Re: Urban light pollution to be outlawed

On Sun, 08 Jan 2006 16:05:37 -0600, William Hamblen
<wrhamblen@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

>
>http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/legal/article337256.ece
>
> Urban light pollution to be outlawed
>By Tom Anderson
>Published: 08 January 2006
>
>To the Australian aborigines, they represented ancestral beings
>watching protectively over humanity. To the ancient Aztecs, the stars
>were gods waging a perpetual battle to destroy the sun.
>
>For millions of Britons the stars that inspired our ancestors have
>been lost in an impenetrable fug of light pollution, invisible behind
>the orange glow of neon and sodium lighting.
>
>Not for much longer. From April the first UK law criminalising light
>pollution will come into force, the result of a decades-long fight by
>astronomers.
>
>The legislation will force local authorities granting planning
>permission to ensure that outdoor lighting does not add to light
>pollution. Lighting for new shopping centres, sports facilities,
>housing estates and offices will have to point downwards, rather than
>spilling sideways and upwards.
>
>Campaigners are vowing to use the new law to pursue high-profile
>targets such as Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square and the Liver
>Building in Liverpool. Both are floodlit from ground level and blot
>out the surrounding city sky. Modern lighting techniquessuch as
>higher, smaller lights would eliminate light haemorrhaging into the
>night sky.
>
>Previously the victims of environmental disturbances such as loud
>music, smoke and dust could apply for abatement orders, but those
>whose homes and gardens were flooded with light had no right of
>redress. The Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005 will now
>fill that gap, making "exterior light emitted from premises so as to
>be prejudicial to health or a nuisance" a criminal offence.
>
>The law is a personal triumph for the astronomer Sir Patrick Moore,
>who has spearheaded the British Astronomical Association's campaign
>for dark skies. According to Sir Patrick, the situation in England has
>become impossible for astronomers. He said yesterday: "Until now, law
>and order had broken down with light pollution. I'm over 80 - I can
>remember when the sky used to be dark. There's a truly horrible glow
>over the cities now. A whole generation has grown up with no view of
>the night sky."
>
>BRITAIN'S WORST OFFENDERS
>
>Nelson's Column
>
>Smaller lights placed higher up the monument could eliminate light
>spilling into the night sky. Light shields could be placed at
>strategic points.
>
>Great Malvern Priory, Worcestershire
>
>Campaigners cite the medieval priory as a good example of a historic
>building that is massively overlit, completely obscuring the starscape
>over the Malvern Hills. Modern lighting would benefit both the priory
>and the environment.
>
>The new Terminal 5 building at Heathrow airport
>
>Some lights here are from temporary works but, according to dark skies
>activists, the terminal is "lit up like a Christmas tree", covering
>the sky for miles.
>
>The Liver Building in Liverpool
>
>The famous bird sculptures are lit from ground level, wasting energy
>and light while blotting out the sky above the city.
>
>Croydon town centre
>
>Typical of many towns and cities, Croydon has been criticised by light
>campaigners for wasteful use of light at night.
>

Why worry about single issue nonsense like this when 100,000 primative
street lights and other lights that make up those numbers are the REAL
problem?
-Rich
.

Relevant Pages

  • 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: 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 ... > bill to the Senate for passage and and on to Gov. ...
    (sci.astro.amateur)
  • 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)
  • Re: Ranking light pollution
    ... > complex lets me see stars down to 4.5. ... I would say that this is probably in the moderate category of light pollution. ... I came up with an idea of gauging sky quality a while back which divides it ... would probably put the moderate light pollution at a limiting magnitude of ...
    (sci.astro.amateur)