[Vision2020] Outdoor lights

[Fiat Lux]

Visionaries,

This is an important issue.  I appreciate the
discussion of it here.  I will submit my thoughts
also, not because they are particularly enlightening,
but because they are mine.

Mr. Harkins comments:
"I have every confidence that the rural resident is
fully able to determine for themselves their light
needs - and will pay for their choices."  

Ms. Willard observes:
"Big mercury vapor lights are the norm."

I contend, therein lies the problem.  This is where
the rest of us end up "paying for" other people's
lighting choices.

Who among us does not value the natural wonders of the
night sky?  My goodness, have you ever been to
Seattle?  A person is lucky to be able to spot the big
dipper in the "dark" city sky.   And you can forget
about marveling at the aurora borealis, because it is
obscured by the "city lights" that shine upward and
outward in addition to downward.   Nobody wants this
to be the case in Latah county.

In Moscow at night, take a drive along the Moscow
Pullman highway past the mall, Best Western and
Tri-State.  Notice the lighting along the highway. 
Then take a look at the lighting over on campus, at
the rec-center parking lot, for instance.  See the
difference?   From a distance, it can clearly be seen
that the area below the fixture is well lit, yet the
light does not travel horizontally or upward.  The
flat bottomed, non-protruding, non-bulbous fixtures
provide adequate illumination of the immediate area,
though they are much more considerate of those nearby
not requiring the lighting.  

One of the things I love most about rural living is
that out here at night, it is DARK.  I too have horses
that I check on or tend to after dark.   Earlier this
winter one of my horses did colic (not to disappoint
Murphy) on a frigid and blustery Sunday night.  But I
got through it all with adequate lighting provided for
solely by motion sensitive, floodlight type fixtures. 
As long as I was out with my horse, I had all the
light I needed for my task.  

I have chosen to steer clear of the mercury vapor
light scenario at my farm.  My night-time lighting
system is set up so that if nothing is moving outside,
no light is on.  Simple as that.  When I walk out my
door, on comes the light.  As I walk to my barn or
shop, another light comes on.  After a period of
minutes with no additional motion in the area, the
lights turn off.   I even have a light that will
illuminate the area around the chicken coop should a
predator visit in the night.   If the lights were
always on outside at night, I wouldn't be as
immediately alerted at the presence of an "intruder"
as when I notice the motion sensor light has been
tripped on. 

Though I completely support every individual's right
to choose the kind of lighting that best suits his or
her particular purposes, I also believe controlling
the horizontal and upward travel of light from outside
fixtures merits our attention.  I will take the
liberty of likening dusk 'til dawn mercury vapor
lights, to sidestream cigarette smoke.  Beyond simply
satisfying the particular need of the user, the
product reaches out and touches far more than just one
person, homestead, species, etc.  If those types of
light fixtures are an absolute must, then let's make
thoughtful fixture design choices (throughout the
county, not just in the municipalities) that contain
the light and direct it only downward.  This will help
to mitigate the real effects of light pollution.  We
will all remain able to marvel at the wonders of the
night sky, unlike the poor folks in Seattle.    

Yours truly,
Fiat Lux

P.S. I just saw Mr. Seman's post on this issue.  This
discussion benefits from his understanding of design
issues as he clarifies: 
"Whether rural or urban the idea is to shield the
source of any light fixture (it's the filament that
does not need to be visible from off-site.)  One can
still have illumination and security without glare. 
Most people do not understand lighting design and
generally it is not done very well...if it shines, it
works.  There are better ways to consider artificial
light that include intensity, glare, color,
efficiency, safety, reflection, and other
characteristics of illumination." 


		
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