Lots of light, but the road is still dark!
Where is the light? It's in glare and light trespass.

A 150-watt night light so bedrooms are never dark.
There is no security at 2 am unless there is someone to watch out for vandals.

Sky Glow!
It is hard to see the stars with the sky glow.

Glare is the visual discomfort resulting from insufficiently shielded light sources in the field of view. The light source itself hinders a person's ability to see details not directly illuminated by the light. This degrades safety and security. One should see the hazards, not the light source.

There are at least two physiological problems with glare. Bright light that enters our eyes from the side, will cause our pupil to get smaller - letting in less light. And, our natural dark adaptation cannot occur. Thus, we will no longer be able to see into the less lighted areas. They will appear black. The affect on stargazers is to make the sky appear as though there are no stars!

Glare is also especially debilitating for adults over 40 years of age. As our eyes age, our pupils cannot open as large as they did in our youth. We become more dependant on the light that passes through the centre of our lenses. Unfortunately, this area is where cataracts begin to grow. Thus senior citizens find it increasingly difficult to see well. For them, more light actually reduces visibility.

Light Trespass is misdirected light that invades neighbouring property. It creates a nuisance by shining into bedroom windows and other areas. Light should be directed to where it is needed and should not shine across neighbouring properties. Neighbours have arguments about lights left on all night that shine across the property of others. A simple shield on the offending light can solve the problem (see below).

We could also question the use of these all-night lights. If the owners have gone to bed, the only use for the light is to help vandals and others see their targets. A waving flashlight in the middle of the night is more suspicious than a constant floodlight.

A badly lighted commercial property adjacent to a residential area can lower the value of the homes because of the flood lighting that overwhelms the more subdued and tasteful lighting of a suburb.

Sky Glow is produced by two phenomena - one natural and one that is not. Natural sky glow is produced at night by emissions from gases high in our atmosphere. We can't do anything about that, but then it is so faint that most people never notice it. Artificial sky glow dominates the natural form in and around urban areas. It is caused by light that is scattered off dust and large air molecules around a city. This light was intended to illuminate the ground but, due to poor design, it is misdirected upward into the sky. It wastes energy and it obliterates the view of the natural night sky











Light pollution is more than just a nuiscence for stargazers and astronomers. Without the contrast between the day and a dark night, our health can be compromised as well. Thirty years ago we were unaware of this problem. But now there is no excuse. Light pollution is a problem, and we must reduce it. Fortunately, the solutions are inexpensive and readily available.

Thirty years ago we were coping with the expensive solutions to air and water pollution. In the twenty-first century we are already tackling light pollution. Our children and grandchildren will thank us.

Here is a simple little shield your kids can make. All you need is some cardboard, a ruler and scissors and a bit of outdoor paint. It will reduce glare onto the street and help visitors see your doorsteps. You may have to help them a bit with the painting at the end.

The Project
This light shield will fit a standard 13 watt Compact Fluorescent (CF) light bulb.

WARNING: Don't try this with incandescent bulbs. They can get very hot and may burn the cardboard - or more!

The shield fits over the bulb and will shield the light, preventing any light from shinning above the horizon. The light that is shielded, is reflected down onto the ground. Therefore instead of creating glare and wasting light, you will use the wasted light allowing the use of a lower wattage bulb. This will save energy. Cut out the "C" shaped paper pattern here. The central hole may be mad smaller to accomodate smaller light bulbs.

Get a piece of cardboard 8.5 x 11 inch. If you are careful, you will be able to cut all the cardboard pieces from a single 8.5 x 11 inch piece of cardboard. You can use the paper pattern to cut out the stiffening form from the cardboard. Use the paper pattern (or the cut-out cardboard) to cut thick alluminium foil from a roll.

Tape the cardboard into a cone and tape the strip of cardboard around the bottom edge of the cone. (This will both stiffen the cone's lower edge, and it will help shield the light.) See the image to the left. It may help make these instructions more clear.

After painting (to protect the shield from moisture) the inside with white paint and outside with a colour of your choice, slide it over the plastic portion of the 13-watt CF bulb. Tape it in place.

We think you will be surprised at how much better these bulbs work when they are shielded.

You can probably think of many variations on this design. Send them in, and we will post them. If you would like to make one for a larger CF bulb, the small central mounting hole will have to be made a bit larger, and the lower strip may have to be longer.

Variations:
If your fixture points the light upward, don't bother cutting out the small hole in the centre. To keep the shield from blowing away, tie a few short strings between the lower lip of the shield and the bottom of the light fixture.

If your fixture holds your bulb horizontally, you will have to cut the side out of the cone and hold the shield in place with those strings again. Tape will also work, but most consumer tapes will quickly degrade in the weather. Then you may have a "flying saucer"!

Use motion detectors to trigger our all-night outdoor lighting.

Some cities light their streets to 1/2 the generally used illumination levels. Imagine, a city saving 1/2 their roadway lighting electricity costs! How is your city doing? Make them care!

Don't let developers or commercial interests push you, or your city around. They should shield their lights too.

Is there a dark park in your area? Perhaps it could be acclaimed as an Urban Star Park or Dark Sky Preserve. Speak to the park manager and show them the RASC Dark Sky Information. Make it happen.

Remember that some light is helpful, but too much creates problems.

Without someone to watch an illuminated property (security personnel), security lighting will attract vandals.

This is a nice picture, but the spray of light well beyond the small area of activity out of frame to the right is a sad statement about how we view what is "out of mind". The light severely impacts the nocturnal environment - especially the wildlife. (Yes, there are actually creatures lurking back in the bushes even in winter.) I really don't think those unused ski hills need to be illuminated. Indeed, after hours they discourage skiing - so why illuminate the areas that are off limits?