SYDNEY OUTDOOR LIGHTING IMPROVEMENT SOCIETY INC.
LIGHT POLLUTION BY SOLIS
Last Updated
2011-11-24
Sky glow (wasted outdoor lighting) over Cowra, a country town in NSW.
The emphasis today is is on efficient energy usage and for stricter controls to be applied to internal power and lighting use. It is time for local government to introduce controls on wasted outdoor light via their Development Approvals. We have guidelines to protect the individual's right to sunlight, but none to conserve our right to darkness. Our goal is not to switch off all lights, but to give consideration to the use of smaller, more directional fixtures, without glare and spill light. New evidence warns of a growing link between an exposure to light beyond the normal cycle and reduced melatonin production, which has been associated with breast and other cancers. Another concern is the short wavelength blue light used in light sources such as Fluorescent Tubes, Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs and Light Emitting Diodes (blue LED's coated with phosphor) . Short wavelength light is known to compromise vision, increase sky glow and affect living organisms through disruption of their biological processes that rely upon natural cycles of daylight and darkness. Given that the Danish government has already acknowled and met some 40 compensation claims in this area, it is time Australia looks to a reduction in wasteful outdoor lighting in the interest of public health and global warming.
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The purpose of outdoor light should be to illuminate the ground in order to assist us to see as we go about our business, and for our safety and security. Bright light spilling beyond the intended property is a public nuisance and detracts from the aesthetics of the night environment. Worse still is the unacceptable glare that causes a safety hazard to passing pedestrians and motorists. Glare has the potential to temporarely blind us because our eyes are always attracted to bright glare spots. Such light pollution robs us of right to privacy on our land when glaring spill light illuminates our property and lights up our windows at night. "In Australia, the CSIRO has projected that demand for electricity will double by 2020 and that roughly 50% of the base load electricity usage should not be there. Base load electricity refers to the amount of electricity used overall by an economy 14 hours a day. In Australia base load electricity is as high as 70% of Australia's peak load, yet in the UK it is as low as 40%. This shows that in Australia, throughout the night, every night of the year, Australian business, commercial buildings and homes collectively are still using 70% of the peak load used during the day" Reducing the outdoor lighting that is unnecessarily left on all night will play an important part in reducing nighttime base load electricity usage and will help eliminate the need for new base load power stations. 
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