Seeking San Francisco IDA members for Dark Sky action
I have been asked if I can find a
IDA representative to participate in a stakeholder committee associated
with the San Francisco Commission on the Environment.
The committee apparently is promoted/requested by Lights Out San Francisco and American Bird Conservancy.
As I am told "The goal of the program is to reduce unnecessary night
lighting in the city of San Francisco to reduce the threat of nighttime
collisions with buildings for migratory birds, conserve resources, save
money, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and ultimately increase
visibility of the night sky."
This is VERY early in the process of forming the stakeholder committee.
If you are interested please contact me.
If you would like to get more involved in Norther California activities please join the Cal-IDA yahoo group go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Cal-IDA/join
(Yahoo! ID required)
Jack Sales, IDA California Section
jesales@surewest.net
www.skykeepers.org
Related Notes --
Cal-IDA Yahoo Group has been updated and opened to members posting in
the hope that it will increase communication and Dark Sky activities in
California. To join the group the Cal-IDA yahoo group go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Cal-IDA/join (Yahoo! ID required)
Related Groups
A new group has formed in SF Bay Area, Citizens for Smart Lighting If you would like to join us, just go to
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/smartlighting-sf/ and click 'Join'
Note this is not a IDA group but all are welcome at skykeepers.org
Please visit
KERN County News --
See for all the latest Dark Sky Activities
For some reason NASA thinks this is so wonderfull. They know not what they do.
Nighttime Lights from the International Space Station (Video)
It's All About the Lighting
Wall Street Journal 25 July 2008
Bipartisan letter from the U.S. House of Representatives supports Dark Skies
August 4, 2008: Eleven members of the
U.S. House of Representatives request action on light pollution from the EPA. Read the Press Release (.pdf)
Read the Letter (.pdf)
Help
IDA raise awareness in the US Congress about the problems and solutions
of light pollution by inviting your Representative's Legislative
Assistants on Energy, Environment, Science and Health to a briefing on
light pollution.
Friday, June 20, 2008
Noon until 1:00 p.m.(Lunch Provided) Rayburn House Office Building 2325
Each year,
millions of Americans glance into the sky in the hopes to wish upon a
star, or gaze at the wonders of the universe, only to discover their
view has been replaced by a yellow haze. And while the loss of
starlight may seem inconsequential, or just a sad reality of our
continuing development, did you know there are other critical issues
linked to light pollution?
· Light pollution has consequences for human health.
According
to the journal Chronobiology International, the breast cancer incidence
is approximately 73% higher in communities with higher levels of
artificial illumination at night.
Discussion by:Dr.
David Blask, Senior Research Scientist and Head of the Laboratory of
Chrono-Neuroendocrine Oncology at Bassett Healthcare Institute (NY)
· Light pollution wastes energy.
IDA estimates over $10 billion is wasted annually on unnecessary lighting.
Discussion by: Lee Cooper, Manager of Emerging Technologies at Pacific Gas & Electric (CA)
· Light pollution harms the environment.
Light
pollution affects all species from zooplankton to birds to sea
turtles. Hatchling sea turtles, including Loggerhead and Leatherback
turtles, find their way to the sea by differentiating between dark,
elevated areas, and the bright, flat sea surface; misdirected light
confuses this process.
Discussion by:Travis
Longcore, Ph.D., Science Director of The Urban Wildlands Group (CA) and
co-editor of "Ecological Consequences of Artificial Night Lighting."
There are alternatives!!!
Please
join the International Dark-Sky Association, a 501 c3 nonprofit
organization dedicated to preserve and protect the nighttime
environment and our heritage of dark skies, along with fellow endorsing
organizations as we discuss these consequences associated with improper
night lighting.
IDA
will present a strategy for reducing these adverse effects of light
pollution at minimal costs, or even cost savings, by using more
sensible outdoor lighting.
xxxxx
Light Pollultion Talk by Jack Sales April 14 2008
At 980 Helling Way, Nevada City, CA 95959
Truckee
officials trying to reduce light pollution (SacBee Tue. Dec. 25
2007) This AP story has drawn considerable attention by the
press in California, especially by the TV stations.
Officials in this well know Nevada County town have been addressing
Light Pollution for a number of years.
Truckee's GP, development and municipal codes has been sited on
skykeepers and darksky web sites for some time, as far back as 2003 or
more.
Hats off to Truckee. More information and analysis can be
found on the Outdoor
Lighting Regulations in California page (Nevada County).
A rundown of the new coverage can be found on the Media Coverage page.
Help
is needed for booth setup, attending and take down for 08:00am -
4:30pm
The Salmon Festival - Rancho Cordova, CA - October
14 -
15, 10am - 4pm
Contact Jack Sales, 726-7405, 747-7405.
STATUS
- It was one of the best event we have ever displayed
at! We handed out over 1,000 Meteor Show Calendars and
other information!
World --
On December 25, 2007 a new website was launched, . As stated TWAN is a new
program that will produce and present a collection of stunning
photographs of the world’s most beautiful and historic sites against
the nighttime backdrop of stars, planets and celestial events.
The notes "On Christmas day, (APOD) announced The
World At Night project".
Of special note to this IDA Member and I am sure many others are the
astrophotographs of . During the many years of attending the starry Night
Festival (SNF) in Yucca Valley, CA, Wally has been a
fixture. The reason for this is his long relationship with
Joshua Tree National Park and of course Joshua Tree NP has been a
integral part of SNF from the beginning. The connection to IDA is
that from the beginning SNF has included a IDA Regional
Meeting. From all reports this year was one of the
best. No doubt because of Bob Gent being back at the helm and
Teri Jackson, Riverside County Section Leader so close and supporting
the IDA activities. The activities and displays by the California
Members can be seen spread thought out the Sections Activities
page from 1989 to 2002.
Wherever in the world you are
on October 20, 2007, join the
citizens of
San Francisco when they turn off their nonessential lights for one hour
– An event of , supported by IDA. Watch for a national event in your
hometown in March, 2008.
Websters note --- it's "Lamp"
not "Bulb" CFL, the "L" = Lamp
National --
THE DARK SIDE, BY DAVID OWEN
THE NEW YORKER
MAGAZINE
AUGUST 20, 2007 p. 28 OUR FAR-FLUNG CORRESPONDENTS about light
pollution and its effect on
astronomy and the environment. Writer describes Galileo Galilei’s 1610
astronomical observations. Today, by contrast, most Americans are
unable to see the Milky Way in the sky above the place where they live.
The stars have not, of course, become dimmer; rather, the earth has
become vastly brighter, so that celestial
objects are harder to detect. Air pollution has made the atmosphere
less transparent and more reflective, and high levels of terrestrial
illumination have washed out the stars overhead—a phenomenon called
“sky glow.”
In my opinion this is the best "light pollution" story ever published
by a popular magazine. The
Webmaster
More on the web -
- Wired Science, August 14, 2007 -- Wonderful and
responses to coverage of THE DARK SIDE article in THE NEW YORKER
MAGAZINE! "Update: Our Wired blog comrades over at the
Underwire
about a streetlight that senses when the moon is bright and adjusts its
intensity accordingly, thus saving energy and letting pedestrians see
our celestial kid brother. Pretty cool."
- Underwire, August
10, 2007 -- "The Civil Twilight Design
Collective has designed a
street lamp that can sense and respond to the moon's ambient light. As
the moon goes through its phases through out the month, cities
streelamps would dim and brighten accordingly. Not only would this
allow moonlight to be more apparent, it could save the city millions of
dollars in electricity bills." ...
"The idea won this year's
ideas competition.The lunar-resonant streetlights retrofits existing
streetlights with dimmable LED bulbs and a highly sensitive
photo-sensor cell."
the latest project is CHECK IT
OUT!! "Civil
Twilight’s research indicates that streetlights account for 38
percent of the electricity used for lighting in the United
States—that’s close to 300 million tons of carbon emissions a year."
Another link to great
comments about the NEW YORKER article,
Study
- Harsh Lighting May Damage
Embryos --- YA THINK !! ---
"People do not pay much attention to
light as a negative environmental factor," he said.
, San Diego Union
Tribune, United States -Aug 9, 2007
Observatory spokesman Scott
Kardel
said light pollution affecting observations at the mountaintop
telescopes comes not just from the Indian casinos, but also from
the growth of nearby cities.
In the report, the tribe says it will try to keep lights to a minimum
and will focus all lights toward buildings or the ground, away from the
sky. Please see CALTECH ASTRONOMY
-
Sacramento County ---
Notes from Deer Creek Hills Bat and
Astronomy Night Sacramento
Valley Conservancy