Climate Change week!

[umadog]

To avoid de-railing the other thread, I'm starting this one. It turns out that there will be a climate change week at the end of March:

Theresa Villiers MP

This is an excellent chance for us to push a light pollution message. I have drafted a quick letter. Please read it over, change it as needed, and send to your local MP. There are enough of us here to cover all the MPs in the country. I've just e-mailed Theresa Villiers at Chipping Barnet. 649 to go, so get e-mailing, people!

MP_letter.zip

[umadog]

In addition, I e-mailed the energy saving trust (Energy Saving Trust - Energy Efficiency & Energy Conservation to combat Climate Change.)

Here's a letter you can edit and e-mail:

With the approach of Climate Change Week, I am writing to bring the issue of Light Pollution to your attention. Poorly designed and wasteful light fixtures scatter light up into the sky instead of illuminating the intended surface. This has enormous environmental and financial impacts. The UK Campaign for Dark Skies estimates that over a billion pounds a year are lost this way. Of this, 120 million alone is a consequence of poorly shielded street lighting. Astonishingly, a single 500W security light left on for 2 hours a night will, in a year, have produced as much CO2 as an airliner travelling 570 miles. Light pollution is a leaking tap which each night pours two power stations’ worth of emissions into our skies.

Light Pollution does not only waste energy. It negatively affects the behaviour of many animals species (I regularly hear the dawn chorus at night) and blots out the stars. For most of the UK population the sight of the Milky Way is now smothered by the pallid glow of outdoor lighting. In November 2008 the issue made the front cover of National Geographic.

Your website rightly cites the potential of LED lighting. However LEDs are not a panacea, since if they lead to over-lighting the energy saving will be negated. Maximum energy savings can only be brought about by directing the right quantity of light in the right places. LEDs play a role in this process but good lighting practices are more important. Furthermore, good lighting practices can be introduced much more cheaply and may not even require changing light fittings. For example, UK Police reports indicate that over-lighting unoccupied properties tends encourage, not deter, crime. Adding motion detectors would save money, improve security, and darken our skies.

The UK Campaign for Dark Skies (CfDS - The Campaign for Dark Skies. An Anti Light Pollution Organisation.) and the International Dark-Sky Association (IDAHome) have produced carefully considered efficient lighting practices. Implement these will save energy, improve security, and return the sight of the Milky Way to our children. Would you consider supporting these guidelines on your website?