e-petition - stargazing

[Jammy]

When I started this thread the total was 2175. It is now at 2707. Keep up the good work

[Dante]

Signed it. I actually got an lighting engineer from the council to spray black paint on half the lamp that shines into my garden. He understood the problem. He couldn't turn it off but could reduce the light by painting it. Not bad really

[GaryM]

Signed!

[ghewett]

I've just become number 2722.

[bashlong]

signed.

[Mr Q]

Tried to sign it but not a citizen or living in the U.K. but my thoughts are with you in trying to control light pollution.

[Dil]

All for it...I remember when the streetlights went off at midnight when I was a kid. Iused to stay up late to watch them go off

[nckjsmitj]

I support this action.

N.

[roscoe]

signed

[Shane10x]

Just signed it

Shane

[Frogpills]

Signed.

Light pollution makes me

[Si Rollett]

2757 now!

[Graeme]

Signed!

[Ditojay]

Took a while for the conf. e-mail but dont it now

[Lyrated]

Just added my name aswell good luck guys

[Grandad]

signed

[petermarknimmo]

I'm completely behind this - living in a light polluted estate means that most deep sky objects turn out to be a small grey/yellow smudge.

[Skylook123]

Not that we need more motivation to resist light intrusion, but I thought I would submit an excerpt from the presentations I'm often called upon to give. Whatever the topic, I end with two slides that follow. Highlights of the oral prestation that I give while showing these slides is given below. I can make it last for a minute, or expand each to make a ten minute discussion. The key points for expansion as needed are:

Why do we care about the dark of the night and light intrusion? Some simple answers are,

- For the ability to gather information that tells us about our universe,

- For the transmission of cultural lore and life meaning that is lost without the historical references,

- For the operation of our own natural eyesight at night,

and

- For all the rest of the natural world that has evolved in a certain environment that is essential to the well being of all the interconnected life around us.

And, so future generations can have the same opportunities as we have to explore and interact with their Universe.

[richbyers]

very good there- though i feel we still need something more than this, its was suggested the forum admin gets behind this, and that has happened, and for that i aknowledge the admin's generosity, however we wont get enough just by this-im trying to come up with something that will push this into the 10s of thousands, we need visibility

how can we get this? we need the national papers to do something on this- i mean they publish star maps correct? and they dont need to do a 'get behind this' all they need to do is do an article on it that will raise awareness

[Skylook123]

Personally, I don't think aesthetic arguments sway opinion as much as economic arguments do. The most effective attack on light intrusion I've hear of is to show the much lower cost to illuminate with properly designed and directed light fixtures, combined with the statistics that show crime reduction and auto safety are both best accomplished with low level targeted light. Human physiology does not want bright lights at night; we have evolved to only need enough light to tell if the wolf is stalking us, not what color its eyes are.

US Dept. of Justice studies have found:

There is a direct correlation between light levels and crime (more light = more crime)

Light can be exploited by criminals, too

Avoiding glare is one key to safety

[philsail1]

I know I'm not a regular attender any more, but I've signed the petition!

Kind regards to all.

philsail1

[stick]

Signed

[Kit-Fox]

very good there- though i feel we still need something more than this, its was suggested the forum admin gets behind this, and that has happened, and for that i aknowledge the admin's generosity, however we wont get enough just by this-im trying to come up with something that will push this into the 10s of thousands, we need visibility

how can we get this? we need the national papers to do something on this- i mean they publish star maps correct? and they dont need to do a 'get behind this' all they need to do is do an article on it that will raise awareness

Again tho the biggest problem is combatting the 'we'll all be murdered / mugged & raped in our beds' brigade who think that any change will result in the fall of civilisation & who wont even bother to look at any evidence that doesnt confirm their fears.

This is made worse by the sway & influence that the power industry has to have coloumns & leading articles written in a way to support keeping all this lighting we have so their profits continue to roll on in :)

And the first tihng that always happens when you try to reduce the light is your either painted as a weirdo (Who must also clearly be a terrorist or peado these days as you want the darkness to hide something in their minds) or someone who wants to gives all criminals a free pass for whatever crimes are commited

[richbyers]

true true......argh i dont know then

[Kit-Fox]

true true......argh i dont know then

Well considering that schools have nothing to do with education & are only interested in indocrination it might be a good trick to try and get LP taught as part of the whole climate change stuff currently on the curriculum.

It might be successful in indoctrinating enough young minds into worrying about LP which as they grow up will hopefully lead to a corresponding reduction in surplus exterior lighting.