I hope that the Northampton City Council will accept the lighting bylaws that Director of Planning & Sustainability Carolyn Misch and her team have carefully crafted. Light pollution is a real issue, and one that is often not a tradeoff, but a case of people to being unaware.
Light fixtures and light bulbs easily available are designed for maximum brightness, not best visibility, nor with health effects considered. People leave lights on outside all night, but they go inside and don’t see them. Light pollution is “low-hanging fruit,” just shut it off and it’s gone, unlike so many other forms of pollution.
SMany scientific studies show that light at night harms animals, insects, birds, trees and people. When we use amber-colored, carefully aimed light we increase visibility, safety, and reduce harmful effects on us and other organisms. There is a difference between perceived safety and better visibility, and education is the key to making sure we are safer and healthier.
One example of a need for regulations is car headlights. Technology got in front of previous standards, now I and many others feel blinded by headlights when driving at night. There are regulations under development for that, but we have reduced safety while we wait.
The proposed ordinance for Northampton is one more tool to educate the public on better ways to reduce our impact on the world. Important concepts — light trespass, color temperature, glare, and uplighting are included, and could lead the way for other communities to reduce the unintended impact people have on the world, without taking up unneeded space and resources.
Christina White
Florence