Nanaimo Dark Skies Project

[ebusinesstutor]

The Nanaimo Astronomy Society is concerned about local light pollution. Not only because it destroys our view of the night sky and disconnects us from the universe, but also for it's high monetary and environmental cost and impact on the health of people, animals and the local ecology.

Our society is starting a Dark Skies Project here in Nanaimo to work to:

• increase awareness of light pollution and its effects
• reduce light pollution in and near Nanaimo
• create a designated "Dark Sky Park" within the city

To do this we need people to:

• volunteer to serve on our Dark Skies Steering Committee
• volunteer to help us with light pollution awareness activities

You don't need to be a member of the Nanaimo Astronomy Society to volunteer for our Dark Skies Steering Committee or activities. We are also keen to partner with other groups concerned about the environment.

To volunteer, contact us by calling Garland at 250-740-0472 or by sending me a private message here. Any questions you have about light pollution or dark skies are welcome.

[zedex]

"Light pollution" as in not heavy, or as in "too much light"?? I've never heard of such a thing. More details......

[ebusinesstutor]

Light Pollution is wasteful, excessive lighting such as having street lights on all night.

Light pollution is harmful because:

• the light disrupts the natural biological rythyms of plants and animals
• to generate the light often creates extra greenhouse gas emissions, adding to global warming
• excessive light has been linked to cancers, obesity, immune system disorders and depression in humans
• many migratory birds use stars to navigate at night which light pollution hides
• it keeps us from our dark sky heritage

Here is a picture taken by one of our members here in Nanaimo showing the problem. On a clear night, the stars are barely visible:
http://www.nanaimoastronomy.com/phot...ource=activity

And here is another picture showing how wastefully we light the Earth at night.

[IslandStyle123]

Now you want to regulate light? This concept is beyond ridiculous.

[ebusinesstutor]

Now you want to regulate light? This concept is beyond ridiculous.

I think it is more ridiculous that:

• governments spend our tax money lighting up every street in the city when only a few people might be out walking and could use flashlights
• even though we know global warming is going to have disastrous impacts on our environment, we continue to dump tons of greenhouse gasses into our atmosphere to light up cities at night when most people are asleep and don't need the lights.

[zedex]

Light Pollution is wasteful, excessive lighting such as having street lights on all night. The lights are for safety and security as well as safe navigation

Light pollution is harmful because:

• the light disrupts the natural biological rythyms of plants and animals Yet plants thrive under the additional lighting and most animals are attracted to light. Others use the shadows for shelter from light
• to generate the light often creates extra greenhouse gas emissions, adding to global warming And how does one measure what a "greenhouse gas" is? Is this the amount of heat generated by light? Personally, I hardly think a light bulbs are going to melt the ice caps from thousands of miles away and "global warming" scares were debunked by the very scientists that put out the warning when they exposed themselves for producing "doctored data". Since we are on the subject, what happened to the "next ice age" they proclaimed we'd have by the year 2000? It's all a bunch of BS. The earth changes, sometimes cooler, sometimes not. It is a natural occurance that has been twisted into "the sky is falling"
• excessive light has been linked to cancers, obesity, immune system disorders and depression in humans None of these have had any real solid backing, only theory. Sunlight over time and heavy exposure is said to cause some forms of cancer and there may some merit to the claim. Obesity has no proven link whatsoever. ISD's can be indirectly linked through longer photoperiods where sleep deprivation can occur and the depression linked to artificial lighting was also studied to be related to the indoor climate such as office cubicles where employees worked under the flourescent lights. The study was done to see the effect of that type lighting and the results at first were that people suffered depression under these lights. A futher, more in depth study showed that with convertional lighting, the mood did not change, yet when windows and more outdoor time was allowed int he workplace, the mood became lighter and healthier. This disspelled the myth of the lighting. Later tests do still show that flouro light and CFL bulbs do produce pulse lighting that does affect eyesight over years of exposure.
• many migratory birds use stars to navigate at night which light pollution hides If they look upwards, they will see stars, look downward to see lights. It is simple stuff. And, if I, from the ground in a major city, can see the stars, I am sure birds 1000 feet closer to them can see the stars, too.
• it keeps us from our dark sky heritage It looks pretty dark in the sky to me.

Here is a picture taken by one of our members here in Nanaimo showing the problem. On a clear night, the stars are barely visible:
http://www.nanaimoastronomy.com/phot...ource=activity

And here is another picture showing how wastefully we light the Earth at night.

I am not trying to start anything, but I think that this theory about light is alot about nothing. We need lights for getting around at night inside or out. Its that simple. And, I doubt this is gong to change. Also of note is that what was used before the light bulb would have had a larger, more severe impact on "global warming" and "greenhouse gases". That would be candles and fireplaces. It is easy for us to forget that before electricity, everyone around the world used fireplaces that would burn for months on end and candles throughout the house. If you took a single fireplace and burned it for one 24 hour period, it would produce more heat than millions of light bulbs. And think of all that smoke and chemicals released into the air. But earth, animals, plants and people survived it well. No one can convince me that lightbulbs are end the earth. It is impractical to even consider such.

Think of it this way: I have two bedrooms, one bath, a kitchen, dining room and a living room. Every room has light. I also run a fridge, deep freezeer, water heater, TV, cable box, DVD, Wii, stove, washer, dryer and heater. Unless I crank up the heater { but who can afford that???}, my house is always cold. I cannot give you the metric temp, but it is about 50F. This is not much warmer than outside, drier, but not much warmer. Now, what are the odds that the little heat generated INSIDE the house will affect the polar ice caps from 3000 miles away??

If the lights generated that much to melt the ice caps over this distance, then it would stand to reason that with all this light pollution, we would no longer have a winter and every day would see a tempature rise and it would never get colder, only warmer.

So what the earth can be seen from the moon and we can see where light bulbs are in use. Does it really matter? Are we trying to hide from some alien lifeform?

I met one other person that had the same thought pattern about lights and thought we should do someting about it. Do what?? He was fine about doing something, but he could not get along without lights in his home. Yet, I am expected to?

[zedex]

I think it is more ridiculous that:

• governments spend our tax money lighting up every street in the city when only a few people might be out walking and could use flashlights But what about those who are driving in an area they are not familiar with? What if an animal darts into traffic, or worse yet, a kid?? How about security. With street lamps, we can look out and see if anyone is snooping around looking for something to steal, someone to rape or kill.
• even though we know global warming is going to have disastrous impacts on our environment, As stated before, "global warming was bunked by the very scientists that introdcued the idea by admission of "doctored" documents we continue to dump tons of greenhouse gasses How is a vapor weighed? How was it contained for measurement? Did you know a single cow can produce more methane in a single fart than 100 people and that they constantly fart? Should we just turn these polluters into ground beef to save the earth from natural occurances? into our atmosphere to light up cities at night when most people are asleep and don't need the lights. What about factories that work nights? Are you aware that up to 50% of the lumber in your home was produced at night? Did you know in hot and humid areas more factory work is done at night as it is cooler for the employees? And, just because we are sleeping, what about those who are not? Do they deserve less security than the dayshift workers? Do you have all the lights and appliances in your home turned off pernamently or do you use them as you need?

As I said before lights have a purpose and we use them for that. If your agenda is to change something for the good of animals, how about going after police, ambulances, and firetrucks for their sirens? Loud noises stress animals more than light. It even stresses people- and we know what it is. Maybe you could go ask power companies to shut down all power for 12 hours a day. But, I doubt this will happen.

Don't get me wrong, I applaude someone for trying to do something good. But, remember, people do not like to have their lives and lifestyles uprooted because of something so minute and trifle. A good agenda would be feeding the hungry, housing the home-less, ....... but people resent those who interfere in their lives. And, I don't think you will find many supporters for losing the lights at night.

[Tenspot]

I want to know what day that picture with the global light showing was taken. I don't remember when the whole Earth was dark at the same time. Looks like we turned all the lights out in Canada and are as dark as darkest Africa. It looks like light pollution is everywhere else is the problem. Turning out the lights won't slow down global warming, it's cyclical, and started 10,000 years ago at the ending of the last Ice Age.

[ebusinesstutor]

[COLOR="red"] I am not trying to start anything, but I think that this theory about light is alot about nothing. We need lights for getting around at night inside or out.

Yes, we do need light to get around. But we don't need to light up an entire city at 2 am because some person may need to take a stroll. They can use a flashlight for that. Cars don't need street lights as they have better focused lights to get around.

Its that simple. And, I doubt this is gong to change. Also of note is that what was used before the light bulb would have had a larger, more severe impact on "global warming" and "greenhouse gases". That would be candles and fireplaces.

True. Both are an impact on the environment. Light bulbs are not worse than candles or fireplaces, both affect the environment and that is why we need to move towards reducing our impact.

Now, what are the odds that the little heat generated INSIDE the house will affect the polar ice caps from 3000 miles away??

Of course the heat from your bulb doesn't melt glaciers. But the greenhouse gasses that go into the atmosphere are slowing warming the planet and melting glaciers.

So what the earth can be seen from the moon and we can see where light bulbs are in use. Does it really matter? Are we trying to hide from some alien lifeform?

No, but it costs money to run all these lights and we are hurting the environment to do it. So why not change.

I met one other person that had the same thought pattern about lights and thought we should do someting about it. Do what?? He was fine about doing something, but he could not get along without lights in his home. Yet, I am expected to?

Not at all. Indoor lights in the room you are in are not causing any light pollution outside.

[ebusinesstutor]

As I said before lights have a purpose and we use them for that. If your agenda is to change something for the good of animals, how about going after police, ambulances, and firetrucks for their sirens? Loud noises stress animals more than light. It even stresses people- and we know what it is. Maybe you could go ask power companies to shut down all power for 12 hours a day. But, I doubt this will happen.

Don't get me wrong, I applaude someone for trying to do something good. But, remember, people do not like to have their lives and lifestyles uprooted because of something so minute and trifle. A good agenda would be feeding the hungry, housing the home-less, ....... but people resent those who interfere in their lives. And, I don't think you will find many supporters for losing the lights at night.

Turning off the street lights when people are not using them actually saves money. Money that can be used for other things, including the homeless. Some cities have streetlights on motion detectors so they only come on when people are out and about. In one city, you can send a text message on your phone to light up your block if you need to go out. This is effective use of light. In many large grocery stores, they are starting to put motion detector lights in the large upright freezers so they only come on when shoppers open the door.

And it isn't minute and trifle. The problem is world wide and wastes a lot of money and involves putting a lot of crap into the air.