Degrees of Lighting - by Cathy Burton

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The opinions expressed in these articles and features are those of their author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of McANA or the opinion of its Directors or Officers.

Degrees of Lighting
by Cathy Burton
[President of McANA]

The light of our lives - beacon or blight

Several years ago, I flew to Atlanta for a cousin’s wedding. Because we were flying in at night, it was truly a breathtaking sight, and I felt kind of like the country girl being dazzled by the bright city lights. It certainly looked like a beacon in the night. But since that time, I have begun to learn a little more about lights, and I understand that more is not always better.

Lighting, and the potential for new lighting, is commanding more and more attention from neighborhoods as they look at development trends and their impacts. Where once, during the rezoning process, the main concerns were the use itself, the traffic, and the drainage, lighting has now risen to join in the top categories of "THINGS WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT."

Residents frequently complain about light intrusions from commercial and industrial development, interstates and athletic fields. Now added to that list are some of the residential developments which seem to think that creating "a unique atmosphere" includes lights that will identify their presence from outer space. It is often difficult for existing neighbors to accept the idea of a new development next to them without the added insult of excess lighting that invades their homes and their privacy. Although there are some loose guidelines in City regulations about light not being any greater than one foot candle at the property line, this is frequently ignored when lighting is being chosen for a new development or added to an existing one. But, as with many things, there seems to be no firm ability to enforce that requirement. And there seems to be little being done to address excess "ambient light" that is cast into the night sky.

Studies have been conducted that show links to health problems because of exposure to excess light. Damage to the eyes and nervous system, disruptions in sleep patterns that can lead to sleep deprivation, and increased risks of breast cancer are some of the health impacts that can be potential results of unnecessary and prolonged exposure to excess lighting.

Excess lighting poses environmental threats which are just now being truly cataloged and counted. Millions of birds die each year from flying into manmade structures, in great part due to disorientation from lighting because nature did not make their eyes to react appropriately to artificial light. Lighting also has negative impacts on nocturnal animals, discouraging them from contributing to earth’s delicate eco-cycle by curtailing their normal activities. (Let’s think about how many mosquitoes we would have if the bats didn’t come out at night. )

There are very real safety concerns caused by excess lighting along our roadways. Bright lights can create visual impairments which do not allow drivers to see as well at night because they are temporarily blinded. (We all get indignant when an oncoming car does not dim its headlights - why aren’t we more indignant about brightly lit parking lots alongside the freeway?) While lights do have some value in helping motorists locate destinations, too much light can make it difficult to see the sign or entryway to that same destination. Plus, many types of lighting, such as those running marquee light billboards, cause distractions at a time when a driver needs to be paying attention to the road - not what is going on beside the road.

And when we are talking about safety, how is it that we can expect airline pilots to safely and accurately identify a landing strip, when the lights on the canopy of the corner gas station look like a runway?

Then there is the pollution caused by the power plants which strive to provide the electricity for all the lights we so dearly love. In our high-tech, modern society, adequate power is a critical issue. It seems to me if we crank those parking lot lights down a notch, we could reserve a considerable amount power, the production of which has HUGE environmental impacts. Plus excess, wasted lighting is a drain on everyone’s budgets - to the tune of billions and billions of dollars every year.

I am not proposing that we do away with all outdoor lighting. Of course, reasonable lighting is necessary for safety and visibility. But, as with most things in life, we need to approach lighting in moderation. Use what we need and no more. Give some thought to how better lighting design can reduce waste and damage to our health, environment, and financial resources.

Light pollution is one of the easiest kinds of pollution to eliminate. There is no reason to continue this destructive trend. We need to develop simple, but effective, regulations about outdoor lighting, by drawing on current information about its impacts. And then we need to enforce those regulations.

Besides - one of my greatest joys as a child when we went on family camping trips was to look at the stars. And you can’t teach a child how to reach for the stars if they can’t see them.

(For more information on outdoor lighting, I would suggest visiting http://home.att.net/~icole/ - the website for the Indiana Council on Outdoor Lighting Education.)

Cathy Burton