Press Release

Contact: Kevin Fleming
Phone: (317) 782-3938  

Concern over outdoor lighting as reported October 27^th by the Bloomington Herald-Times, then on the AP Midwest wire, Indianapolis Star, Louisville Courier-Journal, Evansville Courier and others, has led to the formation of the Indiana Council on Outdoor Lighting Education, (ICOLE).

ICOLE urges "shield the glow, Amoco" for all Amoco gas stations lighted in a manner such as the station located at Ind SR37 and SR144 at the Johnson-Morgan County line. Gas stations and others are urged to use outdoor lighting responsibly and consider the impact of high store illumination on driving safety. Restricting the intrusive nature of such lighting is consistent with restrictions on large billboards.

Light pollution, the recognized term for glaring, misdirected high illumination, will receive additional media coverage this weekend in a Parade magazine article "Our Wasted Light" by its science writer David Levy, famed co-discoverer of Comet Shoemaker-Levy.

ICOLE will seek to work with the state's lighting and energy industry, public officials, environmentalists, media, urban planners, safety advocates, astronomers, security experts and others to promote outdoor lighting reform. Members of these groups are often aware that glare from unshielded, excessively bright, misdirected outdoor lights is undesirable. Such lights are a driving danger since they can diminish rather than enhance vision.

Up to 60% of the energy they use can be wasted as misdirected light beaming into the sky and spilling onto other property. Unshielded light destroys the view of the natural nighttime sky for astronomers and backyard stargazers. Excessive artificial light also has known and suspected negative effects on the environment and health. This week Newsweek magazine followed up on Science News' October 17th cover story, which indicated that excess lighting may interfere with nightly human production of melatonin, which is believed to help prevent production of tumors.

ICOLE agrees with information distributed by electric utility Cinergy PSI entitled "Be Aware, Think About Glare," which advises awareness of the problems associated with glare from outdoor lighting, such as driving difficulties.

Misdirected lighting also adds to air pollution. Electricity for the nightly use of the outdoor lights at the Amoco at SR37 and SR144 will annually require about 44 tons of coal and produce 176,000 lbs. of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas thought to contribute to global warming. Cloudy day usage could add 30% or more to these amounts. The use of less intense lighting could greatly reduce this consumption.

ICOLE thanks the 5,000 member Hoosier Chapter of the Sierra Club for recently passing a resolution calling for state and local governments to act to promote the reduction of light pollution.

ICOLE believes properly designed, properly used, and properly installed light fixtures provide safety, convenience, energy efficiency, as well as minimal air pollution, annoyance, and negative environmental impact, and minimal destruction of our view of the stars. ICOLE is affiliated with the Tucson-based International Dark-Sky Association.

Lighting such as at gas stations should be completely shielded from view beyond the station property. Excessive light intensity should be reduced in accordance with minimum recommendations of the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America.

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References:

ICOLE web site http://home.att.net/~icole
Int'l Dark-Sky Assoc. http://www.darksky.org
Conservation Chair, Hoosier Chapter of the Sierra Club: Bill Hayden, Bloomington, IN

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