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ISSUE NO. 19 SPRING
2002
CAMPAIGN FOR
DARK SKIES
Newsletter of the British Astronomical
Association’s Campaign for Dark Skies
Promoting
star-quality lighting
www.dark-skies.org
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Website Updated
Adam Stephens, our stalwart
webmaster for the last three years, has handed over the baton to CfDS supporter
and Wessex Astronomical Society member Mike Wheatley, who also happens to be an
internet professional running his own internet solutions business.
Mike has registered a new domain name on CfDS’
behalf: www.dark-skies.org, and has
redesigned the website throughout, introducing a night-sky theme to the site,
as well as more colour images, a 21st-century version of our ‘lamp and stars’
logo, an extra section on good and bad lighting, an optional ‘Flash’ intro
feature, and more information and links generally.
Those looking for the
website of the International Dark-Sky Organisation (IDA), at the eerily similar
www.darksky.org, and keying into the CfDS
site by mistake, have no need to worry: there is a link to IDA on the first
page! - though they may well be tempted to stay awhile and browse...
Many thanks to Adam Stephens
for his work with the site until now.
B & Q breakthrough (part
two)
We asked you to ‘watch this space’
in the last issue. Since Mike Tabb (local officer, Bath) and Bob Mizon (Dorset)
secured promises from B & Q headquarters about domestic outdoor ‘security’
lights, many CfDS supporters have noticed a change in this retailer’s display
policy. ‘Astrica’ anti-pollution lamps are now present in large numbers and are
actively promoted, as are the lower wattage types. Our task now is to convince
B & Q that the 500W types have no positive benefits, and should be discontinued.
All units sold will, we are told, contain instructions on sensitive aiming and
correct mounting, and catalogues will no longer illustrate lamps shining
sideways.
Please help CfDS to accelerate
this trend by checking in your local branch that this is happening, and that
instructions on proper mounting are included in all packaging of these lights.
Reports, please, to the co-ordinator (address on Page 3).
Light Trespass: November 8 2001
CfDS officers had their say at
the Schréder/CfDS Light Trespass Conference, held in London at the prestigious
headquarters of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. About 200 delegates,
many from other countries, attended this examination of the light trespass
problem, and environmentalists sat down with lighting professionals, local
government officers, journalists and administrators to hear contributions from:
CfDS’ John Mason (rural light pollution) and Bob Mizon (light trespass blights
lives); Mike Simpson, friend à
à of CfDS and manager at Concord Marlin Lighting (better
directionality in modern lamps); David Coatham of the Institution of Lighting
Engineers (future of road lighting); and Reader in Law at Napier University,
Francis McManus (light pollution: a nuisance ranking alongside noise). A great deal of useful debate will, we are
sure, arise from this event.
Lighting and Landscapes: Kew,
February 20 2002
Three officers of CfDS
attended this conference, organised by the ILE and the Landscape Institute.
Lighting professional Mike Simpson (see above) received the CfDS Award of
Appreciation from Bob Mizon (co-ordinator CfDS). Mike has written an enormous
amount on responsible, sensitive lighting, has recognised publicly the value
and extent of the astronomers’ and environmentalists’ efforts to change the
climate in the industry, and has more recently turned his attention to the
development of much smaller light sources whose emissions are much easier to
direct to where the light is needed. The merits of lighting trees, ponds and
other natural features at night may be debatable, but several of the speakers
at the conference stressed the need to use minimal lighting and avoid upward
spillage. Best quote of the day, from Ian Phillips, chairman of the Landscape
Institute's technical committee: "Too much lighting nowadays is not
designed: it just happens...the dark spaces are just as important as the lit
spaces".
THE STARRY NIGHT SKY: THE
MILLENNIUM DOME WE REALLY NEED
SPORTS LIGHTING: THE NEW
SCOURGE?
Reports from around the
country suggest that localised massive spillage from poorly lit sports
facilities is taking over from road lighting, which shows a positive trend, as
the UK’s prime source of skyglow. In January 2002, the Cambrian News (Gwynedd)
carried a story about a local councillor who is threatening legal action
against sports floodlights which ‘dazzle’ him in his back garden, to the extent
that he has fallen twice while moving around it. The number of such cases is
unknown, since Environmental Health Officers may not log complaints about
unactionable nuisances, but CfDS correspondence suggests that the volume of
such ‘photon assaults’ is enormous.
Two particularly sad cases
illustrate the problems some people have with sports glare. At Holdenhurst, a
village near Bournemouth, local residents’ despair at the intrusive light from
a new golf driving range (described in the local paper as ‘like space
invaders’) was intensified when they realised that, since the source was in the
adjoining borough, there was little their council could do to mitigate the
problem. The resultant skyglow can be seen from many miles away. This also
happened in Trafford (Manchester), where light spill, described by local
astronomer Cliff Meredith as ‘diabolical’, caused locals to complain, only to
be told that the light was in an adjoining jurisdiction and that their council
could not intervene.
It is ironic that, as our
roads and public spaces are gradually being relit with something worthwhile,
any resulting benefits to the environment can be erased if poor, unregulated
sports floodlights appear nearby, with little hope of respite for those whose
lives are degraded.
There are guidelines and
standards for sports lights. The Institution of Lighting Engineers, the Society
for Light and Lighting (formerly CIBSE) and other keynote bodies publish these,
and deplore some modern developments; but all the while your local football
club or tennis court can be lit with ‘cheap and cheerful’ bog-standard lamps on
poles, vaguely directed towards the play area but also into nearby homes and
the night sky, because no authority has the power to prevent it, we must
continue to insist to decision makers at all levels that the night is worth
saving from such horrors.
Lighting and Crime
New, large-scale plastic
lettering high up on the outside of the Memorial Hall in Colehill, Wimborne,
Dorset, was recently vandalised at night by brick-throwing children. The sign
is beneath a row of powerful lamps along the eaves of the building. Would the
target have been selected if the lights had been out?
We hear that floodlights
around a Greek-style ‘temple’ in the Durham countryside were stolen after they
were installed, and CfDS' image library now contains a photo of a burned-out
car 'torched' beneath a streetlamp.
Those who claim that bright
lights defeat crime need to study the mass of evidence that it isn’t that
simple: well confined, muted lighting, or none at all, may often be more
effective than boldly illuminating targets or blinding potential witnesses to
any misdeeds. Law lecturer and CfDS officer Martin Morgan Taylor wrote: “Lights
in secluded areas are just that;...the criminal...has a ‘courtesy light’ to
illuminate his activities”.
DARK
SKIES AROUND THE WORLD
October 18, 2001: Flagstaff Becomes World's First International Dark-Sky
City
The City of Flagstaff, Arizona,
USA has become the world’s first International Dark-Sky City, according to the
International Dark-Sky Association (IDA). The new ‘International Dark-Sky City’
designation is given to identify towns and cities with exceptional commitment
to and success in implementing the ideals of dark sky preservation and/or
restoration, and their promotion through quality outdoor lighting. City Council
member Penny Trovillon accepted the award on behalf of the City. Dr David
Crawford, a prime mover in IDA, says that Flagstaff earned the award for its
long commitment to the protection of its dark skies through its quality
comprehensive lighting code, relative success in light pollution control, and
broad support for dark skies from local community organisations. Of great
significance is a current city-wide review of all city-owned facility lighting,
with a view to bringing all such lighting completely into compliance with the
lighting code by the end of 2002, resources permitting.
For more information about the IDA,
see www.darksky.org, or write to them at
IDA, 3225 North First Ave., Tucson AZ 85719-2103, USA.
The Czech House of Representatives passed a
‘Clean Atmosphere’ law in March 2002, including light pollution prevention.
Czech astronomer Jenik Hollan reports that the stipulations are similar to
those of the Lombardy (Italy) lighting regulations.
Malaysian engineer H.P. Looi e-mails CfDS, reporting
his involvement, in collaboration with the light-pollution-aware Lighting
Design Partnership (Sydney), in the planning of Malaysia’s new administrative
capital, Putrajaya.
Environmental considerations include many urban parks and
even wetland reserves for migratory birds. Guidelines on protecting the
night-time environment are in place, ‘strongly politically supported’,
according to Mr Looi.
Cliff Turk, of the South African Dark Sky
Association (SADSA), outlines their Star Walks programme, incorporating public
demonstrations in conjunction with meetings to discuss the dark skies issue
with local architects, engineers, environmental groups and others. Chris de
Villiers, of the Astronomical Society of Southern Africa, is organising a
dark-sky event for 2002, and proposing a project which will entail a
countrywide survey of sky visibility, leading to the publishing of a dark-sky
map of South or Southern Africa. (email: chrisdev AT psitek.com)
Great
Scot
Active Glasgow local
officer John Farquharson reports that Glasgow City Council, who have been
promising a “lighting makeover” for the city, have responded well to his
correspondence with them. Council leader Charles Gordon states: “This is not
just about putting lights in place and forgetting about them: new-style
fittings will minimise skyglow, and Glaswegians will find it easier to see the
stars”.
Setting
the “Record” Straight
A women’s group in Edinburgh wrote
to campaign representatives in 2001, condemning them for wanting to plunge the
streets into darkness! This stemmed from headlines and articles in Scottish
papers (e.g. the Daily Record) suggesting that we are calling for dimmer lights
(wrong...!). If you give information about the campaign to the media, remember
to insist that CfDS is not the Campaign for Dark Streets: quality lighting
means that everybody wins, whether looking up or straight ahead!
Walsall
right on the night
CfDS officer Matt Dugas and Walsall
Astronomical Society member Alan Ledbury have led a two-pronged approach, to
ensure that Walsall’s current £80 million, 26,000-lamp replacement and
maintenance scheme will follow ILE guidelines, and minimise upward spill. The
borough’s Principal Lighting Engineer, D. W. Watton, helped in the early 1990s
with the ILE’s Guidance Notes for the Reduction of Light Pollution, in which
CfDS played a part. Our Good Lighting Award may well be on its way to Walsall!
Bath
Night
Bath and NE Somerset officer Mike
Tabb has worked closely with the local council to persuade them that the
proposed relighting of the Bath University campus, where sports lighting
has for years made the site the source of the worst local light pollution, will
be carried out in compliance with ILE Zone 1 recommendations (i.e. zero upward
light). The continued awareness and intervention of active local officers like
Mike has led to improved sky visibility and more comfortable terrestrial
nightscapes in many urban areas of the UK - you can make a difference.
South-Western
Front
CfDS correspondent John Ball (Beckington
Astronomical Society, Somerset) tells us that the Society welcomed
Councillor Chris Watt to a recent meeting. Chris is anxious to ensure
star-quality lighting at a proposed local industrial park. The sympathetic
local MP, David Heath, has also been contacted, and it is hoped that this strong
team will continue the trend in Beckington towards the optimum night sky for
local people. John, as you may remember from previous newsletters, succeeded in
having local roundabouts relit to FCO standards (see ‘before and after’ photos
- figs. 3.5 a and b - in Bob Mizon’s book 'Light Pollution').
Shropshire
Stars
The Parish Council of tiny Snailbeach
in Shropshire overturned a previous vote to install street lighting at a
meeting in February 2002. Residents who were present insisted that this would
radically change the character of the area and cause light pollution. CfDS
local officer Peter Findlay spoke on local TV before the meeting, and local à àofficer
David Carey congratulated the council on behalf of CfDS for protecting the
night sky.
Northern
Lights
From the Orkney Islands,
John Vetterlein describes the gradual urbanisation of the landscape as towns
expand and fish farms and an industrial estate ‘light up’. He makes the point
that minor offenders with whom he discusses lighting problems may see little
reason to shield their lighting, if major polluters are allowed to get away
with despoiling the night sky from much larger installations. This emphasises
the need for proper legislation and controls (nationally) rather than just
guidelines.
Beam
Ends
Ann Bonell (Leicester AS) and
local CfDS representative David Conner confirm that there are now light
pollution clauses in Leicester City Council’s local plan. As a result,
skybeam activity from a local shopping centre was ordered switched off after
Christmas 2001, on the grounds (established at the Guildford public enquiry
1999) that it constituted advertising. The CfDS information sheet Incorporating
Lighting Clauses in Your Local Plan, available on the new website, advises on
how to influence your local council’s lighting policy.
Compensation
Street
Cliff Meredith writes in from the Greater
Manchester area to tell us that a controversial supermarket/filling
station/nightclub development there led to many local objections. A firm of
solicitors, citing light pollution as one of the grounds for complaint,
successfully won compensation for some nearby residents.
Off up
North...
Planetarian Ray Emery persuaded Leeds
Council to move a light shining directly into his garden from an adjoining
footpath. The relocated lamp has since not come on - and neither have several
neighbouring lights. Are Leeds council interpreting the dark skies message too
literally?
...and
down South
Theresa Cooper (Cardiff AS) tells
the story of a relative who moved to a retirement flat in Kent, and was
troubled by all night ‘over-the-top’ floodlighting. Armed with CfDS’
literature, the lady attended the management company’s AGM, and now the lights
on all the blocks are switched off at a reasonable hour, saving a lot of energy
and money.
In S.E. Essex, Jim
Vincent’s intercession with the local lighting engineer ensured FCO fittings on
the A130 trunk road, and many local intersections. He is currently in dialogue
with officials administering the Dengie peninsula, a dark-sky area in the
heavily populated county.
CfDS
in the drink
Jane Taylor, Alewife Brewery,
Starston, Norfolk, tells us that she celebrates her local starry skies
with a beer called "Dark Skies", and has a link to CfDS on the
brewery website. Cheers!
alewifebrewery@yahoo.co.uk
Lighting and the Environment
Threat
to the NLO
The historic Norman Lockyer
Observatory, an important astronomical facility in East Devon which boasts
large telescopes in impressive domes, a well-appointed planetarium, a public
information service and satellite weather watch among its many attractions, is
threatened by three nearby sources of skyglow.
CfDS officer Joy Griffiths has enlisted the support of Patrick Moore,
Derek McNally, Guy Hurst, John Mason and others in fighting these environmental
blots on the landscape. A golf driving range three-quarters of a mile from the
Observatory, a donkey sanctuary’s globe lights and a nearby caravan park with
sideways-shining floodlights all have been the subject of Joy’s recent work.
Permission for the golf range was given on the understanding that light would
be directed downwards, which plainly is not happening, but the trump card for
objectors is that the range is situated on an Area of Outstanding Natural
Beauty, and therefore should not be emitting upward light, according to
accepted guidelines issued by the ILE. The Observatory is also in an AONB,
which further underlines the need to protect its environment.
E. Devon District Council is
considering these arguments, and since Joy alerted the E. Devon Coast and
Countryside Officer to the situation, he is investigating the possibility of
turning the environs of the NLO into an “area of tranquillity”, a new
Countryside Agency scheme. Meanwhile, Joy has already approached a more famous
authority - none other than UNESCO, in a bid to persuade them that the area
should be declared a World Heritage Site, as is the Dorset/Devon coast nearby.
Night
navigation
It is not only road users who may
be troubled or endangered by glare. CfDS committee member Graham Bryant has
been corresponding with the Thames Barge Sailing Club, whose venerable,
high-masted craft may be seen cruising along the Thames and its tributaries.
Graham has supplied the TBSC with ILE guidelines and CfDS literature, and
material for their bulletin. The reason? To quote Tim Jepson in the bulletin:
“The Medway at night is not easy to navigate; the buoy lights disappear into
the bright orange streetlights and powerful jetty lights that are everywhere.
With my notes, we were able to use the compass to guide us to the next buoy,
which often was invisible until we got very close to it”.
Bearing
fruit
Long-time campaigner John Rowlands
attended a meeting of Ynys Môn (Anglesey) County Council in November 2001;
light control measures were on the agenda. John reports that the Local Agenda
21 officer is interested in designating the island a ‘low light pollution
zone’. He will be working with her to
bring this about! A lighting installations advice sheet will be issued with
every planning application form sent out. A statement on reducing light
pollution under the planning guidelines is in force, and the type of lighting
installation will be reviewed by the lighting engineer as part of the
decision-making process.
A Design Guide for the island's
new developments will include details on reducing light pollution, to be drawn
up by John in consultation with the council. CfDS, in the person of John, will
now have a place on the council's Planning Forum group, meeting every quarter.
Comments were made by the council
officers that they were happy to appoint 'reasonable people' to this forum, so
CfDS’ measured approach must be making its mark!
All this shows what can be done
with persistent, positive campaigning, and a council which is ready to look
ahead towards the star-quality lighting we all need.
Have you something for this
newsletter?
If you have any items which
you think will be suitable for the CfDS Newsletter, please send them to Bob
Mizon, whose address can be found at the bottom of Page 3.
Want to build an inexpensive
dark-sky meter? See Sky and Telescope, February 2001.
Support this twice-yearly newsletter. When your subscription
expires, please renew promptly. BAA members can do so via their annual
Association subscription form, or send £2.40, payable to ‘British Astronomical
Association’, for four issues to BAA, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London W1J
0DU. Why not encourage other concerned people in your area/group (including
non-BAA members) to subscribe?
CfDS Fighting Fund - CfDS
activities are partly funded by voluntary donations, without which we would be
hard put to stay in budget. The following people and organisations have
contributed in 2001-2. How about a collection for CfDS at your next astronomy
meeting?
Mark Allen; David Blower; John Douglas; David and Lynn
Ozanne; Shelley Fey (donation of books/magazines); Hinckley AS quiz event; AS
of Haringey; East Sussex AS; SAGAS convention delegates; Wessex AS; Equinox
Skycampers; Abacus Limited.
Fighting fund donations to Bob Mizon (address below),
payable to ‘British Astronomical Assn. (CfDS)’.
CfDS co-ordinator: Bob
Mizon, 38 The Vineries, Colehill, Wimborne BH21 2PX bob.mizon@dark-skies.org
Newsletter team: Bob Mizon,
Stuart Hawkins, Mike Wheatley. All
items to Bob.
