January 11 –24, 2016
Mt. Washington — Light pollution is like a hung ceiling of haze over the land and sky that has changed the nature of our cities and is encroaching on our villages and rural locations. It is the cumulative result of light trespass, one light at a time overreaching its intended target and spilling into the environment, largely from 
excessive and poorly designed lighting at residences, in towns and at industrial, educational and recreational sites. We and other life forms have evolved to respond to darkness at night, including the profoundly moving influence of starlit skies and the moonlit land and seascapes. There are far-reaching consequences when the night is violated. Although the problem is enormous, the solutions begin, literally, at each of our fingertips.
In some respects, light pollution is a waste product that can be cleaned up and cleared out, or it will continue to increase and to limit and corrupt life on Earth. It is the next frontier for citizen environmental activism, following ongoing efforts to assure clean air and water. The waste product is squandered light, the result of light fixtures that do not focus light for maximum effect and efficiency. No light should be emitted above the source’s horizontal plane. Like other forms of pollution, it is an unintended consequence of our not-fully examined ingenuity. We produce and proliferate artificial light without concern for the world around us on which we depend for our physical and mental health. In addition to appropriate lighting, each of us is responsible for switching off unnecessary lights. It’s so simple. Look around.
Another technological oversight demands our immediate attention. According to Leo Smith, leader of the Connecticut chapter of the International Dark Sky Association (IDA), “The current issue at the IDA forefront is the color temperature for the new LED street lighting. This issue also applies to other LED lighting – both outdoor and indoor… An LED with a very high Kelvin CCT (4000K to 6500K) has a white/bluish color and often creates excessive glare and light trespass. The higher the Kelvin temperature of the LED, the shorter the wavelength. Shorter wavelength light appears more bluish, and is more susceptible to bouncing off particulates in the air and coming back as light pollution. Bluish light also appears more garish to the eye.” Smith continues, “From a manufacturing perspective, LED lights can achieve lower CCT ratings, such as 2700K, simply by applying a red phosphor coating onto the glass lens.” Please refer to the following two articles: https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/18/opinion/sunday/ruining-that-moody-urban-glow.html and https://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2014/10/21/davis-will-spend-350000-to-replace-led-lights-after-neighbor-complaints/
For a thorough introduction to the field of light pollution and how to be a part of the solution, please go to https://darksky.org/get-involved/
Additional resources:
https://physics.fau.edu/observatory/lightpol-prevent.html
Free video download – Losing the Dark https://www.lochnessproductions.com/shows/ida/ltd.html
New England Light Pollution Advisory Group
https://www.icq.eps.harvard.edu/nelpag/nelpag.html
https://www.darkskysociety.org/resources.cfm
https://www.starlight2007.net/theinitiative.htm
https://moniquebeaudin.wordpress.com/category/green-lifestyle/
Dark sky initiative in western Massachusetts https://www.nofrackedgasinmass.org/events/
McDonald Observatory is accepting applications for Teacher Professional Development Workshops for K-12 educators in the summer of 2016. McDonald Observatory offers a unique setting for teacher workshops: the Observatory and Visitors Center in the Davis Mountains of West Texas.https://mcdonaldobservatory.org/teachers/profdev
