have you had a problem with light pollution? Of course. When you realize that the term "Light Pollution" covers a ery broad subject area you soon realize we have all have a problem with light pollution. From the smallest organism to the largest telescope, light pollution plays a part in degrading our nighttime enironment.

Here are a few quotes relating to Light Pollution from our Information Sheets

Theft of the Night
."Most Americans are growing up unable to see the stars their grandparents knew so well. They see the night sky only in pictures or at planetariums. This is true not only in cities, but also in many suburbs where street lamps and other sources of "light pollution" have obscured our view of constellations, meteor showers, and planets. Light pollution is not a matter of life and death. Yet it is important nonetheless, profoundly so. We human beings lose something of ourseles when we can no longer look up and see our place in the unierse. It is like never again hearing the laughter of children; we give up part of what we are. Such a loss might be acceptable if light pollution were the ineitable price of progress, but it's not. Most sky glow, as scientists call it is unnecessary. The light that obscures our view of the night sky comes mainly from inefficient lighting sources that do little to increase nighttime safety, utility, or security. It produces only glare and clutter, costing more than $1 billion annually in wasted energy in the United States alone. Reducing light pollution is not difficult, but it does require that public officials and ordinary citizens be aware of the problem and act to counter it. ... Curing light pollution saes money while reducing glare. Unlike other issues inoling pollution, it presents us with a rare case where we should strie to be kept in the dark. The stars aboe us are a priceless heritage, not only for scientific knowledge, but also for our identity as human beings. ... Another fairly painless way to reduce light pollution is with outdoor lighting control ordinances, ...
An outdoor light system recently installed at a prison in Arizona, for example, improed security and reduced light pollution while cutting energy costs by 50 percent. "

The American Astronomical Society's Position on Light Pollution
"This is a one-page summary of the position of the American Astronomical Society's Committee on Light Pollution, Radio Interference, and Space Debris on the light pollution issue. It has beven endorsed by the Society's Board of Directors, and can be used by anyone to state astronomers' concern and position on this problem. ... These sites need protection from light pollution (aderse sky glow from electric lights). ... Light pollution is a serious problem. There are solutions to the problem. ... Control the emitted light by fixture choice, by shielding, by placement, etc. Use well designed task-oriented lighting, to minimize wasted light, light trespass, and light pollution. ... All of this says, really: "Use the best possible professional lighting design and installation for the task, including all releant factors, of which light pollution is one."

An Introduction to Light Pollution
"have you ever heard of Light Pollution? Maybe not. But it is a growing threat to the nighttime enironment. Components of light pollution include: Glare, blinding us and harming isibility. Glare is never good.
Light Trespass, someone's outdoor lights offending us, "trespassing" on our land. Clutter, trashing the nighttime enironment, causing confusion as well. Energy waste, costing us over One Billion Dollars a year in the U.S.A. alone. Urban sky glow, which is destroying mankind's view of the unierse. ...

Ontario Hydro Leaflet on Light Pollution
What is Light Pollution? - Light pollution refers to the glow of light we see at night aboe cities and towns. What Causes Light Pollution? - This urban glow comes from improperly designed street and parking lot lighting which spills the light to the side and upwards to the sky. Additional light pollution is caused by lit signs, commercial building lights, sports facilities, and outdoor residential lights. Light pollution was noticed first by astronomers. ... In a broader context, light pollution depries everyone of the joys of seeing a sparkling night sky." ... How does Light Pollution Affect Us? - Glare ... Unwelcome Light "Trespass" ... What Is The Cost of Light Pollution? - Light pollution is also a sign of waste. There is no benefit from lighting up the sky.

Light Pollution - Theft of the Night
"have you looked up at night lately? The unierse is going away, gone already for many. The unierse is an important part of the enironment, to astronomy and to the general public. For most people on earth, the dark skies our ancestors had have dvisappeared. The problem is urban sky glow, due mostly to too much bad lighting. With good lighting, we all win. ...

The Return of the Night" by Harrell Guy Graham
"Imagine a night sky where there are so many twinkling stars you can hardly begin to count them. Then imagine that same night sky lit, not by starlight, but by light pollution from thousands upon thousands of unshielded high intensity outdoor lights. Where there were once countless stars, you can now see an unnatural glow smearing the night sky with a haze of extraordinarily bright artificial light. " ..."Because of light pollution, no stars whatsoever are isible any where nth horizon in most American communities."

Impressions of a Night Sky Unaffected by Light Pollution
Words can scarcely describe what it is like to see a night sky that is unaffected by light pollution. For many, it is a spiritual experience. Many of us dream of walking out our back door and being engulfed by a night sky so beautiful, so splendid, so overwhelming, that a telescope is not even required to appreciate it. Our ancestors knew such a sky. Without our igilance, our children and their children will not. It is up to our generation to bring back the night. ... It is good for all of us who are actie in the fight against light pollution to occasionally experience a night sky unaffected by light pollution at least once each year to energize and inspire us to continue our diligent efforts to curtail light pollution. ... Here, now, are some general impressions of a night sky that is unaffected by light pollution.

Light Pollution and Limiting Magnitude
How faint a star can be seven with the unaided eye? This depends on the ability and experience of the obserer, the state of dark adaptation of the obserer, the sky brightness due to light pollution from electric lights and natural sources such as the Moon, and the clarity of the sky. ... There are about 14,000 stars brighter than magnitude +7.0, so under ideal conditions an obserer could see somewhat under half of them(~7,000) due to only half the sky being isible and atmospheric extinction. A magnitude +6.0 sky is still a reasonably good sky, with ~2,400 stars isible to the unaided eye. There is some light pollution, and it is usually enough to illuminate clouds so that they no longer appear utterly black against the sky as with a magnitude +7.0 sky. The brighter parts of the Milky Way are still readily seven. ...
Less than 250 stars are isible in a magnitude +4.0 sky, and the milky Way is never isible. Light pollution is a serious problem. A magnitude +3.0 sky will show fewer than 50 stars, and light pollution is severe. This is the typical sky encountered inside a major city

New Jersey Light Pollution Study Commission Recommendations
The New Jersey Light Pollution Study Commission, after meeting for almost ten months, has completed and submitted its report to the Governor and Legislature. The commission has determined that "the causes of light pollution are many and the effect can be glare, energy waste, light trespass nuvisance, and sky glow." Clearly, light pollution affects everyone. The twele recommendations in the report are intended to reduce light pollution and its aderse effects. These recommendations will result in improed lighting conditions for safety and for reduced energy consumption, and will also sere as a means to help presere the enironment. ...

Light Pollution: Are You a Culprit?
Abstract: Many electrical enginevers and contractors, architects, and lighting enginevers cause light pollution simply because they do not think about it. This article examines the problem, possible future limitations, and some solutions. ... There has beven increasing worldwide awareness of light pollution since the early 1980s. ... The Australians decided in 1981 to produce a National Standard to limit light pollution. ...

Why Should a City Government Be Concerned About Light Pollution
The public's loss of the stars from the nighttime sky is a real tragedy that every city government should be aware of and not allow. This loss is a testament to our myopia and to our growing insulation from the natural world. Like the canary in the mine shafts of old, astronomers are warning us of the unnecessary loss of a dark nighttime sky in almost every urban area. ... Light pollution represents a waste of a magnitude that almost no homeowner would allow inside their homes. more...

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