Re: NYT Editorial on Light Pollution

From: Jax (j.a.f_at_att.net)
Date: 06/14/04 

Date: Mon, 14 Jun 2004 12:48:34 GMT

"Esmail Bonakdarian" <esmail@myrealbox.com> wrote in message
news:40CD8FAB.36DE9AC5@myrealbox.com...
> From today's New York Times editorial page:
>
> http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/14/opinion/14MON3.html
>
>
> June 14, 2004
> Light Pollution
>
> New Yorkers know all too well the effect of light pollution - the
> bright orange glow that floats above every city in the state at
> night. That glow represents wasted energy, light that should be
> focused downward from outdoor lighting but that is actually emitted
> skyward. It costs us real money, and it also costs us something more
> intangibly valuable, a chance to see the night sky in all its
> glory. There is a good opportunity to do something about this. The
> State Senate Rules Committee has in its hands a bill that would call
> for the use of fully shielded outdoor lamps designed to concentrate
> light on the ground and not in the sky. The Assembly has already
> passed an identical version of it. The Rules Committee should send the
> bill to the Senate for passage and and on to Gov. George Pataki.
>
> There has been a fair amount of misunderstanding about what this bill
> might mean. It sets energy and light pollution standards for outdoor
> lighting and calls for the gradual replacement, where feasible, of
> conventional lighting with new lamps designed to keep light from being
> thrown upward or outward where it isn't wanted. The two major concerns
> are, of course, cost and security. New York City has objected to this
> bill on the mistaken assumption that it would be required to double
> the number of streetlights. But actual installations have demonstrated
> that the increase is likely to be closer to 5 percent. The city is
> conducting a competition for a new streetlight design, and it would
> make a real difference in night-sky visibility and long-term energy
> savings if those new lights were fully shielded. There is obviously no
> inherent reason a lamp that projects most of its light downward should
> reduce lighting security.
>
> Talk about light pollution always leads to talk about astronomers, who
> are, by trade, keenly interested in the subject. A glowing sky at
> night renders the rest of the universe invisible. But the night sky
> belongs to all of us, no matter how infrequently or how casually we
> look its way. Light pollution is the easiest kind of pollution to
> control. It may take a few years, but it will seem as though we turned
> up the stars without any loss of light here on earth.
>
>
>
> ---
> nice to see this concern in such a main stream media outlet
>
> Esmail
>
> --
> Esmail Bonakdarian - esmailATmyrealboxDOTcom -
http://www.cs.mercer.edu/bonak
> 32N 83W
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> () ascii ribbon campaign - against html e-mail
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a great article stated simply. it covered the 3 main points to convince the
general public - light pollution wastes energy, it's cheap to fix, and you
can still have light where you want it. the article kept the main focus
without mentioning ill effects on turtles, birds or unicorns.

peace,
jon

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Urban light pollution to be outlawed
    ... >been lost in an impenetrable fug of light pollution, ... >the orange glow of neon and sodium lighting. ... >out the surrounding city sky. ... >the night sky." ...
    (sci.astro.amateur)
  • Urban light pollution to be outlawed
    ... been lost in an impenetrable fug of light pollution, ... the orange glow of neon and sodium lighting. ... out the surrounding city sky. ... the night sky." ...
    (sci.astro.amateur)
  • NYT Editorial on Light Pollution
    ... New Yorkers know all too well the effect of light pollution - the ... focused downward from outdoor lighting but that is actually emitted ... a chance to see the night sky in all its ... State Senate Rules Committee has in its hands a bill that would call ...
    (sci.astro.amateur)
  • Re: NYTimes story about light pollution in the city
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  • Re: Sky and Tel, a pamphlet now, just like Canadian version of Time magazine
    ... Certainly it would seem that people who almost never see the night sky ... has been a bigger factor than light pollution. ... no part of the Milky Way ... moving the observatory somewhere else. ...
    (sci.astro.amateur)
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