I saw this at a store during Christmas shopping.  It was a globe that lit up just like the real thing – showing the light pollution and wasted energy.

Discover is a loaded word.  Tonight, I read some articles that led me to Travis Longcore’s site, and then the section on light pollution Travis Longcore, Light Pollution

I think there is enough reading to keep me busy for quite awhile.  I’d encourage others looking into light pollution to go visit Travis’s site.

The article that led the way to his site…

Chicago, the Night Should Not Look Like the Day

I’ve also added a number of links to the resources page.  Enjoy…

Mark

This is the view on the Carlisle Pike, near Mechanicsburg.  The lights are from all the car dealers.  Funny thing is, many of them are high end cars from foreign places.  Their lights are anything BUT high end.  Obnoxious and intrusive, they light the sky and blot out the stars in places miles away.  The other night, I was able to pick out the light reflecting off North Mountain, from almost 18 miles away!

On a more positive note, I added some very good resources.  A nice video by Kelsey Johnson and links to the National Park Service and their Night Skies Division’s website with a lot of great resources.  Check out my Resources page!

Please check out Globe at Night, also on the Resource Page.  It is important for more people to help out collecting data so researcher can accurately determine the rate at which light pollution is increasing.  It’s easy and an activity families can do together.  It would also make a nice science project for schools.

For a Dark Sky Advocate, the opportunities abound in our area.  On the way home tonight, I found a Food Mart quick gas stop in the center of Boiling Springs, PA.  It’s being renovated and the lighting is amazingly bad.  I didn’t have my light meter along so I used by iPhone apps.  It’s not exact, as you can see by the spectrum analysis, but the level probably close – if you almost double the lux level because of the meter spectral mismatch error.

The 8000K CCT light, probably running almost 2000 lux, is just ONE of the lights.  This one is pointing out into the lane of a main street and is blinding to drivers, who in a minute will be out into farmland where there are no streetlights.  It is bright enough to easily read the fine print on a Chinese restaurant menu.

I propose the Food Mart parking lot should be the new meeting location of the Boiling Springs literary society.  People can bring lawn chairs and read books and poetry to each other all night long, under blazing blue-white lighting.  Make sure to bring covers for your drinks during the spring and summer as it will be raining dead bugs.  I hope that the fish in the stream will have some bugs left to eat.  Maybe someone can sweep them up at the end of the night and throw them back in the stream for the trout to eat.

Seriously, how much light is really needed in such an environmentally sensitive place?  Did anyone pay attention to the spectrum of the lighting? Another big question is, what is the task in the parking lot?  Sorry, but 2000 lux is about 50-100 times the requirement for lighting such a small parking lot.  This is just ONE of the lights at the site.

The spectrum should be 2700 or less because of the trout in a protected lake and stream and lighting levels 100 lux or less (less is more in this case).  Boiling Springs lake is a treasure for the community, maybe the county.  The Appalachian Trail passes just a short distance away.

I will have to bring out my light meter to take some better readings.  I can tell you, it’s very bright, blindingly bright.  It may be the brightest, single light in Cumberland County! Situations like this is why local lighting ordinances need brought up to date.  I feel bad for the people who live close by.

To know why this matters, go to my resources page and read some of the links under Human Health and the Environmental Health sections.  Most current finds are at the tops of those sections.

If you stop at the Sweet Stop for ice cream in the evening, make sure to wear your-blue blocker glasses.  Maybe just bring your sunglasses.

Mark

Tonight, I drove to Carlisle for an appointment.  I got to see their new streetlights.  Month’s ago, I wrote to Carlisle Borough to provide information on why their choice of streetlights had problems and to offer solutions and alternatives.  Well, I can see they have way more problems then I ever imagined back then.

My first impression on coming into town from Mechanicsburg was the intense glare I had to endure from every one of the new streetlights.  It is like someone has their high beams shining in your eyes, making you want to turn your eyes from the direction of travel.  The standard of replacing lights is to retrofit one for one because of the cost.  When retrofitting older technology, the LEDs with optics don’t spread the light far enough to cover the same amount of street as the older lighting did, so they need to cranked up very bright.  LED’s glare is already a problem.  To run them so bright is irresponsible.  This is called disability glare, by the way.

I believe an approximate figure for LED energy savings is about 40%.  If you have to double the number of lights to get the same coverage aas previous technology then what is the real savings from converting to LED street lights?  Where is the savings?

On the way back home, I traveled down South Street.  Light-glare-dark, light-glare-dark, light-glare-dark…. and halfway down the street I barely see a faint figure crossing the street in front of me.   The person was just perfectly placed in one of the glare zones.  A lady, carrying a couple bags of groceries was hidden in the intense glare.  I almost hit her!  She was almost invisible.

South Street borders the Letort.  In my original email, I suggested using amber LEDs because the Letort stream area was an environmentally sensitive area.  The blue white LEDs have the most impact on the environment of any other light technology.  Amber LEDs cost no more, provide just as much light, are just as efficient.  Amber LEDs have none of the health or environmental issues associated with high kelvin CCT LEDs.

My email also suggested close attention should be paid to the human health effects from blue-white high Kelvin CCT LED lighting.  I’m sure Carlisle residents will be pleased to find out Carlisle chose some of the worst lighting possible for human health.

Carlisle already has some of the worst light pollution in Cumberland County.  The skyglow dome is visible for miles.  It’s not healthy in any fashion.  The new street lighting in Carlisle is not safe for pedestrians, drivers, or residents who live along the streets with the new lights installed.  It’s just plain nonsense, very sad, and totally irresponsible.

Mark

I was searching for an November 2019 article by Jane Slade in LD+A from IES on the problems of Light Pollution.  It’s not a featured article and that’s a shame.

What I found was an article by John D. Bullough, about everyone loving the white LED outdoor lighting.  That’s simply not the case.  Municipalities have rejected, even sued, to get rid of the institutional looking lighting that made a mess of their neighborhood and intruded on their homes.  Yes, we all love that prison yard look to our community.  Maybe in NYC?

LEDs are being touted as energy savers.  That is true if you do a one for one replacement.  Unfortunately, LED’s require a greater density to achieve the same amount of light coverage.  On top of that, much more LEDs than are required are usually installed making energy savings not as great as was touted. Instead of turning lights off when not needed, lights are left on all night – because we can afford to do that – even when LEDs are instant on/off.  The real financial savings of 5% were noted further down in the article, along with the rebound effect (adding and increasing light levels) – in the small print.

LED luminaires, with optics, can control their beam, and usually direct it into the eyes of drivers and pedestrians, potentially accounting for a rise in pedestrian-vehicle accidents where LEDs are implemented.  Luminaire design, implementation best practices, modeling software, and user competence are sorely lacking when it comes to controlling glare.  LED roadway lights do nothing for safety if their glare and intense light source isn’t properly directed and contained.

LED-lighted outdoor spaces look brighter – because they are.  Lighting professionals and municipal authorities have been fooling people.  V(λ) photometers do NOT measure the blue in the white LEDs.  The photodiode, just like satelite sensors, does not read the 400-500nm portion of visible light very well (nor do they read HPS lighting well either).  In addition, light filters to limit UV and Infrared Light restrict the spectral sensitivity even further.  CIE calls it a Spectral Mismatch.  Both HPS lighting and white LED’s are NOT V(λ) lighting.  Why on earth would you measure them with a V(λ) photometer?  The illumination from white LEDs simply IS brighter – a lot brighter.  I keep hearing and reading this brighter perception statement and it is wrong.  Please refer to my post on how audio engineering points out the improper measurement problem.  Our eyes are telling us right.  If light was sound, all the glass around us would be etched or shattered by high frequencies, but our meters would be telling us, no, no, that sound is not there.

I read the ‘feel safer’ comment all the time.  Folks, feel safer has nothing to do with being safe.  Please stop this nonsense.  Bright light causing high contrast shadows is not safe.  Light at night at continuous photopic levels only is not safe nor healthy.

White LEDs have other problems.  Serious human health problems a environmental problems abound coming from multiple vectors (ways) at once.  Check out my resources page containing more substantial research than I can read at one sitting about the dangers of LED or other artificial lighting at night.

LED’s, while they can be dimmed with adaptive controls, timed, or presence detectors used, that is usually not the case.  Using adaptive controls raises the price and complexity of LED lighting so little money is really saved.  Studies and polls show the majority municipalities do NOT use or plan to use adaptive lighting for roadlighting.  Adaptive capabilities and infrastructure are too expensive and complexities of control are a problem, not to mention whose techno-sphere do you buy into and how well does it play with others.

Finally, the blue-white LEDs are a major factor in light pollution.  The milky white ick that hides the stars is the result.  Birds getting lost because they can’t find the stars and then die in the bright lights of the city IS a problem.  Astronomers complain but, pointing to an earlier post, they are only the canaries in the coal mine.  Responsible lighting is the remedy and is technically possible.  The IES and the professional lighting community needs to come to grips with the problems they are causing.  Of course they sell light, so that is like asking the auto industry or the oil industry to self regulate and make responsible decisions.  Give me the yellow brick road.  HPS is orange, by the way.  Yellow is 3000K…..

Sorry for the scathing review.  Very discouraged to read this article.  It misleads people.

Mark

The Truth

Not the Truth

If light was transformed into audio and measured with a V(λ) light meter, you would hear something like this.  The clip starts with full bandwidth and then is EQ’d, then goes back and forth for comparison.   The audio clip EQ’s portions approximately match what a human photopic V(λ) light meter is ‘seeing’ compared to what the full sound would be.

Below is an analysis of 6500K CCT LED SPD from LRC – Lighting Research Center’s website.

Let’s overlay these two examples.  The horzontal scales are close.  The vertical scale is power on one and sensitivity on the other.  Nontheless, it is easy to see the spectral mismatch between a V(λ) light meter and a 6500K CCT LED.

As an audio engineer I can say, no worthwhile mix, effective analysis, or production can be reached with such a Lo-Fi EQ result.  Not even phone audio is that bad.

The public is being misled, endanangered, complaints ignored, along with human health and evironmental concerns surpressed by lighting professionals who are not using measuring devices properly and for their proper intended purpose.

When I worked as a field engineer for IBM Large Systems, knowing explicitly the limitations, constraints, and proper use for the measuring devices and test equipment was critical.  At best, one could cause a customer an expensive outage.  Worst case, a person could be killed.

While improperly using light meters may not be perceived as a serious issue.  Research is strongly suggesting, even explicitly stating, we should be very careful with our lighting.  Yet, most professionals are being very, very careless.  Whether improper measurements, inaccurate research conclusions, blindly following best practices, or heated opinions over what is common sense, the cause of illness, someone’s death, or ecosystem damage is a serious responsibility.  Lighting professionals and the lighting industry have a great responsibility to get it right.  In my opinion, at the moment, the industry, most professionals, educational centers, and governmental entities are getting it very, very wrong.

An optional, unrelated light pollution comment for the day:  

Keep in mind, the incredible amount of wasted light and energy from light pollution contributes a great amount to climate and air pollution concerns. Don’t even think about talking climate if not addressing light pollution as a major contributer!

Mark

Back in history, a canary was taken into the mines.  Being more sensitive than humans, they would succomb to the toxic gases before the miners would be harmed by exposure.

Today, amateur and professional astronomers are warning about the loss of the night skies due to the improper use of lighting – light pollution.  People who don’t realize the treasure that is slipping away say, “what does that matter?”  Fair question.

To the people who enjoy the beauty of the night sky, it matters a lot.  You don’t have to be any kind of astronomer to enjoy the night sky, at least one that is not turned milky gray by poorly designed and implemented LED lighting.

As the bright visible nebulas and star clusters gradually disappear into the milky glow, a warning flag should be going up.  It’s no different than when factory smokestacks belching smoke and soot in the air seemed normal.  It was just during the day.

Artificial light at night is just as unnatural as those smokestacks.  It’s more damaging, in a myriad of different nefarious ways than the smokestacks ever were.  The effects of ALAN on people are well documented, well known, yet more is being discovered everyday.  The effects on the environment and critters are only just starting to be understood.

Yet it seems the onslaught by development and ‘bad’ best practices continues.  Astronomers, of all types, and people who actually go outside to look up at night are calling out the warning.  There is a canary in the mine who is pushing up daisies and it continues to be mostly ignored.

The canary may have joined the choir eternal but it is still singing out pretty loudly.  Is anyone listening?  Ya know, we’re all next….

Mark

Awhile back, I bookmarked a FAQ from Purdue University Extension about light and trees.

Does Night Lighting Harm Trees?

A few months ago, the Kindergarten Academy in Mechanicsburg planted new trees around the renovated school and parking lot.  A few days ago, I noted many of the new trees looked in bad shape.  We’ve had a hot and dry month.  I thought I’d take a few minutes and check out the trees, with the schools lighting in mind, to see if the all night lights had any part in the condition of the trees.  It was very surprising to find, the side of many of the trees facing the parking lot lights was brown and dying while the opposite side was still mostly green and healthy.  The trees most severely affected were the Tulip Trees, as predicted by the table of tree sensitivity in the article.  This happened in such a short time, over only a couple of months.  I found that surprising.  Even the Oak Trees were affected so I suspect, since they are low sensitivity to ALAN, it may be akin to the lightburn growers using artificial grow lights experience.  The CCT of the lighting at the school measures approximately 6000K.  They do not seem to be what was spec’d in the plans so I can’t be sure what brand or spec’s they have to identify the true SPD.

Just up the street from the new trees were two big trees exhibiting  major stress.  Again, as predicted by the Purdue FAQ, there was a street light embedded in the tree.  Where the light fixture exposed the leaves to its light, that quadrant was mostly dead with brown leaves.  The far side of the tree, away from the street light, was still heathy and green.  The street lights are still HPS although additional street lighting at the Elmwood School, adjacent to one of the stressed trees is high CCT LED.

The Purdue FAQ does not include LED lighting of various SPD’s and I hope to get some updated information.

Once you see the effect that all night light have on trees, you can easily recognize it!  Check it out and let me know if you are seeing the same thing in your communities!  Amazing!  Of course the question becomes, if it is doing this to trees, what is it doing to people?

– Mark

Silverspring Township, in Cumberland County, PA is one of the worst areas for light pollution in our area.  On the Lighttrends app, it is easy to see the extreme level of wasteful lighting and pollution that exists along the Rt 11 Corridor.  Incredibly bad lighting practices abound and municipal awareness, ordinance or enforcement seems to be totally lacking.

One example is the Deloitte complex at the intersection of Rt 11 and Rt 114.  Deloitte is a consult/ perform / engineering.  A company filled with smart, intelligent people.  YET, they leave most of their building lights turned on all night long.  Some windows intermittently draw translucent blinds down but most do not.  The light blazes horizontally into the houses directly across the street along Rt 114.  The houses are bathed all night long in the glow of a false midnight sun.  This is the reason planners need to enact a larger buffers and natural barriers between such office complexes and residential areas.  People live in the houses 24×7.  The offices are mostly empty after hours.  Parking lots along 114, across from people’s homes are empty and lit all night.  There are no functional shields or directional baffles on the parking lot lighting.  All three floors in the two large office buildings are brightly lit, their light spilling out, all night long.  For a company who prides itself and sells itself on intelligence and the control of technology, the wasteful lighting usage and lighting control at their site is incredibly dull.

Again, this is a case of the designer only seeing from the inside of their lighting bubble.  They don’t go outside the lighting bubble to look back from the dark that surrounds them.  Smart people, dumb lighting with no useful purpose.

No matter the ordinances or lack of them, or the understanding of the municipality, Deloitte should do the right thing and control their lighting.

Doloitte is not the only bad lighting hombre in the neighborhood.  The car sales establishments along the Carlisle Pike send up a wasteful glow that can be seen from miles away.  Interestingly, Harley Davidson, is the ONLY vehicle sales company on Rt 11 with properly controlled lighting.  Then we also have the trucking industry, with some of the worst designed, intrusive lighting in the whole county.

Are there solutions?  Yes, easy and inexpensive.  For Deloitte, consider Praesidio Window Films for the building.  You can find more information at Praesidio Window Films

Most parking lot lighting manufacturers have shields to accompany their lights.  Also, consider lower CCT lighting, filters, and adaptive controls for dimming  or turning off unused areas overnight.  In addition, adaptive controls, especially presence or motion detectors can be used to turn off lighting inside the building when no one is present.  These controls will more than pay for themselves in energy savings.

Mark

A couple of posts ago, I wrote about my grand-daughter’s response to a vivid view of the Milky Way above our heads at the beach. Even though we were in a pretty crowded, dense housing area, the stars were crazy brilliant in the sky above us. The beautiful Milky Way was easily visible to our eyes. My granddaughter’s first look through the good binoculars brought a breathless, “WOW!”

So what’s that worth? Could an experience like that translate into a life long passion for a young child? Can a child’s experience of the night sky be the catalyst that launches a lifetime of research and discovery? Could a single experience with the stars inspire a child, who as an adult then greatly advances astronomy or other scientific disciplines?

I would suggest many people, by their actions, would think not. I would also suggest most lighting designers, engineers, manufacturers, installers, architects, municipal planners, and municipal officers think those experiences don’t matter. Even professional organizations like the IESNA continue to argue about proper lighting design, against scientific evidence and common sense. To them, that singular, precious eureka moment of a child and all the beautiful potential of their response doesn’t matter a nit. To many in the lighting industry, a precious night sky experience has little value. If these statements weren’t true, my grandkid’s view of the night sky would be quite different and there would be no need for dark sky advocacy.  The industry, as a whole, is judged as guilty by their actions.

Does it matter? Yes! Yes!! Yes!!!

This week, on Sky and Telescope magazine’s website, I read an article about Margaret Burbidge and you can read it yourself at:

SKY & Telescope: Happy Birthday, Margaret Burbidge

In particular, read the fourth and fifth paragraphs of the article.

A Margaret Burbidge experience is exactly what the lighting industry is stealing from our kids and grandkids. It’s a dull thinking mindset and homogeneous failure of the whole lighting industry to design and implement intelligently, responsibly and ethically – to exhibit care about our children and their future potential.  Notwithstanding the evidence of the human and environmental toll from atrocious, abominable lighting practices, the worst legacy resulting from our godawful use of light will be from the loss of our children’s and grandchildren’s experience of the precious starry, night sky!

What do I want?  For all kids to have as many Margaret Burbidge experiences as possible, and for some of them to be propelled into amazing discoveries and wonderful expressions of human achievement because of the inspiration of the starry night sky!  What precious potential is being stolen from our kids? What brilliant potential is being stolen from us as a people?