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How to talk to elected officials11/1/2023 Image credit: Office of the Governor / Maryland State Archives 1737 words / 7-minute read Summary: Elected officials are the gatekeepers to public policy matters. Efforts to establish or change outdoor lighting policies depend crucially on knowing how to work with them most effectively. This post discusses winning strategies to advance policy proposals to enactment. Public policy is an important tool in creating lasting social change that may decrease light pollution over time. We have written here before about policy matters here, considering the motivations ("Why pursue an outdoor lighting policy in your town or city?") and important elements ("Good/Better/Best Outdoor Lighting Policies"). But how do technical concepts and policy proposals on the use of outdoor lighting become law? In short, they must withstand scrutiny by, and gain the support of, elected officials. In some democracies the legislative process may seem to outsiders like a daunting prospect. Yet in most cases it starts with simple conversations that develop into relationships. In this post we will look at ways to influence that process by communicating with elected leaders. It starts by understanding how the relevant level of government works. Understanding how policy agendas are set is important. But most significant is learning a new language of politics and procedure. Catering to these issues is the key to becoming an insider. Here we'll look at each of these ideas in turn. A brief civics lessonIn most Western countries, policies that affect the use of outdoor lighting are made at the national level. These policies filter down to the level of individual cities and towns, which must follow them. An example is France, which sets legal standards across its territory that all jurisdictions must observe. Some countries with federal systems devolve the authority to set these policies onto lower levels of government. This is true in the United States and Canada, where lighting policies originate at the state/province of municipal level. In still other countries, like Mexico, the central government sets very high-level standards and leaves lower governments to decide how to implement them. This may be confusing to people who have no prior experience in dealing with government other than voting. It may require a consultation with an attorney to figure out which jurisdiction governs lighting. But it’s important to figure out early in the process in which jurisdiction your lighting problems exist. This ensures that efforts to address those problems target the proper level of government. Doing so also means time is not wasted asking for solutions that a given level of government isn’t empowered to address. One more point of significance here is what kind of law is best to pursue. Statutory laws are familiar to most people. These are proposals written by legislative bodies that endure the political process before becoming laws. Many Western countries also have some form of common law, which is a series of mostly unwritten precepts derived from history and tradition. Certain legal notions like nuisance derive from the common law. And third, most governments have some sort of administrative or regulatory procedures that function like laws. Sometimes the change one wants to bring about don't demand new laws at all. A changing interpretation of an existing law can yield the same result. Driving the policy agendaIt's not enough to know to which level of government one should present a policy idea. Governments everywhere face many concerns vying for their attention. Representative democracies are in part designed to address this situation. Constituents vote not only for candidates but for the ideals and priorities they espouse. Competition among policy proposals places them on a policy agenda for legislative bodies to consider. In a recent post we described the "issue attention cycle". This is a model for the process by which policy ideas are generated, considered, implemented and revised. In brief, the cycle works like this. In the first phase, a social problem of some kind emerges as the result of different influences. Public awareness of the problem grows during the second phase. Some people who become aware of the problem realize the cost of inattention to the problem and begin to demand solutions in the third phase. The cycle reaches its peak at the start of the fourth phase in which a policy solution is devised and implemented. As the problem targeted by the policy change diminishes in significance, public attention begins to ebb. In the fifth and final phase, the policy implementation is mature. But new problems may pop up despite the policy change or even because of it. These new problems may then start attention cycles of their own. The extent to which lawmakers are thinking about any given problem depends very much on the phase of the cycle. The days of 'early adopters' may see no interest at all from elected officials. Often it is only when a problem becomes acute (and even severe) do officerholders begin to pay attention. But elected representatives are always mindful of their terms of office. They know that, on a reliable schedule, voters will hold them to account for their time in office. This often makes officials very sensitive to public perceptions of issues. If they hear from enough of their constituents to the effect that an issue is important to them, they are more likely to take steps to address it. The timing of issue advocacy is thus crucial to the success of efforts to bring about change. Successful advocates for change study trends in political discourse very carefully to choose the best time to make policy proposals. The foundational work needed to bring society up the "hill of awareness" may be long, lasting sometimes even decades. Deploying a proposal too soon usually leads to elected officials ignoring it. Waiting too long invites complacency and a sense that adverse outcomes are inevitable. Careful stewarding of proposals through the attention cycle seems to yield the best results. Making friends in high placesPolicy ideas become law through a complex process of influence that caters to the needs of the people whose input is necessary at different steps along the way. Sometimes that’s a policymaker; other times it’s staff, and at certain points it’s definitely the public. All these groups must be carefully managed to anticipate obstacles and figure out ways over or around them. This goes beyond being polite to people. It involved getting to know them at some level and thinking of them as colleagues rather than mere gatekeepers. And despite these relationships, one still might not get the desired outcome in the end. Legislative staff often hold outsized power in setting the detailed policy agenda. They also occupy key positions of influence over the legislative bodies they serve. Staff can bring attention to your proposal to get it on the agenda of the legislature and keep the process moving at the proper pace. They act as the first screen or filer through which policy ideas pass during the enactment process. Furthermore, given the electoral cycle, elected representatives have short time horizons. As professional employees, staffers often last much longer in their positions. They are the repository of information transmitted from one generation of lawmakers to the next. Sharpening the argumentNext comes the policy idea itself. This is the core of every change movement. Don't just complain that you don't like the status quo as it affects the issue at hand. Instead, show why the status quo is inadequate and come prepared to discuss specifics. Bring evidence to the discussion where you can get it. And communicate in a convincing way what it is you want the elected officials to do. Successful policy changes begin as well-constructed, logical arguments. They appeal in equal measure to reason (the mind), emotion (the heart), and feasibility (the gut). Ask yourself: what is the solution, and why is it the right one? Consider alternative policies and explain why they won't work as well (or at all). Expect objections to the solution and game out strategies for responding to them. Elected officials, and their staffers, expect advocates to come to them with an "ask". That is, they presuppose that the purpose of a phone call or a meeting to discuss an issue is to convince the legislator to support some specific action. Advocates should lead these discussions with the ask and provide context establishing a need for the action. They should conclude by making clear that the ask is the right and best way to address the problem. They should also suggest the consequences of inattention to the issue or inaction in response to the ask. Of course, this element should not dramatize the problem beyond what the facts prove. But the argument should convey a sense of urgency that the advocate wants the official to sense and confront. "Success" in this context is turning a skeptic into a supporter. With deepening relationships come trust, and with trust often comes endorsement. You are the expert!Enactment of a new or amended outdoor lighting policy isn't the end of a process but the start of a different one. Once governments decide to improve their lighting policies, often they want help with, e.g., evaluating permit applications and deciding how to enforce rules. They can also use information about lighting and light pollution to educate the public in hopes of increasing support for change. And for this leadership they look to policy advocates as the experts.
Relative to those who write or implement laws, individuals and groups that advocate for those laws are uniquely positioned. Their knowledge of problems and solutions runs deep. Officials may enlist their help during implementation to understand the fine points of a law's requirements. This is a separate matter from legal interpretation, which is for courts to decide. Rather, governments may ask advocates to take part in implementation to ensure it proceeds correctly. The relationships forged during enactment of policy often survive the end of the formal process. Better outcomes seem to result when advocates remain engaged. This may all seem discouraging to the uninitiated. But each advocate starts out new to an issue like everyone else. Like the issues themselves, effective advocacy is something to learn. And experience proves the view expressed by the American cultural anthropologist Margaret Mead, who once famously advised: "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." If you found this post inspiring but don't know how to get started, we can help. Advocacy for policy change, and supporting successful lighting policy proposals, is at the heart of what we do. Contact us today to find out how we can devise, launch and support policy initiatives in your community.
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Grieving the dying dark9/30/2023 Image credit: Elias Rovielo 1349 words / 5-minute read We know a lot about the effects of light pollution on wildlife, the night sky, and in other areas but not as much about what it does to people. One can find some evidence for impacts having to do with physical health, wellbeing, and even social justice. Studies on mental health in particular are few, and most are about whether artificial light at night (ALAN) influences the occurrence of mental illness. Meanwhile, as humans concentrate into cities, they become distanced from nature. Some scholars speculate on whether separation from nature can have an adverse effect. Might something similar exist having to do with loss of nighttime darkness and routine access to the night sky? A loss like no otherSocial science has started to ask whether people experience a sense of grief or loss at environmental destruction. The Australian philosopher Glenn Albrecht invented a word for it in 2005: solastalgia. Describing it as "the homesickness you have when you are still at home", Albrecht composed it from Latin and Greek words meaning 'comfort' and 'pain'/'suffering'/'grief'. It refers to both anxiety about the state of the environment both now and in the future. In June 2023, the journal Science published an issue with a special section about light pollution. Some 50 years after the term first appeared in its pages, light pollution appeared on its cover. Six review papers presented a summary of what we know about this issue from scientific, social and legal perspectives. In recent years, dark-sky activism and what is now called "community engagement" forged new connections among activists, researchers and others. Through this work I met Dr. Aparna Venkatesan, an astronomy professor and Co-Director of the Tracy Seeley Center for Teaching Excellence at the University of San Francisco. Besides her passion for the the study of the early universe, Aparna is a tireless advocate for diversity, equity and includion (DEI) in science and society. We also share a keen interest in the social consequences of space policy, about which we co-wrote a paper published last year in Nature Astronomy. We have had many discussions about these issues particularly since the dawn of the large satellite constellation era in 2019. We talked about all this in the broader context of loss of humanity's connections to the night sky. We also came to realize that the night sky makes up a kind of intangible cultural heritage, one worth protecting. Aparna suggested a word that parallels solastalgia in its derivation and meaning. "Noctalgia" is a neologism that combines roots for "night" and "pain" to suggest the sense of loss associated with the brightening of the night sky due to light pollution. In a broader sense, it encompasses any influence that changes the character of the night, including on the ground. In August we published an 'e-letter' in Science reacting to the articles in the earlier special section and introducing noctalgia to the world. We also posted the e-letter to the arXiv, a repository of scholarly literature on astronomy and other subjects. The media picked up on the idea shortly after and ran with it. The amount of coverage surprised us (see here, here, here and here). Clearly noctalgia struck a chord. Focusing attention on 'sky grief'Naming things can be an opening to talking about them with more honesty and authenticity. But we also hope that giving a voice to what some people now feel will help move them to take action. That action results from awareness that becomes a demand of society to take on and solve a problem. In turn, that relates to something called the 'issue attention cycle'. Anthony Downs was an American economist who specialized in public policy and public administration. In 1972 he wrote an influential paper called "Up and Down with Ecology — the Issue-Attention Cycle". In it, he argued that to solve social and environmental problems they had to capture and maintain public attention. He also described a cycle of steps from identification of the problem to post-solution effects that can start the cycle over again. As people discover light pollution, awareness rises. According to Downs' theory, some of them will decide that a real problem exists. If it maintains prominence for long enough, a critical mass will form and people will begin demanding solutions from decision makers. Yet it's arguable that the global dark-skies movement is still climbing the "hill of awareness" and that we are not at the peak yet. Even among those who become aware of light pollution, there's no guarantee that they will become part of this movement. Some who experience light pollution may write off the loss of the night as a consequence of progress and modernity. For example, people in developing economies may cite a need for outdoor lighting to enable safe transit at night and a nighttime economy. Given the colonial history in many such places, it's difficult to argue that they shouldn't have access to it. That's true even as we recognize the many ways that ALAN harms humans and nature. Some people might be motivated to do something about light pollution once they give voice (and a name) to the loss they have experienced. But that presumes that they have something to lose in the first place. As the world continues to urbanize, fewer people grow up in places where they can see the stars at night. It remains to be seen whether people who never had access to dark night skies grieve something that to them was never 'lost' in the first place. But that loss is especially acute for some people who have long suffered from deprivation. Indigenous, Aboriginal and First Nations people often live in places where the night sky is still accessible. In many instances, it looms large in their culture, folklore and religion. But these people often have little to do with creating the conditions that lead to light pollution. They also often have the least amount of political power in their countries and hence little ability to do anything about it. For many, the sense of loss is all too familiar. From noctalgia to actionThere is an old saying about how the pace of change determines outcomes: Toss a frog into a pot of boiling water and it will leap out to save itself. But toss a frog into a pot of cool water, gradually warming it up, and the frog will swim around until it boils to death.
People often recognize the severity of problems at different points in time. Some are 'early adopters' of such ideas, while others are laggards that don't get on board until late in the game. And as our world changes, what society considers acceptable levels of risk may shift. The loss of the night can prompt real, palpable grief in some people. But can noctalgia really prompt more people to take action on the problem of light pollution? We don't (yet) know whether the same is true of environmental problems more generally, or the role solastalgia plays. Meanwhile, people everywhere are straining under the weight of the many problems humanity faces. 'Crisis fatigue' is real, and it undermines efforts to solve those problems in definitive ways. But solving the problem of light pollution turns out to be remarkably simple and cost-effective. We don't lack a technological solution — one is in hand right now. It enables us to light the world at night well for human needs while minimizing the negative effects all that light has on the environment. By reducing or eliminating wasted light, we could get a handle on the situation in short order. Of more significance is that humanity desperately needs a win in the environmental realm. Were we to solve the problem of light pollution within a generation, the result might inspire confidence in out ability to take on bigger issues like climate change. But first, we have to finish climbing that 'hill of awareness' that moves people to action. If we do, it could be one of the defining environmental moments of the 21st century.
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Conference report: ALAN 20239/1/2023 996 words / 4-minute read Summary: A diverse group of the world's light pollution experts recently met at the Artificial Light At Night 2023 conference. The main themes of the conference and important results presented there are reviewed, giving a sense of the research community's current direction. Many of the world's experts on light pollution recently met in Calgary, Canada, to discuss their latest findings. The Eighth International Conference on Artificial Light At Night (ALAN) was held in Calgary, Canada during 11-13 August 2023. We were there to learn about recent research results and new directions that ALAN science is heading. The ALAN conference series began in 2013. Starting with the 2018 edition, it occurs every other year, alternating with the Light Pollution: Theory, Modeling and Measurement conference. This year's edition saw its highest level of participation from the largest number of countries ever. 108 people attended in person on the University of Calgary campus and about 50 participated as virtual delegates. Group photo of the ALAN 2023 conference attendees This year’s attendees represented every populated continent except Africa. The participants represented some 28 countries. One-third of attendees were students, many of whom study ALAN as part of their graduate thesis or dissertation work. Despite some computer networking issues, virtual participation in the conference seemed strong. Besides to the in-person event in Calgary, a virtual poster session took place in late July using the Gather.town environment online. The ALAN Steering Committee accepted so many of the submitted abstracts that much of the in-person event ran in two parallel sessions. The broad topical content of the tracks was ALAN impacts on wildlife and ecology, and measurements and monitoring of light pollution. These tracks reflect where the majority of the research interest (and funding) are at this point in the field's history. There were fewer presentations about social science and public policy than in past years. Land acknowledgements were a frequent part of the proceedings. Former Calgary city councilor Brian Pincott explained that this is part of the ongoing truth and reconciliation process in Canada. "We have a lot to do to make sure our future includes everyone," Pincott said during his conference wrap-up on Sunday afternoon. Jennifer Howse (University of Calgary) gave the banquet talk, "Reclamation Under Alberta Skies", on Saturday night. Howse, a Métis woman, used her time to bridge the worlds of her Indigenous and European ancestry with the modern world in the context of her dark-sky work. She noted the importance in many Indigenous cultures of asking the question “How will people in seven generations live?” Howse also advised listeners to ponder that question in light of our activities that impact space and the night sky. It reminded attendees that the next frontier of dark-sky conservation involves social and environmental justice concerns. Diane Turnshek (Carnegie Mellon University) raised the issue of the increasing number of people who have never seen the Milky Way. It is therefore challenging to communicate with them about starry skies when this is not something they have directly experienced. Waleska Valle (Adler Planetarium) spoke about her experience working with youth in Chicago to identify the ways in which light pollution impacts their communities. And Doug Sam (University of Oregon) used the International Dark Sky Park designation effort at Mesa Verde National Park as a case study to examine such efforts through the theoretical framework of decolonization. “When we designate future IDSPs, we must involve native peoples as a matter of justice," Sam explained. Leora Radetzky (DesignLights Consortium) shows off samples of low-color temperature white LED lights. As usual, the scientific presentations were all high-quality and stimulated lively discussion. The main takeaways from the posters and talks include:
Friday night saw a successful public outreach event put on by the ALAN conference in coordination with the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada Calgary Centre. About 300 people attended the event, which included an introductory talk about light pollution and a panel discussion with researchers. Afterward, attendees could view the night sky through telescopes set up on the University of Calgary campus. Dark Sky Consulting's John Barentine presents at the RASC Calgary Centre public event on Friday night. As participants began to disperse and head home beginning on Sunday, many reported how refreshing the experience was. ALAN 2013 was the first in-person conference in the series since 2018. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 caused the organizers to pivot to an online-only format. For many, the Calgary conference was the first time they saw their colleagues in person since 2019. Given that the research community is still small, the ALAN conferences feel more like village assemblies. A return to meaningful, in-person interactions supports the kind of collegiality that constantly draws students who want to make a career of night studies. It also supports collaborations that become friendships while yielding high-quality research results that push the field ahead. Announcement of the venue for the 2025 ALAN conference It is traditional to name the next host city at the conclusion of ALAN. On Sunday, attendees learned that the next meeting will be held in County Mayo, Republic of Ireland, in October 2025. Already many look forward to their next opportunity to present their work, reunite with old friends and meet new ones.
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Image credit: Christian Weidinger 990 words / 4-minute read Summary: Securing nighttime darkness and improving the condition of the nocturnal environment involves education, advocacy and awareness-raising. To help empower activists, policy makers and the public to affect positive change in this realm, DarkSky International has updated its annual "State Of The Science" report. Like other social and environmental concerns, light pollution sits at the confluence of three streams. It has a technical aspect, informed by science and engineering. Activists pursue its solutions, in part by raising public attention to the issue. And it has direct input from the world of public policy, as solutions become laws. To communicate with the public and decision-makers, dark-sky advocates must have access to the results of the latest research on artificial light at night (ALAN). But science results can be difficult for non-specialists to understand. It is particularly true of light pollution research, which borrows from many academic subjects. A newly released summary of papers published through 2022 aims to meet advocates' needs. It brings them up to date and helps them understand the latest research results. Bringing science to the massesTo make scientific research more accessible, in 2022 DarkSky International published “Artificial Light At Night: State Of The Science.” The report distilled the contents of over 300 scholarly papers into a short, easy-to-read briefing. It grouped results into seven broad categories: the night sky; ecological impacts; human health; public safety; energy use and climate change; light and social justice; and space light pollution. It concludes by listing open questions that may guide research in coming years, explaining briefly the methodology by which the report was written, and providing bibliographic information for all sources of information. When the report was first published, DarkSky understood the need for regular future updates. The number of papers on light pollution and related subjects published in recent years has steadily increased. We can see this in the number of papers added to the Artificial Light At Night Research Literature Database (ALANDB). This is a collection of citations curated by a group of light pollution researchers in Europe and North America since 2014. ALANDB entries include peer-reviewed academic papers, theses, selected technical reports, and conference papers. Totals from the past 20 years of papers added to ALANDB show that, on average, the contents of the database have increased by roughly 22 percent per year: In recent years, curators added an average of 430 publications to the database each year. The papers' diverse subjects cover several physical, biological, and social science topics. A breakdown of the papers published in 2022 (below) shows that biology studies and papers about remote sensing of artificial light at night account for about 80 percent of all publications added to the database. Notable 2022 resultsThe updated report includes a survey of 457 papers published in 2022. We highlight a few results here:
The report finds evidence of significant harm to the night sky and wildlife ecology from light pollution on local to global scales. There are major concerns about how ALAN effects traffic safety during overnight hours. While decades of laboratory studies established a link between ALAN exposure and human health, the influence of outdoor light sources remains unclear. And to the extent that roughly 80 percent of world electricity production relies on burning fossil fuels, wasted light at night from outdoor sources remains linked to climate change. This remains true despite the ongoing adoption of energy-efficient solid-state lighting. Share it far and wide!DarkSky intends the State of The Science report to communicate these ideas to readers along with extensive source citation. It published the document under a Creative Commons 4.0 license, allowing users to adapt and reproduce its text. Its language is plain and non-technical, and its contents are arranged around seven main topics. In this way, users can read and understand the contents of any particular section in isolation from the others. And the report is available through the Zenodo open science preprint server. Users can cite the document by its Digital Object Identifier (10.5281/zenodo.8071915).
'State Of The Science' is a useful tool for dark-sky advocates and the public alike. It can help anyone better understand what scientific research results tell us about light pollution. In turn, it can bring the significance of the problem into sharper focus and inform actions taken to bring about change.
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Image credit: Michael Kappel 1222 words / 5-minute read Summary: More communities around the world are interested in enacting their own outdoor lighting policies, but the ideas and concepts in them are often unfamiliar and confusing. Where should one begin? This month, we dig into the major sections of typical policies and look at what makes certain ones "good," "better," or "best." In societies founded on the rule of law, the laws are our rules of the road. They influence many aspects of our lives and how we interact with each other. When created through the democratic process, they represent the prevailing views of society. In turn, implementing rules and non-binding best practices join laws as a complete description of how we intend society to function. Laws, bylaws and ordinances governing outdoor lighting prescribe how we light our world at night. These policies say when and how light at night can and can't be used in outdoor spaces. In an indirect way, they also address the management of a natural resource: nighttime darkness. When written well and implemented properly, they can make real differences in the quality of the nocturnal environment. Otherwise, they tend to be ineffectual. Why do governments make these policies? What are their intended outcomes? What kind of provisions do they contain? And which varieties have the greatest affects on light pollution and dark skies? In this post, we delve into all those topics and more. Why lighting policy mattersThere are many reasons why a jurisdiction might want an outdoor lighting policy. We wrote about this topic before, so here is a short summary: Regulating outdoor lighting can contribute in positive ways to the quality of life in a community. Well designed lighting enhances the atmosphere of outdoor spaces at night and helps ensure public safety. Writing such policies establish clear rules for everyone, from property owners to the government itself. They can resolve ambiguities about kinds of lighting a community will and won't accept. And they establish metrics and set thresholds for compliance to make the rules more fair. Importantly, they can help defuse disputes between neighbors before they begin. Private property owners have both rights and responsibilities. Among the rights are peaceful enjoyment of one's property. That means we have a responsibility to be good neighbors and not impede others' rights. Outdoor lighting policies can help ensure poor-quality lighting is not installed. Adherence to the rules limits instances of 'light trespass' that cause friction among neighbors. With all this in mind, there are several components of outdoor lighting policies worth examining. As a community decides which are best for its circumstances, it can choose from among various options. Good/Better/Best approachesHere we review the main elements common to many outdoor lighting policies and suggest contents that aim higher in each step up. We label these "Good", "Better" and "Best", where "Best" contains all of "Better", and "Better" contains all of "Good". We intend the suggestions here mainly for U.S. contexts, but the ideas may be adapted to legal systems anywhere in the world. These lists are not prescriptive. In other words, there are combinations of items drawn from the different categories that might suit one place better than another. Careful consideration of local needs and preferences will tend to reveal them. Also, the lists are not exhaustive in their contents. Statement of purpose This is a short explanation, in plain language, of why the local authority establishes the policy. It can also contain recitals, otherwise known as "whereas" clauses. Although the stated purpose of a policy isn't legally operable, it helps guide its future interpretation. That helps judges in civil cases implement the law as its framers envisioned. Good: Ensuring nighttime safety and adequate illumination; promoting orderly relations between neighbors; saving energy. Better: Enhancing quality of life; increasing amenity; establishing nighttime ambience. Best: Clearly identify dark night skies (and their enjoyment) as a valuable resource; recognizing activities like amateur astronomy and stargazing; protection of wildlife. Definitions Outdoor lighting policies inevitably involve the use of unfamiliar technical terms. Concise definitions are important to add clarity to the words of the policy. The Illuminating Engineering Society publishes a useful list of definitions of technical terms. In some cases it may be helpful to illustrate definitions with figures. Even cartoon drawings can reinforce complex concepts. And some jurisdictions add their own definitions of legal terms according to other requirements. Good: A few basic technical terms such as shielding and color temperature. Better: Further technical terms; figures illustrating some concepts like shielding. Best: Meanings of certain common words ("and", "is", etc.) in context. Applicability These statements say in which circumstances the policy is operative. This means that where the law is applicable, outdoor lighting must follow it. They may also state when the policy does not apply, in what are usually termed "exemptions". These statements should be as specific as possible to prevent ambiguities that can make enforcement difficult. Good: All new public lighting. Better: Some private lighting (with limited exceptions); amortization with limited triggers Best: All private lighting; amortization with a sunset date Note that "amortization" means a process by which existing lighting that does not follow the law is brought into compliance. Amortization is "triggered" when one or more events occurs. For instance, if a property owner carries out major renovations, a compliance trigger may require that all site lighting be made compliant. In the best policies, exemptions for existing, non-compliant lighting should end on a future date. This allows property owners adequate time to make changes. Main provisions This section contains the real substance of the policy. It prescribes specific standards that lighting must achieve to be lawful. This is where policies often necessarily become technical in nature. Here is where a jurisdiction can enact the requirements we know to be most effective in reducing light pollution. Good: Full shielding of most light fixtures; light color limitations; 'warranting' of public lighting. Better: Full shielding of all luminaires; light trespass prohibited above a threshold; public lighting curfew; lumen density limits. Best: Lighting Zones; light trespass completely prohibited; private lighting curfew; illuminance specifications. Prohibitions Certain kinds of lighting are so problematic or objectionable that some jurisdictions forbid their use entirely. This section declares those types of lighting and their applications to be unlawful. Again, clear definitions of terms may be needed to resolve ambiguities. Good: Unshielded lighting; mercury vapor lamps. Better: Searchlights and other high-intensity light sources, except as required in emergencies; laser light sources. Best: Dynamically varying lights. Communities may want to consider these further provisions for their outdoor lighting policies: More items in Better policies
More items in Best policies
How to get help creating or updating a policyThere are now many exemplary outdoor lighting policies in different world jurisdictions. Often, communities can find examples in their countries that they may use as effective models for writing their own policies. Remember that whatever a community chooses must withstand legal review in the relevant jurisdiction. It is helpful to ask a knowledgable attorney in that area to review the policy before proceeding to write it into law.
Outdoor lighting policy is a technical and often nuanced kind of public policy to write. Some communities may like the idea of having such policies, but they find the process daunting. These places will benefit from the expertise of professionals who can understand their local circumstances and provide custom advice. If your community is looking for help in writing a good local policy, contact us today. |