The facts of light

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Scripps Howard News Service
Friday, May 04, 2007

The facts of light

People's reaction to light pollution, says International Dark-Sky Association founder David Crawford, "depends on what their trigger issues are."

If they live in a place where lights from a neighbor's home or from a parking lot are shining in their window at night, or if they live in a big city where they can't see the stars, they might care. If not, they might not care.

Here are a few basic, boiled-down pointers:

_ Direct the light toward the ground rather than letting it escape skyward.

_ Have shields and caps put over lights.

_ Use motion sensors on outdoor lights so they only come on when needed.

_ Use more energy-efficient lighting.

Going to more efficient lighting, such as low-pressure sodium vapor lighting, can save money in the long run, Crawford and other proponents say.

Many existing lights can be retrofitted. Many stylish fixtures are now available, they say.

All this and a lot more is covered at the Dark-Sky Association's Web site, http://www.darksky.org, which is an impressive repository for all things lighting.

The site includes a fixtures directory (covering residential, landscape, industrial and many other types of lighting), a manufacturers directory and a discussion of lighting laws, among other features.