ALAN ANON

Turn It Down

Artificial Light At Night impacts the natural day/night cycle of our environment, disrupts ecosystems including mammals, birds, and insects, and poses a threat to our ability to observe the splendor and majesty of the night sky.

The First Step Learn More

Light is amazing and beneficial! But most of it is wasted, serving no useful purpose while causing measurable harms. By lazily and greedily shining light everywhere, we paradoxically hinder our ability to discover, learn, and wonder at the cosmos.

The First Step

We are called upon to find a Power greater than ourselves, and to admit that power is probably too damn bright.

We live in a time of cheap and abundant illumination, which makes it incredibly easy to accept as a background feature of the landscape. But there are choices we can make, and actions we can take! Recovery begins by considering and acting with intention to minimize or eliminate light pollution.

Responsible outdoor lighting is …

Useful

Use light only if it is needed

All light should have a clear purpose. Consider how the use of light will impact the area, including wildlife and their habitats.

Targeted

Direct light so it falls only where it is needed.

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.

Low Level

Light should be no brighter than necessary.

Use the lowest light level required. Be mindful of surface conditions, as some surfaces may reflect more light into the night sky than intended.

Controlled

Use light only when it is needed.

Use controls such as timers or motion detectors to ensure that light is available when it is needed, dimmed when possible, and turned off when not needed.

Warm-colored

Use warmer color lights where possible.

Limit the amount of shorter wavelength (blue-violet) light to the least amount needed.

Learn More

Your best bet is to start w/ DarkSky, a recognized worldwide authority combatting light pollution. The site has practical resources, guides, certified lighting products, and certified conservation efforts to create sky parks, communities and other dark sky places around the world.

Citizen Science

Five Principles for Responsible Outdoor Lighting

Dark Sky Map provides light pollution and clouds & precipitation maps to help you discover and share the best places to observe the night sky.

Globe at Night is an international citizen-science campaign to raise public awareness of the impact of light pollution by inviting citizen-scientists to measure & submit their night sky brightness observations.

Lighting your Art

Lux Capacitor is an industrial-strength solar floodlight built from off-the-shelf components and open-sourced by Glass House Arts.

“Compared to the rest of Burning Man, the lights were somewhat dim, but totally sufficient for safety and for folks to enjoy the art.”