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It's a shame the International Dark Sky Association hasn't gotten more traction. They advocate the use of lighting and fixtures that reduce light pollution wit

It's a shame the International Dark Sky Association hasn't gotten more traction. They advocate the use of lighting and fixtures that reduce light pollution without sacrificing illumination for safety, etc. (Spoiler: just make sure the light shines down and not upwards). http://darksky.org/ http://darksky.org/

jacobolus 10y ago
The fixtures aren’t the only important variable. It also helps to reduce the amount of short-wavelength (“blue”) light, and overall reduce the brightness of street lamps. Most LED streetlamps are absolutely awful, even when shielded, and far brighter than necessary for nighttime lighting (hint: human eyes are really good at adapting to low light levels). On my street in San Francisco, the street lamps were replaced last year with LED lamps. The new lamps are shielded to only direct light downward and sideways, not upward, but because they are at least 2–3 times brighter than the previous street lamps, and have a ton of output in the blue part of the spectrum (4000K CCT), they actually create more light pollution in the sky than the previous lamps, because they reflect a ridiculous amount of light off the street. They’re also blinding in the peripheral vision of pedestrians and drivers, and they make the street feel like some kind of industrial warehouse. Bleh.
- douche 10y ago
  Have you noticed any trouble sleeping since the new lights, due to all the extra blue wavelength light?
sliverstorm 10y ago
They're slowly, slowly picking up it seems. Gradually, more parks & such are being designated dark sky sites (which spreads their name- I learned about IDA @ Canyonlands), and a few towns like mine are starting to adopt dark sky initiatives.
Zak 10y ago
Let's not leave out the option of simply not using fixed, always-on lighting in many locations. The evidence for safety benefits from it is generally mixed: * There's definitely a benefit to lighting pedestrian crosswalks, though that benefit might be increased if the lighting is triggered by a pedestrian pressing a button before crossing. * There is a benefit where vehicles are prone to hit fixed objects or drive off the side of a curve, but reflectors or low-output marker lights can provide that benefit in many cases. * There does not appear to be a reduction in crime from installing fixed lighting in public places. Criminals require light to select victims and break in to vehicles or structures. Some studies have shown reductions in crimes; others have shown increases. Most show no significant effect. In addition, the capabilities of portable lighting have increased dramatically since most of our cultural assumptions about street lighting came to be. A pocket-sized bicycle light powered by a modern LED and an 18650 Li-ion battery can provide a generous amount of light for urban riding all night long and then some and recharge from a MicroUSB cable in a few hours.
- nwah1 10y ago
  However, lights turning on and off are more annoying to those just trying to sleep.
  - Zak 10y ago
    It can be, yes. Such lights should be designed to minimize their spill in to other areas. A crosswalk light, for example shouldn't light up everything. It should light up people in the crosswalk. Using LEDs, it can also have a fade in/out over a couple seconds to make it less jarring.
- treehau5 10y ago
  An often overlooked reason the lights being always on in convenient stores, groceries, ect: to increase the likelyhood that the perpetrator is spotted and can be later identified. Also helps the video cameras catch them.
  - blacksmith_tb 10y ago

jacobolus 10y ago

The fixtures aren’t the only important variable. It also helps to reduce the amount of short-wavelength (“blue”) light, and overall reduce the brightness of street lamps. Most LED streetlamps are absolutely awful, even when shielded, and far brighter than necessary for nighttime lighting (hint: human eyes are really good at adapting to low light levels). On my street in San Francisco, the street lamps were replaced last year with LED lamps. The new lamps are shielded to only direct light downward and sideways, not upward, but because they are at least 2–3 times brighter than the previous street lamps, and have a ton of output in the blue part of the spectrum (4000K CCT), they actually create more light pollution in the sky than the previous lamps, because they reflect a ridiculous amount of light off the street. They’re also blinding in the peripheral vision of pedestrians and drivers, and they make the street feel like some kind of industrial warehouse. Bleh.

douche 10y ago
Have you noticed any trouble sleeping since the new lights, due to all the extra blue wavelength light?

sliverstorm 10y ago

They're slowly, slowly picking up it seems. Gradually, more parks & such are being designated dark sky sites (which spreads their name- I learned about IDA @ Canyonlands), and a few towns like mine are starting to adopt dark sky initiatives.

Zak 10y ago

Let's not leave out the option of simply not using fixed, always-on lighting in many locations. The evidence for safety benefits from it is generally mixed: * There's definitely a benefit to lighting pedestrian crosswalks, though that benefit might be increased if the lighting is triggered by a pedestrian pressing a button before crossing. * There is a benefit where vehicles are prone to hit fixed objects or drive off the side of a curve, but reflectors or low-output marker lights can provide that benefit in many cases. * There does not appear to be a reduction in crime from installing fixed lighting in public places. Criminals require light to select victims and break in to vehicles or structures. Some studies have shown reductions in crimes; others have shown increases. Most show no significant effect. In addition, the capabilities of portable lighting have increased dramatically since most of our cultural assumptions about street lighting came to be. A pocket-sized bicycle light powered by a modern LED and an 18650 Li-ion battery can provide a generous amount of light for urban riding all night long and then some and recharge from a MicroUSB cable in a few hours.

nwah1 10y ago
However, lights turning on and off are more annoying to those just trying to sleep.
- Zak 10y ago
  It can be, yes. Such lights should be designed to minimize their spill in to other areas. A crosswalk light, for example shouldn't light up everything. It should light up people in the crosswalk. Using LEDs, it can also have a fade in/out over a couple seconds to make it less jarring.
treehau5 10y ago
An often overlooked reason the lights being always on in convenient stores, groceries, ect: to increase the likelyhood that the perpetrator is spotted and can be later identified. Also helps the video cameras catch them.
- blacksmith_tb 10y ago