The problems with light pollution (2013, home, tenants)

[pikabike]

Well, I guess this little bit of a thread shows how strongly feelings can run! So Diana, you now know that, too. I think the arguments might have been a tad more civil if done in person, but ya never can tell anymore...

In closing, one incident that happened near me before I moved to the area:

One neighbor had a light that shone across two empty lots into another neighbor's window. The light was for the safety of business customers coming and going at night. There had been some sort of talk between them that ended at a stalemate. (Yes, this light is a prime example of bad lighting going well beyond its targeted zone). When the neighbor with the light went away for a while, the angry neighbor trespassed and unscrewed the bulb.

He was wrong to do that, of course. But it is one example of how much of an issue this could become.

[Wheatridger]

This is an issue that will only grow- especially with the advent of LED lights that are cheap to run and capable of extreme intensities. Their light is full-spctrum, too, and that means it can't easily be filtered away by astronomers. But they're not the only victims. Anyone who wants to see a sky full of stars is harmed when the night sky is washed out with stray light. Many animals have migratory patterns and daily habits that are disturbed when lights are no longer dark. Those animals include humans.

I'd recommend the book "The End of Night" by Paul Bogard, a book that is a well-researched call to action on this issue. One of the facts it examines is the human eye's slow adaptation to the dark. Full adaptation can take a half hour in young subjects, and even longer to the aged. That clock resets to zero with exposure to a single bright light, so light trespass has a lingering effect that's especially dangerous to motorists. After driving past an excessively bright LED billboard (which is about all of them, here in Colorado) you can't see much of anything for a short period of time.

[pikabike]

That is an excellent book!

I have actually gotten rid of some LED lights because they did not illuminate what I aimed them at so much as blast everything around it with a broad glare. Not helpful. A crappy old miniMaglight with regular bulb did the job much better. Part of the problem is the tendency to not use a conical shield around the LED bulbs. And some LEDs are better than others. The blue car headlamps are horrible, though.

I do think an intruder deserves to be blinded by an unexpected LED blast, the kind that is in some motion-detector lights. If it throws them off even for a few seconds, it helps.

Also, those VeriLux lamps that claim to be like sunlight? Not really. They are too blue, and the effect is worsened by how human eyes expect late-day and evening light to be warmer and less intense in the first place. We have two of them. One is stored, has not been used in years. The other one is aimed down some outdoor stairs, for a few hours between dinner and bedtime. As soon as its bulb dies, it gets chucked. Never again! It will be replaced by a motion detector light. Meanwhile, the aiming makes it clear who or what is on those stairs.

[Hemlock140]

You don't have to be way out in the country to avoid light pollution. We're only 23 miles from Seattle, in the middle of the Sammamish Plateau and with no street light, being high on a hill over a mile from the nearest arterial, we are able to see many stars on a clear night. For us that was one of the key reasons for moving here after low crime and good schools, and why we came to the area many times day and night to fully evaluate before buying.

[Ultrarunner]

Sounds like a first world problem...

I suppose some would see lighthouses and buoy markers as light pollution?

I guess it alls goes back to Paris... the city of lights.

Quality lighting is appropriate for environment/task...

Law Enforcement anywhere across the country suggest illumination as key to increasing safety/security.

[pikabike]

Light Pollution Compromises Security and Safety

[Ultrarunner]

I've lost a number of potential well qualified tenants due to lack of lighting...

Tenants simply would not consider renting due to lack of street lights.

Interesting point about security and safety... one of the things that is taught at the police academy is using lighting and specifically glare to to one's advantage.

The person that controls lighting has the upperhand.

My city has recently change to low intensity street lights... both to save energy and for aesthetics... it was surprising the number of complaints received about how the new lighting leaves many areas now in the shadows...

Maybe it is primal... as in going to the light as long as it is not excessive?

[ormari]

Originally Posted by Ultrarunner

Law Enforcement anywhere across the country suggest illumination as key to increasing safety/security.

Not always the brightest bulbs...

[pikabike]

Originally Posted by ormari

Not always the brightest bulbs...

The police probably want to give homeowners advice that can be done on an individual basis, i.e., does not cost taxpayers more or require city paperwork. Some people go away on vacation and take no precautions to prevent burglary. This would be a good use of timed lights for indoors and motion detectors for outdoors, aimed in such a way that neighbors and passersby can see the intruders, not be blinded by overall glare.

My gripe is not that there are streetlights in cities and towns, but that too little attention is paid to whether the light actually helps legitimate users. Light that goes upward does no good.

Some traffic signals have shields around them. The shields make it EASIER to tell colors of light, both day and night. Another example of how controlling light direction and/or spread improves its effectiveness over ominidirectional light.

[MarciaMarshaMarcia]

Starlight, moonlight...those are night lights.