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Post Info TOPIC: Light Pollution, Energy Saving, Astronomy
Blobrana


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RE: Light Pollution, Energy Saving, Astronomy
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The laser light show planned for Southampton's civic centre has been scrapped.
The controversial plan to blast lasers into the night sky from the clock tower belfry has been snuffed out by new council bosses.
The so-called Southampton laser gateway project was already on hold for a series of trials in the autumn to test the impact of the green lasers.
These will not now go ahead, meaning the end of the lasers, say the council's controlling Conservative group.
The scheme sparked anger from astronomers, city residents and environmentalists as well as New Forest councillors, who were worried about intrusion from the beams.

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Blobrana


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Ancient light
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What happens if you spend $25K covering your roof with solar panels and somebody builds a tall building that throws them into shade? We used to have rights. When working with a real estate developer in the early nineties we had a neighbour oppose our project, saying that their building had a "right to ancient light" (extinguished in Toronto in 1880 but their building was older. As you can see here, it is now completely in shadow) and had us all scratching our heads. According to Bldgblog, they still have it in the UK but you have to work to preserve it.

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Blobrana


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Whipple Observatory
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Astronomers in Southern Arizona and elsewhere in the Southwest have a new worry possible light pollution from planned border fences and walls.
Boeing Co. is designing a 28-mile virtual fence near Sasabe on the border southwest of Green Valley.
Dan Brocious, spokesman for the Whipple Observatory on Mount Hopkins, said there has been talk of stadium lights in some border areas.
Astronomers are always concerned that man-made lights will diminish the nights darkness when telescopes are trained upward.

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Blobrana


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Posts: 131433
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Light Pollution in Arizona
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Astronomers in southern Arizona say they are worried about plans to build a security barrier along the border, fearing that new radar, stadium-style lighting and radio repeaters may affect telescopes.
A law signed by the US President in October calls for two layers of fencing, lights and sensors along most of the Arizona border, from 10 miles west of Calexico, California, to five miles east of Douglas.
The barrier will run past three top observatories: Kitt Peak National Observatory near Sells; the Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory near Amado; and Mexico's Guillermo Haro Observatory near Cananea, Son.

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Blobrana


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RE: Light Pollution, Energy Saving, Astronomy
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The Royal Astronomical Society is gravely concerned about light pollution and supports campaigns to raise awareness of dark skies since undirected light :

* wastes energy and contributes to global warming
* impoverishes the environment of all people, not just astronomers

Accordingly, if you wish to sign the following petition, submitted by a member of the public, to the Prime Minister please click here

'We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to ensure that all exterior lights are shaded to direct their light downwards, so as to prevent light pollution obscuring the beauty of the night sky'

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NOTE: You must be a British citizen or resident to sign the petition.

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Blobrana


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UK light emissions blotting out stars
A recent survey has highlighted that a growing number of people are now unable to view the night sky, due to light pollution.
The study, ran by the Campaign to Protect Rural England and the British Astronomical Association, saw 1,829 members of the public counting the visible stars in the constellation of Orion.
Typically, in a dark night sky, around 50 stars can be seen with the naked eye - however, just 2% of the survey volunteers could see more than 30 stars. 54% of those taking part recorded being able to see less than 10 stars in Orion - a result which indicated severe light pollution.

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Blobrana


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Light Pollution
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Stargazers in Hampshire fear plans by Southampton City Council to fire giant lasers across the county could ruin their view of the night sky.
Members of the Solent Amateur Astronomers Club - one of the largest in the south - say that controversial plans unveiled by council leisure bosses to beam a laser light show from the Civic Centre clock tower could obscure the view of the stars over Hampshire.
Club members - based at the Toothill Observatory near Rownhams - are set to have an extraordinary meeting within the next few days to voice their concerns about the plans.
They are also angered that the city council did not consult them about the scheme which is due to be launched in April next year to coincide with the 95th anniversary of the loss of the Titanic.

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Blobrana


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People are being asked to count stars this Christmas to help combat light pollution which obscures our view of the night sky.
The call comes from the Campaign to Protect Rural England and the Campaign for Dark Skies.
Both groups warn that most of today's children will never see the Milky Way - our own galaxy - spread across the heavens unless there is a halt in the growth of badly-directed, inefficient outdoor lighting.

Source The Scotsman

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Blobrana


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The clause (section 102) in the Clean Neighbourhoods & Environment Act 2005 relating to making light pollution a Statutory Nuisance under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 came into force on the 6th April 2006. The document showing when sections are expected to come into effect is located on the DEFRA web site here.

The first point of contact for enforcement is your Local Authorities Environmental Protection Department. If they fail to take action you can bring a private prosecution for Nuisance under (s) 82 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

Section 102
12 Section 102 adds to the descriptions of statutory nuisances listed in section
79(1) of the 1990 Act
‘(fb) artificial light emitted from premises so as to be prejudicial to health or a nuisance’.
However, this does not include artificial light emitted from the following premises. These are premises used for transport purposes and other premises where high levels of light are required for safety and security reasons, i.e.:

• Airports
• Harbours
• Railway premises
• Tramway premises
• Bus stations and associated facilities
• Public service vehicle operating centres
• Goods vehicle operating centres
• Lighthouses
• Prisons
• Premises occupied for Defence purposes

New lighting must adhere to the original planning permission of the building. These conditions cannot be applied retrospectively and can only be applied to buildings built after 1997.

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Blobrana


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RE: Light Pollution, Energy Saving, Astronomy
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Rome is the latest city to begin dimming its lights to prevent light pollution obscuring the night sky and to save energy.
The trend could picked up by other cities next year with the publication of an "off the shelf" law that they will be able to adopt to combat glare drowning out the stars.
Rome has 170,000 street lights, and stands to save 40 per cent on its lighting bill through its dimming programme. Next to be turned off will be signs in shop windows and hotels, and the already dimmed lights illuminating monuments may be lowered still further.
David Crawford, director and founder of the International Dark-Sky Association based in Tucson, Arizona, is architect of the model "ordinance" for cutting light pollution.

"The ground rules are simple; Shine light down, not up or sideways; don't over-light; turn off lights when they are not needed; use energy-efficient lights and fixtures; and impose curfews" - David Crawford.
Illuminated adverts could be switched off at night, for example, as could lighting in parking lots.

The ordinance is still in draft form and must negotiate a public consultation process, but Crawford is confident it could be finalised within a year. Australia already has a national standard similar to the model ordinance and many American cities have also made progress.

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