Vienna Council marks Int'l Dark Sky Week with proclamation

This article was originally published April 12, 2023 and written by Brian Trompeter on Gazette Leader.

Thomas Reinert Jr., president of the International Dark-Sky Association, and Eileen Kragie, founder of Dark Sky Friends, pose with a proclamation honoring International Dark Sky Week, which Mayor Linda Colbert presented at Vienna Town Hall on April 10, 2023. Photo by Christina Tyler Wenks

Mayor Linda Colbert read a proclamation at the Vienna Town Council’s April 10 meeting honoring April 15 through 22 this year as International Dark Sky Week.

“The aesthetic beauty and wonder of a natural night sky is a shared heritage of all humankind and the experience of standing beneath a starry night sky inspires feelings of wonder and awe and encourages a growing interest in science and nature, especially among young people,” the proclamation read.

Virginia is home to the most “dark sky” parks east of the Mississippi River, according to the document. Many nocturnal animal species rely on undisturbed night environments so they can hunt, mate and thrive, it stated.

Scientists have established that light pollution wastes natural resources, has economic and environmental consequences, causes energy insecurity and negatively affects human health, according to the proclamation.

Colbert then presented a copy of the proclamation to Thomas Reinert Jr., president of the International Dark-Sky Association.

NPR Science: Light pollution frustrates astronomers looking for discoveries - a 3 minute listen

When you look up at the night sky, can you see the stars? If you live in a large city or near one, the answer is probably no. The culprit is not just clouds and weather — it's light pollution.

NPR All Things Considered with Pien Huang

Listen here NPR Science Story Light Pollution

PIEN HUANG, HOST:

When you look up at the night sky, can you see the stars? If you live in a large city or near one, the answer is probably no. The culprit is not just clouds and weather. It's light pollution, and it's getting worse every year. It's a major challenge for some astronomers as it messes with their views of space. I wanted to learn more about the light pollution problem and to see it firsthand.

PETER PLAVCHAN: So this is our telescope.

HUANG: On a recent night, I went 25 miles west of Washington, D.C., out to George Mason University, to get a look at the night sky with astronomer Peter Plavchan. He's the director of their observatory.

PLAVCHAN: One thing you can't control is the weather.

HUANG: It was overcast, humid, not a star to be seen. It was perhaps a fitting night to talk about another big challenge that blocks the view - light pollution.

So research has shown that the night sky has been getting steadily brighter by about 10% a year for the past 10 years. I wonder, from your perspective, what does that mean?

PLAVCHAN: For as long as human civilization has existed, we've made up stories to describe what we see in the night sky, right? The origins of the myths and the naming of the constellations that we have in the night sky - the night sky has been something that we've always been curious about. So in terms of light pollution and how it's impacting us today, we're taking away that opportunity for people to be curious and to wonder about the night sky.

HUANG: Astronomers worry that great discoveries are more difficult to make since it's harder for them to see into space.

PLAVCHAN: If you go back a century, when Edwin Hubble in 1929 discovered that the universe was expanding, he did that using a 100-inch telescope just north of Pasadena, Calif. And he could not make that discovery today at that same telescope.

HUANG: Some stargazers are trying to bring the dark sky back. Along with Professor Plavchan, I met Eileen Kragie. She's the founder of Dark Sky Friends. It's a nonprofit, and it tries to get local governments to pass rules for, quote, "responsible outdoor lighting at night." These are ordinances to keep as much light out of the sky as possible.

So is your vision for us to kind of get back to a place where the only thing that might obscure your view of the stars is the clouds instead of the light?

EILEEN KRAGIE: Oh, that would be really nice, I think. Yeah. And I think it's important that, you know, people understand that dark skies doesn't mean dark ground and that you can traverse your area safely. I was depressed, really depressed before about this. But I am getting really optimistic because there's people across the globe that are really working hard on this.

HUANG: Professor Plavchan is a little less optimistic. He says there's another growing source that's lighting up the night sky.

PLAVCHAN: With the launch of the increasing proliferation of satellites in low Earth orbit, which reflect a lot of sunlight down to us, we can't escape it.

HUANG: Astronomers are pushing back, calling for caps on night lighting from both below and above.

Pien Huang, NPR News.

Copyright © 2023 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness: Is freedom from light trespass a right?

This article was originally published in The Fairfax Times

Is freedom from light trespass one of our inalienable rights, granted and established by the words Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness enshrined in the Declaration of Independence? 

Would not the founding forefathers have included this scourge of light trespass and light pollution in our Constitution had it existed then? And furthermore, with the prevalence of this rapidly growing and deadly source of danger, would they not have set up lasting protections for the citizens of this new country they were founding? 

As life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness is at the heart of the Declaration of  Independence, how might that apply to light pollution and light trespass? 

Life, one that is not threatened by the health problems artificial light brings to humans, animals, birds, insects, and plants alike with whom we share this globe. 

Liberty, every person, and creature inhabiting this globe have a right to enjoy their home and outdoor environment without relinquishing their rights to another’s glaring and intrusive lighting, be it neighbor, business, municipality, or government entity. 

Pursuit of happiness, we all have a right to step outside at night and be able to look up in wonder and awe at what Mother Nature has created for us above this little spinning blue planet. It is our birthright and heritage. 

It is time for a Declaration of Independence from the tyranny of artificial light that now rules so many lives as a dictator. 

Furthermore, let us relegate blackout curtains to their originally conceived function, keeping light from indoors from escaping out into the night.  

Whether to prevent a clear target for a bombing run from a wartime enemy, or to prevent light from escaping to wreak havoc on the natural nighttime environment that comes alive after the sun sets and darkness descends, they certainly should not function to block light from getting in. 

Unless you wish to sleep after the sun wakes and appears over the horizon, or if you are sensitive to the full moon’s light. Or wish to nap during the day. 

Using blackout curtains that imprison us in our homes by the lights growing in strength and number and power from outside, deprives each and every one of us of a life lived safely and comfortably in our own homes. Depriving each one of us, and our fellow creatures inhabiting this planet; be they mammal, insect, fowl,  fish, or plant, of our inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. 

And if Mother Nature and other countries are not covered under these lofty principles, they certainly should be. 

Windows, skylights, and doors have all gotten larger over the years. Artificial lights have gotten brighter and whiter. So much more light is escaping out of homes and buildings and off of sea-faring vessels than could have ever been imagined.  

A man-made crisis, but certainly not an unsolvable one. Technology now affords programable, dimmable, and targetable lighting today to solve this easily and effectively. 

It is time to protect our world from all intrusive lighting, whether it originates from outside structures, or from within. 

Here in Northern Virginia, from Fairfax County Park Authority’s Turner Farm Park  Observatory to the Observatory on George Mason University’s campus, to  Wolftrap National Park for the Performing Arts, to every park and neighborhood,  light trespass is a clear and present danger to all of our lives, livelihoods and quality of life. 

Relegating blackout curtains to their original purpose, keeping light IN, in conjunction with adopting ROLAN, responsible outdoor light at night, frees us all to enjoy this beautiful and fragile planet day AND night, as countless generations have for centuries before the invention of the lightbulb, barely 100 years ago. 

Eileen Kragie is the founder of Dark Sky Friends an organization that promotes responsible outdoor lighting at night.

Artificial Light Changing the Environment, Not for the Better

This article was originally published on Fairfax County Times.

Responsible use of outdoor lights at night is critical to our lives and to our futures. There is an urgent need to redress this global problem sooner rather than later.  The wide ranging damage these lights are doing across the board in our lives is beginning to make is its way into our consciousness and our worlds.

From the serious human health problems artificial light creates, to the problems astronomers have long known about, to the damage it wreaks on biodiversity and the environment, artificial lights at night, both indoors and out, is changing our lives.  And not for the better.

The mystery of gazing up deeply into a sky filled with billions of twinkling stars, constellations, planets and shooting stars, has been lost to a majority of the population living in both the U.S. and Europe.  Light pollution is growing at twice the rate of the population.  That means that each and every person is using more lights per person than at any other point in time in the history of the world.

The advent of LEDs with their lower lifetime cost to operate has created two serious issues which are now only becoming well known.  One, many more lights are being installed outdoors, whether by municipalities, businesses, or homeowners. An unintended consequence of the lower costs, and because many humans have become adapted to over illumination, and then carry that out with them to new places, is that many more lights are being used.

And two, the LEDS most commonly used are taking a devastating toll on all of our lives. The higher kelvins, color temperature, and the higher lumens, brightness, well exceed anything needed by humans to navigate safely throughout the night.

More lights do not mean safer, as has been commonly advised for years by so many.  Even security companies are now realizing that illuminating a property all night long is not the more effective, nor a cost effective way to deter criminal activity.  This area is now being carefully studied and those involved in public safety are even beginning to understand that smart lighting can provide the benefits sought, without creating the problems most current lighting does.  Targeted, dimmable, programmable lighting exists, and is being adopted by many cities and towns. 

Electric lights have not long been widely in use, only a little more than 100 years.  A significant portion of the existing population, even in very developed urban areas like Washington D.C., still do remember a night sky full of stars, even from the city.

That no longer exists.  Generations are now growing up having never seen the stars, much less the Milky Way.  As artificial outdoor lights steadily continue their creep further and further out into the suburban, and rural areas, even more humans are losing their connection to the night sky and to the night.

Migrating bird populations are being devastated by all of our artificial lights in the cities and regions they must traverse on their annual migrations.  Fireflies, baby hatching turtles, moths, and more are all having their populations decimated in the same fashion.

Education for everyone about the responsible use of outdoor light at night is urgently needed now.  Master lighting plans for every locality, state and region is no longer wishful thinking, they must be written and adopted.  Fixing lighting mistakes and problems after the fact is expensive and simply unnecessary with educated foresight.

This year is shaping up to be the year of responsible use of outdoor light at night, with the ROLAN 2022 global conference wrapping up May 13, World Migratory Bird Day on May 17 focusing on light pollution this year and IDAs International Dark Sky Week in April. And multiple proclamations were issued for IDSW across this region, and across the country, including one from Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin. 

Closer to home Turner Farm Park Observatory, a Fairfax County Park Authority park, is well along in its application process as an Urban Night Sky Place, one of the designations awarded by the International Dark Sky Association.  It will be only the sixth one of these designations given to date globally. Along with Fairfax County having the largest on-campus observatory in the mid-Atlantic region at George Mason University, Northern Virginia has many reasons to protect its precious night skies.

The national security element of using energy wisely and minimizing waste is especially important in light of current world events. The renewed interest in and examination of where our energy is originating and how much it is costing will only continue to become a larger factor  in how we choose artificial light.

Light pollution is simple and easy to eliminate with careful, thoughtful, creative designs and integration at the outset of projects, not as an afterthought.  Now, is the time to begin thinking about responsible use of outdoor lights at night.

A dark sky is necessary for plants and animals to thrive

This article was originally published on Our Stories and Perspectives.

The parks in Fairfax County cover almost 10% of the land. This means that parks are near homes and businesses and in rural and urban environments. For those living adjacent to the county’s ecologically fragile parks, it is important to adopt dark sky friendly lighting and light responsibly.

Light trespass and light pollution affect wildlife and plant life in many ways — from confusing migrating bird navigation at night to having an impact in nocturnal creatures’ ability to hunt and feed at night, be they prey or predator.

Artificial light at night (ALAN) can even prevent the fireflies from finding mates in the summer. Migrating birds are especially harmed by light pollution. And high-rise buildings are particularly deadly for them; they either fly into the glass windows, killing them on impact, or the light from the building attracts them and they fly around them in circles, dying from exhaustion.

Animals are adapted to the moon and stars being the only lights visible at night, so when artificial lights become the most prevalent source of light, it harms and confuses them. Baby seas turtles are adapted to find the safety of the sea by moving toward the moon and stars and their reflection off the water. Unfortunately, the artificial light of beach towns can attract baby turtles away from the sea and lead them into danger.

The life cycles of trees and plants are also affected by artificial light at night, either by extending the fall season for them — so that they lose their leaves much later than neighboring trees — or bringing on spring too early. Similarly, outdoor lights left on at night affect pollination by moths. Some varieties of strawberry plant are dependent on the dark of night to produce its fruit. Studies have shown that streetlights near rural farms actually decrease the harvest, as they encourage the plants to leaf out instead of flower and fruit.

This tree lost most of its leaves. The only ones that remain are the ones illuminated by the parking lot lights. These leaves are getting a different signal than the rest of the tree.

Artificial light has confused this shrub. The two buds closest to the light are about to burst, but this photo was taken in October. This plant typically blooms in April and May.

Light pollution is harmful, but it is reversible. Lighting has grown as populations have grown, feeding on the myth that more light is safer.

However, well-designed lighting is safer. Light should be directed down where people need it, and light should be soft in color to protect our vision. Good lighting design benefits people and wildlife.

April 22 is Earth Day and the beginning of International Dark Sky Awareness Week.

Take a minute to reflect on the lighting at your house. Does the light point only where you need it when you need it and just the right amount? If not, consider an upgrade. Visit our new Dark Skies topic page to learn more about light pollution and how we can light responsibly to protect the night.

You can also join us in our One Dark Hour event April 22, 2022. One Dark Hour: Join us and turn off your outdoor lights from 9 to 10 p.m. and look up to enjoy the stars.

Authors: E. Kragie and T. Schwab. Schwab is the Education and Outreach Manager for the Resource Management Division of the Fairfax County Park Authority.

Light Pollution Needs to be Addressed in Residential Neighborhoods

This article was originally published on Fairfax County Times.

Light trespass in residential neighborhoods is becoming an exponential problem and is already a private property rights issue. Shining into homes, yards and parks, blinding drivers, and pedestrians. It is a simple and easy problem to solve by adopting lighting practices that provide better visibility.

Increases in population and development account for a percentage of increasing light pollution but it is exacerbated by the sheer number and styles of lights added to homes and buildings. Examples are porch, lamp post, and riser lights where the bulb or light source can be seen from another property rather than tucked up in the fixture, accent lights directed upward rather than downward, and clusters of lights or high output lights used instead of low light levels that allow the human eye to see better after dark. White and light-colored homes and structures further increase the effects of the light as it reflects off the surfaces. All these practices cause glare, reducing our ability to see and often light trespass.

An additional issue is the use of bright white-colored light. This is indicated by a light’s Kelvin rating. It may be expressed in terms of cool or warm lights. Warm lights, with a lower Kelvin rating, at low light levels have been shown to improve nighttime visibility. We all want to see better. These cool lights have excessive amounts of light in the blue wavelength. Blue light emissions are particularly damaging to human health, animals, and the environment by disturbing the natural circadian rhythms established long before the invention of electric lights. For those of us who enjoy sitting out under the stars, they severely reduce our ability to enjoy the view of our universe.

Steps to solve this problem of light pollution are: 1. All lights should have a clear purpose. 2. Lights should only be on when needed. Use motion detectors and timers to control them. 3. Use shielding and careful aiming to target the direction of the light beam so that it points downward and does not spill beyond where it is needed nor cause light trespass, 4. Lights should be no brighter than necessary. Use the lowest light level required.  Be mindful of surfaces as light-colored surfaces reflect and intensify the light. 5. Minimize blue light emissions, use warmer colored bulbs, whiter LEDs cause more glare, use lights rated no higher than 2700 Kelvin. 

Light trespass is a private property issue. Each resident should be free to illuminate their own property with lighting that stays on their property and does not go above the structures on their property to damage our common view of the night sky.

Our property rights should be protected so that no one has unwanted artificial lights intruding onto their property. Artificial lighting from off-site can destroy a person’s ability to enjoy their property. This unwanted light trespassing onto another’s property is a nuisance.

Particularly as the trend of over-illumination encroaches upon quiet and historically dark suburban neighborhoods, the answer is stopping light pollution, not installing more blackout curtains. 

Fairfax County has made light pollution one of its environmental goals for years, is becoming a leader among municipalities that recognize this problem, is addressing it and beginning to solve the issue.  

However, the current residential outdoor lighting ordinances in this county do not protect the majority of residents from light trespass. This must change. It is time to enact outdoor lighting ordinances that protect every neighbor, be they human, animal, insect, plant, or celestial object.

 E Kragie

Vienna

Letter: Light pollution impacting wildlife, quality of life

This article was originally published on Sun Gazette.

Editor: Turner Farm Observatory Park is well along in the process of getting its Urban Night Sky Place designation from the International Dark Sky Association, that recognizes places near, or in the midst of, urban areas that promote an authentic dark-sky experience.

Fairfax County Park Authority is leading the effort, which needs adjacent neighborhoods to adopt the dark-sky-friendly outdoor lighting practices that protect our view of the night sky.

Light pollution has exponentially increased over the past 70 years, unnoticed by too many. For those of us who remember Fairfax County in the 1970s or even earlier, this change is profoundly disturbing.

Our outdoor lighting is damaging the environment and natural habitats of the plants, insects and animals living in this county. Light is trespassing into neighbors homes and yards and interfering with nocturnal animals and nocturnal pollinators. Enjoying the lightning bugs in the summer and backyard astronomy have fallen victim to too many lights.

The Fairfax County government has made light pollution one of its environmental priorities for years, and thankfully is emerging as a leader among municipalities recognizing and addressing this issue. By creating and updating the county outdoor-lighting ordinances, they serve to improve the quality of life of every resident.

A quick drive around the Tysons area, now with its urban feel, out towards Great Falls Park, reveals how outdoor home lighting over the decades has changed.

Homes built in the 1960s typically have one front-door light fixture, of a modest size and casting warm yellow light. Maybe an additional fixture near the garage. The 1970s and ’80s homes tend to have two fixtures by the front door with some additional fixtures added later.

New and renovated homes now sport five, six, seven or more fixtures with bright white LED bulbs and unshielded fixtures.

Light trespass is not specifically covered under the current codes for much of residential lighting. The current codes as written create the potential for unpleasant surprises when new projects are completed involving outdoor lighting. Homeowners and builders unwittingly are installing lighting which does not meet the codes, nor is considerate to neighbors.

The increase in lights are encroaching into our ecologically sensitive parkland, our homes, our backyards and our night sky. Additional lights are now turning quiet, relatively dark suburban neighborhoods into urban-like ones, with the sky glow too many lights bring. A sad loss not only for the children growing up in this county, but for everyone.

Light pollution is among the simplest and easiest to fix with positive effects. Among them are saving money, benefits to environmental and human health and reduced energy consumption. The International Dark Sky Association has been promoting intelligent, considerate lighting solutions for decades.

Actions we can take to reduce the harmful effects of blue light on the night sky:

• Be aware that light pollution reduces our ability to see features in the night sky.

• Reduce light pollution by using outdoor lighting only when and where needed; ensure light does not spill upwards or into unintended areas; and select amber or warm-white sources over those with higher blue emissions, and have it fully shielded (pointing downward).

Modify the lighting of communities, parks, reserves and sanctuaries so that they meet international standards for good outdoor lighting practice set out in the Dark Sky Places Program.

As a county, we need to do better to educate people about neighbor-friendly and considerate outdoor lighting – be that neighbor human, plant, animal or celestial object.

E. Kragie, Great Falls