Whereas the beginnings of pervasive light pollution can be traced back about three decades to the introduction of the easily recognized dusk-to-dawn mercury vapor security light. This fixture makes no pretense of directional control, spraying light in every direction. It is a familiar sight at rural homes. Its typical 175 watt bulb and ballast draw 210 watts of line current. Burning all night every night, for an average of 4100 hours per year, a single NEMA head fixture, as they are called, requires enough electricity that about 800 pounds of coal will be burned annually;

and,

Whereas, coal is mostly carbon. Burning 800 pounds of coal releases about 1600 pounds of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Nearly forty percent of the light from an unshielded NEMA head fixture is scattered and useless. This waste light that invades neighbors' bedroom windows and illuminates tree tops and cloud bottoms resulting in the unnecessary release of 640 pounds of carbon dioxide, for this single fixture. The International Darksky Association, dedicated to raising awareness about light pollution worldwide, estimates this effect costs about $1.5 billion annually in wasted electricity that requires 6,000,000 tons of coal and produces 12,000,000 tons of carbon dioxide in the U.S.;

and,

Whereas, unshielded lighting also means dangerous glare. Lighting is effective when it shines down onto your field of view. Light that shines directly into your eyes is glaring and actually diminishes your vision. A current trend seems to indicate that gas station and fast food stores are engaged in "glare wars" in an apparent competition to have the brightest, most glaring outdoor lighting, to draw your attention. Pedestrians and cyclists near these business are at risk, visible only in silhouette against the background of ultra-bright glaring lights;

and,

Whereas, bright lighting is not an effective protection against crime. In New Zealand's largest city, Auckland, a power failure in late February caused a blackout that lasted several weeks. The lead paragraph of a March 8^th Associated Press article stated the following: "It's been almost a crime free zone," Inspector John Mitchell said Saturday. "The normal level of muggings, violence, fights, burglary and robbery have just not happened." Neither studies by the FBI, the U.S. Justice Department, nor a U.S. Congressional study found conclusive evidence that lighting reduces crime. Crime is not reduced by sending light upward into the sky, or by sending glare into your eyes;

and,

Whereas, flora and fauna also suffer from light pollution. The Indiana Department of Transportation is now installing shielding on highway street lighting adjacent to farm fields after observing crop damage from constant light. Sea turtles become confused by lights during their mandatory treks over beaches;

and,

Whereas, the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America has acknowledged the light pollution problem by adopting recommendations that call for the use of shielded light fixtures of only moderate brightness;

and,

Whereas, the ways in which we effect our terrestrial ecosystems is critical to our stewardship of the earth. Humankind in turn is enriched by the appreciation it develops for nature and the cosmos. With the current level of human technology, it will be a long time before the cosmos needs human stewardship to the extent that the Earth does. But while the cosmos doesn't need us, humans need it. The Earth is a part of something infinitely larger. If humankind is cut off from the cosmos by a wall of unnecessary waste light, it suffers a lessening in the quality of its existence.

Therefore, be it resolved by the Hoosier Chapter of the Sierra Club, that the General Assembly of State of Indiana should require all departments of the Indiana State Government to reconsider the effectiveness of their present outdoor lighting policies and programs and report to the General Assembly on the ways they intend to reduce light pollution;

And, be it further resolved, that the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, review its rules to determine if the present policies encourage electric utilities to market outdoor lighting that is unnecessarily contributing to outdoor light pollution and if so to correct those policies in the name of saving consumer dollars, reducing light pollution and using energy more efficiently, and reducing the pollution generated to power unnecessary and dangerous outdoor lighting;

And, be it further resolved, that local governments review their street lighting policies and their zoning regulations for commercial lighting for safety, effectiveness and efficiency and adopt new policies and regulations where needed to reduce utility expenses, reduce light pollution and use energy more efficiently, and reduce the pollution generated to power unnecessary and dangerous outdoor lighting.

Bill Hayden
Bloomington, IN

mailto:haydenb@bloomington.in.us

"The battle we have fought, and are still fighting . . . is a part of the eternal conflict between right and wrong, and we cannot expect to see the end of it." -- John Muir, Sierra Club Bulletin, January, 1896