #Illinois Responsible Outdoor Lighting Control Act has been passed by the state Senate and House of Representatives. Now it's on to @govpritzker for his signature.
Full details: https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/BillStatus.asp?DocNum=3501&GA=103&DocTypeID=SB&LegId=153201&SessionID=112
A new law in Upper #Austria comes into force on 1st May 2024 that regulates public outdoor lighting, including athletic fields. Features include a 10pm-6am curfew; 3000K CCT limit; and full cut-off requirement with 70° maximum beam angle.
While people have strong opinions about how outdoor lighting and #crime interact, the truth is very unsettled scientifically. Read more about the shortcomings in current research and practice as well which factors and considerations really matter.
https://www.darkskyconsulting.com/blog/the-thorny-problem-of-lighting-and-crime
"A second piece of legislation, the Dark Skies Protection Act, S.7663/A5632 would significantly reduce #LightPollution in #NewYork by requiring most non-essential outdoor #lighting be covered by an external shield, be motion-activated, or be turned off between 11 PM and 5 AM. ... The Dark Skies Act will help create a safer environment for #birds by reducing the #ArtificialLight in our night skies."
New report from the Sustainable Communities and Waste Hub (Australia): "The human values of dark skies: Light pollution as an emerging justice issue"
PDF: https://www.nespsustainable.edu.au/sites/default/files/documents/DarkSkies_Report_Final4_doi.pdf
#LightPollution #DarkSkies #LightingPolicy #SocialJustice #EnvironmentalJustice
Although Nantucket Lights' new Outdoor Lighting Guide has "Nantucket in mind", it contains great advice and information that any community would find useful.
Check it out: https://nantucketlights.org/outdoor-lighting-guide
#DarkSkies #LightPollution #LightingPolicy #Lighting #Massachusetts #UnitedStates
"A growing number of small towns are implementing or revising their lighting ordinances, as well, including Breckenridge, Gypsum, Winter Park and Avon. Some are doing it to preserve part of what made the towns special in the first place."
#LightPollution #LightingPolicy #Colorado #UnitedStates #MunicipalGovernment
Your periodic reminder that light trespass = private nuisance under the common law.
"Now the Hunts face a costs bill of about £100,000 after taking the legal battle to the High Court and losing."
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/858a904b-d118-4f68-854c-3baeb245e5e9
A year ago Bordeaux, France, began turning off 57% of the city's street lights between 1-5 a.m. as an energy-saving measure. Despite public alarm, and rising feelings of 'insecurity', the data suggest that no significant increase in crime resulted.
50 years after the golden age of U.S. environmental policymaking, is it time to extend sweeping legal protection to the night? As the awareness of artificial light at night as a significant source of environmental pollution rises, we examine whether a federal regulatory approach could meaningfully reduce light pollution in the United States.
http://www.darkskyconsulting.com/blog/toward-a-clean-night-skies-act
📷: Shane Burkhardt (CC BY-NC 2.0)
#DarkSkies #LightPollution #LightingPolicy #Conservation #Environment
Just received in the post: the January 2024 issue of #SkyAndTelescope Magazine that contains the article that Jessica Heim and I wrote about #LightPollution activism and #LightingPolicy advances. Having a byline in a magazine that I read as a kid is a real bucket-list item.
It's even more of an honor to be published alongside the companion article by @travislongcore on the biological effects of #ALAN.
Available on newsstands everywhere soon!
The Chilean regions of Antofagasta, Atacama and Coquimbo, which play host to these observatories, have thus had special lighting regulations for years to protect their dark-sky status for astronomers. Now, a New National Lighting Standard established by the Chilean Ministry of the Environment is being rolled out across the rest of Chile to emulate the dark-sky success of these science locations.
https://www.space.com/chile-new-standards-fight-light-pollution
#LightPollution #DarkSkies #Chile #SouthAmerica #LightingPolicy
"The study addresses the multifaceted challenge of managing greenhouse-related light pollution, which emerges as an unintended consequence of employing supplementary lighting to extend growing seasons and enhance crop yields."
"Our findings ... highlight the need for global policies directed towards the sustainable use of artificial lights to reduce or limit the outputs of artificial lights used in association with social festivities."
https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/pan3.10520
The UK House of Lords Science and Technology Committee today published a report titled “The neglected pollutants: the effects of artificial light and noise on human health”.
It's an important step toward recognition of the same in the wider Government and, hopefully, doing something meaningful about the problem of #LightPollution.
HTML: https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld5803/ldselect/ldsctech/232/23202.htm
PDF: https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/40937/documents/199438/default/
More communities around the world are interested in enacting their own outdoor lighting policies, but the ideas and concepts in them are often unfamiliar and confusing. Where should one begin? This month, we dig into the major sections of typical policies and look at what makes certain ones "good," "better," or "best."
https://www.darkskyconsulting.com/blog/goodbetterbest-outdoor-lighting-policies
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