| Energy Saving – Light Pollution |
| Tuesday, 19 August 2008 23:32 |
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Light pollution is the popular name for sky glow - a brightening of the night sky caused by artificial light being scattered by small particles in the air such as water droplets and dust. Light pollution also includes light intruding into our homes, such as a bright street light outside a bedroom window. Badly designed outdoor lighting appears to extend the commercial nature of the town centre well beyond its urban confines, across rural villages and into dark, undisturbed area of the countryside, where it is an unwelcome intrusion. Poorly fitted lights allow light to shine upwards, which causes sky glow. Some artificial light is also reflected upwards from roads, pavements and buildings. We can reduce the extent of light pollution with a number of simple measures. So to do your part for the environment, make sure that you install the correct exterior lighting by following these three tips. Lighting fixtures should only light the ground beneath them and never shine across onto a neighbouring property or into the night sky. Secondly, by making sure that your outdoor lights are only on when needed. Dusk to dawn lighting is to be strictly avoided. Thirdly, reduce the wattage of your bulbs. The human eye is remarkable in its ability to adapt to the amount of light present. Too much light can be overwhelming and glaring, actually reducing visibility. Even a small reduction in wattage will reduce light pollution. This way we reap financial and environmental benefits, as well as preserving the night environment and our heritage of dark skies through quality outdoor lighting. Much harm has been done to local wildlife through the increase in light pollution. Pelagic birds, such as the shearwaters are very sensitive to light conditions. Nesting sea turtles have been eradicated from our islands, through an increase in lighting in coastal areas, and other encroachments on sandy beaches. Light pollution also disrupts urban tree, shrub and plant functions that are controlled by day length, such as leaf fall and flowering. Unfortunately most of the older outdoor lighting schemes in Malta have not been designed with this in mind. This lighting wastes not just electricity and thereby large sums of money, but more importantly the Earth’s finite energy resources. Properly designed full cut-off lighting reduces operating costs, saves energy and prevents light pollution. Thankfully the local authorities are now aware of this problem and all new public projects are using full cut-off lighting. These include the newly reconstructed roads and also the ring road at Mater Dei. Another example of correct lighting design is the new American Embassy at Ta’ Qali. Excessive lighting is to climate change what a leaky water pipe is to water scarcity. The only difference is that we haven't yet realised the real costs of this wastage and that by following some simple tips one can easily help create a better environment and save money at the same time. |
