light_pollution

South East Kent Astronomical Society

By stopping Light Pollution, Everybody Wins!

The solutions to the problem of Light Pollution appeal to all by there very nature- everybody wins!. In return for darker skies, you get better street lighting at lower running costs, and smarter security lighting with much lower running costs.

Ask your local council what it is doing -
to save us all money
save energy
deter crime

Light pollution is caused by the inappropriate or careless design/installation of outdoor lighting. This is the very cause of skyglow, and the direct effect is that it swamps out the nightime sky. Amateur and professional astronomers all over the World are helping to raise the level of awareness of this form of pollution in an endeavour to enable us all to be able to see the beauty of the night sky in it's natural state.

There is no need for light pollution!
But how many times have you seen a domestic 'insecurity' light which illuminates half the street?. How many times have you seen a streetlamp which lights up not just the street, but houses, grasslands behind and the sky itself.

With good design and installation, all the above problems can be minimised.

In the case of security lights, these should not radiate any light outside the confines of the property to be protected, and preferably be of the Passive Infra Red detector type.

This means that they are only activated when an intruder is detected. Not only does this pay for itself in terms of the electricity used, but a smarter lamp also does the job it is supposed to do better by both detecting and revealing intruders.

With respect to streetlamps, the authorities are at last recognising the benefits of lighting the street and nothing else. The use of 'full cutoff' lamp designs means that more light reaches the street, making it brighter for the same energy cost. In most cases, a lower rating of bulb may be employed.

The full cutoff design also means that the streets are illuminated efficiently, whilst the privacy and appeal of the neighbourhood is maintained.

The classic case study is Tuscan City in the USA, where after a long battle by the local amateur and professional astronomers to save their important observing site, the authorities finally decided to look at the matter seriously.

The result was a direct saving to the local council which was calculable in advance of installation, and a significantly higher level of respect for the lighting engineers who designed and implemented the lamp replacement scheme.

The most noticeable result was a dramatic reduction in the skyglow which not only makes Tuscan City a much nicer place to look at, but which gives it brighter streets and a vastly improved view of the night sky for all.

Useful Links

If you are already active in helping to reduce Light Pollution, you may find the following links of interest. Hardly any of the organisations listed below are even aware of the issue, yet the claim to be the experts in everything concerned with lighting and the environment!

The best way to proceed would be to send them a simple email asking them if they are aware. If they are not, then point them in the direction of either the IDA (USA) or the CfDS (UK) to seek further information.

Campaign for Dark Skies The UK light pollution education body

International Dark Skies Association The USA light pollution education body

Organisations associated with energy efficiency-
US DOE Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Network

Lighting Associations -

Organisation associated with all aspects of optics, including optical design matters (eg street lamp diffuser design)
The International Society for Optical Engineering
The Optical Society of America

Some SEKAS Examples

Step-by-Step Approach
The experience we have gained indicates that stopping light pollution is a simple case of being polite but firm. In the first instance, if you have an incident of light pollution which worries you then the steps to follow are these:-

1. Find out where it is coming from, and who is responsible.
2. Ring them as soon as possible, and let them know you do not like it.
3. Find out who is in a position to remove the pollution, and send them a letter of complaint.
4. Whilst you wait for a reply, note the dates and times of the pollution.
5. Send a letter to your local council planning department, explaining the situation, and ask them if the proprietor has planning permission.
6. Keep complaining by letter and phone, let them know you will not go away.
7. If you are getting nowhere, then win the support of local residents. Explain the issues to them
and ask them to sign a standard letter of complaint, and send a copy to both the pollutor and
the local council.
8. Contact you local astronomical society, and get their support as well.
9. If you are still getting nowhere, then ring the local press, and offer them a complaint's story.
try to get a nice photo of the pollution for them to publish.
10. Keep going up the ladder until the pollution goes away-
10.1 Meet with the local council, and get the item on one of their meetings.
10.2 Keep writing to the pollutor, and get more people to complain.
10.3 See if the local TV are involved, radio too.
10.4 Write to the minister of the environment, and send a copy to the pollutor.
10.5 Get a written letter of support from 10.4 and also the Home Secretary. Send copies
to the pollutor and the local council.
11. By now, the Campaign For Dark Skies should be involved. They can spread the word.
11.1 You may be able to get letters of support from others around the country, which can
be sent to the parties involved (pollutor, council etc).
11.2 Get another story in the paper, make the pollutor look worse through inaction.
11.3 Demand of the Council to look at the legal situation, with respect to planning persmission.
12.0 We have never got to this stage! The problem has alwasy been solved by this time.
If you do get this far, then you have a major problem, and as such will get the support from
many amateurs around the country, and can probably gain national TV and newspaper coverage.
The problem is so deep that these media will be interested.

Case1: Eurotunnel
One night, they decided to test a high-powered beam 'to highlight the location of the terminal'.
We telephoned the duty officer, and thence got the number to get the press officer out of bed.
Within fifteen minutes of the first call, the light was out.
Messages were sent to computer 'Bulletin Boards' across the UK, with the telephone number of the
press officer. People rang all night!
A letter was sent to the terminal director the next day.
A letter was sent to the Home Secretary, who was also the local MP. He responded by contacting the
CEO of Eurotunnel to explain the situation.
After some exchanges of letters and a meeting with the SEKAS representatives, Eurotunnel have agreed
to give us three months notice of any intent to use the beam on 'special occassions', namely not more
than a couple or so times a year.

case2: Nightclub
A local nighclub installed a very high power light system which polluted the sky for miles around
three days per week. Major pollution situation.
First contact brought no joy, and pretty soon the local paper was involved. The nighclub owners
vowed that they would _never_ turn it off.
The local council was very sympatheric, as was the Minister of the Environment. Both agreed to take
a look at the legal situation.
The local council found that planning permission had not been obtained, and demanded that the lights
be switched off.
The nightclub continued with an entrenched stance, and communications were ceased with them and
the local astronomical society.
After a couple of weeks, the local council said they had a legal case, and were willing to take the
nighclub to court.
After about a month, the nightclub was officially issued with a writ, and the end result is that they
have dumped their lighting system.
For the future, it is highly unlikely that _any_ nightclub will be allowed planning permission for
such installations, since the local council planning dept. are on our side now. The council voted
something like 20 to 2 in our favour at a meeting.

The above is a common and very serious pollution situation in the UK. SEKAS has shown that it can be
beaten, and beaten by existing law.

1. Get the complaint registered as soon as possible (within 4 weeks of first light).
2. Get local support.
3. Tell the local MP, and council.
4. Let people know that their is a precedent in law (Folkestone & Hythe District Council) for a
legal case having been presented.
5. If necessary, win the support of commercially-competing nighclubs in the area.
6. Contact the Campaign For Dark Skies for advice as early as possible.
7. If you get nowhere, start generating bad-publicity for the nightclub and support from local
residents.

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Light Pollution