Preserving the Night Sky: Earth Hour

On March 28, from 8:30 to 9:30 in the evening, cities across the world will turn out their lights for one hour -- and change the face of the world from space. Cities such as Moscow, Sydney (where the movement started), Chicago, Buenas Aires, Brussels, Rio de Janeiro, Shanghai, London, Vancouver, Paris, Mumbai, Rome, Budapest, Kuwait, Mexico City, and our very own Washington D.C. will all observe an hour of darkness during Earth Hour by turning off non-essential lighting and encouraging all individuals and businesses to join in the effort. The goal is to have one billion people enjoying the night sky and voting to fight global warming and encourage conservation.

I remember, as a child, looking up at the falling stars during the Perseids meteor shower, and having my entire field of vision taken up with streaks of light across the sky. For my own children to enjoy this meteor shower I had to drive out away from town. We laid on the hood of the car and when not counting meteors, we talked about the halo of light above our city, and how light pollution not only wasted energy, but interfered with bird migration and with sea turtle hatchlings. According to National Geographic, some amphibians, which are widely recognized as indicator species and are integral to some ecosystems, will delay nocturnal feeding when artificial light is present, which shortens their available hours for nourishment and may threaten their survival.

The New Yorker, in a recent article, discusses how bright light used to prevent crime can often become a tools of criminals. If a very bright light is used to on your garage, for example, your eyes adjust the bright light and make it more difficult to see into the dark void beyond. There are even safety implications, most of us have experienced seeing a gas station lit so brightly that it hurt our eyes, changing our ability to see less brilliantly lit objects on the road.

The cost of all of this light? In the United States the Night Sky Association estimates that the light wasted is worth two billion dollars annually, or the equivalent of 30 million barrels of oil and 8.2 million tons of coal.

What does this have to do with Brytan? Brytan is participating the in the Pilot LEED-ND program which encourages conservation of energy and protection of the night sky in neighborhood design. Choosing light fixtures that only aim downward, prohibiting decorative lighting (allowing lighting for safety purposes and some amount for advertising) and measuring the "spread" of light are some of the requirements. Barriers to implementation are requirements by the Department of Transportation, as well as legal concerns about liability since these efforts are voluntary and not mandated. Some municipailites have enacted legislation prohibiting certain kinds of lighting, and are changing out inefficient fixtures for fully shielded fixtures, sometimes saving millions per year. The City of Calgary, according to the BBC, changed out 37,500 fixtures, saving $2 million per year and yielding a full payback in only six years.

What can you do? Encourage local legislation restricting wasted and unnecessary lighting, and educate your friends and neighbors about how less light can be safer. Participate in the upcoming Earth Hour, and be part of the one billion participants fighting global warming. Turn your lights (and your TV!) off and enjoy a candlelit dinner, a walk under the (more visible) stars or lay in your hammock and listen to the sounds of nature realizing it is night (maybe you will see a firefly!).