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LIGHTING MYTHS
by Tim Hunter and Dave Crawford
The International Dark-Sky Association (IDA), Inc. |
INTRODUCTION
Most amateur astronomers are aware of light pollution and light
trespass, and many amateurs are working hard to improve the
night sky conditions in their communities. They often come
across a variety of objections, which are usually based on
inaccurate facts, misconceptions or, at times, deliberate
falsehoods. Many of the objections to improving our night skies
should be categorized as "lighting myths." Some of the more
common and egregious myths are summarized below. Those who want
to fight light pollution and light trespass should become
particularly familiar with these myths and learn the actual
facts behind them.
THE MORE LIGHT THE BETTER
"The more light the better" is the same type of reasoning as
saying the more salt on your food the better, or the more
fertilizer the better, or the more medicine the better.
Obviously, there comes a point where you can have too much of a
good thing. Eventually, it becomes wasteful and harmful.
Nighttime lighting behaves in the same way. We all need well lit
main streets, security lights, and parking lot lighting.
However, we do not need glare, clutter, confusion, light
trespass, light pollution, and energy waste. Excessively bright,
numerous, unshielded lights cause exactly these things.You
only need enough light to perform the task at hand. For example,
you use low watt colored bulbs for Christmas tree lights, and a
100 watt bulb for a porch light. If more light were better, why
are night lights in a bedroom dim instead of bright? The next
time you are at an airport at night look at the brightness of
the taxi lights (blue color) or the runway lights (white color).
They are relatively dim so as to not harm the pilot's night
vision and cause confusion. Even the rotating airport beacon is
not especially bright. The strobe lights on tall chimneys and
radio towers are of low wattage, yet visible for miles. Those
who claim the more light the better often are salesmen or
manufacturers more interested in sales than effective, safe,
environmentally sound lighting. |
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