Wildomar Light Pollution

I had an opportunity to photograph Orion last night in two locations. One was in front of my home, and the other, out of town, just a few miles west next to an ecological reserve. Both locations have light pollution, but the reserve is as good as anyone can hope for in a region with many cities.

I was able to overlay my two photos without rotating or distorting either photo. Here there are in one animated graphic:

I've also uploaded a video of this to youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ziPDKxBceY

The video has better image quality, but doesn't repeat.



jg

Western Riverside Council of Governments LED Light Tests

The Western Riverside Council of Governments is sponsoring a test of LED light fixtures considered for widespread use throughout western Riverside County. The new LEDs offer great improvements on energy consumption, aiming, and intensity control, but vary in how well they minimize light pollution, preserve a night-time ambiance, and disrupt circadian rhythms of humans and animals. Understanding the wavelengths of light, which humans perceive as color, is key to selecting lights that minimize negative effects.

WRCOG is sponsoring tours of the test lights. About a dozen manufacturers provided sample LED lights that were installed in various settings in the city of Hemet. Installations include commercial, roadway, and residential sites. The tour participants are invited to rate how they safe they feel and how well they see under each light as well as how much they like the aiming (e.g., you may like a light but not want it spilling into a your bedroom window, or maybe you would like it to spill a little into your front yard). Participants were discouraged from looking at each light directly and were not told of the lights' exact specifications on color temperature. I was a flawed participant because I was to eager to assess the glare and spectra of the lights for their impact on the night sky. My interests required looking directly at the lights and testing their output with my spectograph:

Photos taken with my spectrograph of a low-pressure sodium light (top) 

and a new LED (bottom two)

A key specification in understanding the impact of a type of light on the night sky, and therefore, on Palomar Observatory and our ability to enjoy the night, is color temperature. Color temperature comes from the physics concept of black body radiation and is used to describe how a given unit of mass radiates energy when heated to different temperatures. If I took a chunk of matter and heated it to 2700 K, 4500 K, and 6000 K and measured the wavelengths of light emitted at each temperature, I'd have data similar to the following:

Diagram produced with my home-made Planck black body radiation curve generator 

which is available on line at my website. See Planck Viewer, 

and ask here if you need help using it. 

So, an object that is at 6000 degrees Kelvin (6000 K) will put out radiation all across the electromagnetic spectrum but the wavelengths at which it emits the most energy will be at the green part of the color spectrum. 6000 K is approximately the temperature of our sun, and its peak output is in the green wavelengths, but since our eyes are adapted to the full range of color produced by the sun, we perceive the sun's light as white. Any lamp matching the sun's output we will perceive as white and the color temperature specification would be 6000 K. If you see a light that has noticeably more blue color, like with some plasma TV screens, you might infer that it's color temperature is higher than 6000 K, perhaps 7000 K or 8500 K.

The blue spectrum of light affects human and animal health. More of it at night, when the body is trying to shut down for sleep, will disturb the natural production of hormones that regulate our health. That is why the American Medical Association has recently issued warnings about the wide spread adoption of lighting that peaks in the blue part of the spectrum. The blue end of the spectrum also scatters more readily in our atmosphere, and therefore, it creates more light pollution than lights on the red end of the spectrum. Consider a common observation, the sky is blue on a clear day and red at evening and sunrise. This is because the blue light gets scattered and the red light beams straight or bends only slightly. So, lights with a lot a lot of blue will be scattered back at us, creating for us the look of a gray sky with few stars. We see this effect on cloudy nights when the clouds reflect most of the light back to us and our bedroom windows glow with this light pollution.

Below is a light on WRCOG's test. I was impressed based on my visual observation. The color is similar to the color of low-pressure sodium, but offers more color rendition and is very well aimed, hitting the street only. But when I looked that the lights through my spectrograph, I was reminded that the real test will be scientific measurements of the lamp's spectra.

Below are two light spectra measured by Dan McKenna of Palomar Observatory. All I know about the specific lights are their designations within the test program (P104 and P46). I've added some annotations:

The photo composite below shows a comparison of three lights. The top and bottom are new LEDs that differ in the range of color produced. Both are rated at a maximum of 3000 K though I suspect that this rating doesn't accurately reflect the blue light in the bottom example.

This residential street corner provides a reasonably fair comparison of new LED to existing LPS:

This row of distant lights demonstrate that it's easy to aim the new LEDs. You see less flare from the new lights because most of the light is directed downwards.

The type of lights chosen now will have a great impact on our night sky. All offer excellent opportunities for energy savings, aiming, and dimming, but some will produce wavelengths that will take away some of the pleasant qualities of the night. I am, of course, biased, because I consider the night sky a key feature in my quality of life. I've learned to see well in low lighting by relying on my night vision. I've also learned that though you can perceive color better in white light, such lighting doesn't make me see detail better. But what is important to me may not be important to others, so it is important for others to participate in these tours to offers their opinions. I welcome diverse opinions here and will preserve any comments.

jg

Other references:

National Academy of Sciences: Evening use of light-emitting eReaders negatively affects sleep, circadian timing, and next-morning alertness

American Association for the Advancement of Science: Can't Sleep?

Light Spectra with caption for distribution:

Worst community safety lighting ever

A community near me endures the worst street lighting I've ever seen. It ranks worse among stiff competition by being the primary lighting for the community.

From an distance, the light fixtures are attractive.

And a close-up shows the ornamentation:

But at night, they turn into glare bombs. Their placement at every corner ensures that every direction a motorists looks includes glare to obstruct a safe view of the street.

Glare bombs, looking west

Glare bombs, looking east (before a car approached). 

Notice the strong shadows, now imagine the same 

shadows between parked cars.

While documenting these lights, a car intruded into my photo, making for a good comparison. Notice how the light and glare from the approaching car is comparable to the glare from the streetlights:

Car approaches from one block away

Car reaches the nearest intersection 

and appears as bright at the street light 

that is a block away.

I know of no one who sees better while in the beam of car headlights. (That's why we have low-beams). Yet, people don't question the same quality of light when mounted for "our safety and protection".

Watch out in these neighborhoods. You may not see the child or pet that foolishly enters the street or the rock or nail that can break your tire. 

jg

Coleman Is Synonymous with Glare Bomb

A few years ago when the company Hostess was in crisis, a problem acknowledged by the company was that their two most well known products, Twinkies and white bread, had become objects of derision. That is how I always felt about Coleman's contribution to the outdoors. Coleman brings to mind an obnoxiously bright light that takes away the enjoyment of camping and the night sky. The typical Coleman lantern is designed to throw light everywhere, compromising the night vision of it's owners, so they require more light, and creating glare for the neighbors. With a Coleman lantern, you can harass fellow campers hundreds of yards away in all directions. Most of my dark sky adventures are impaired by such lanterns because they lack appropriate shielding and are too bright for their task.

It never occurred to me the Coleman would want this association, such that when you think "Coleman" you think "glare bomb",  but recently, I noticed the branding on a Coleman easy-up.

The tarp seems to say, "Remember that obnoxious light? That is our brand".

I'd recommend a slogan to go with it, "Coleman: keeping the outdoors urban" or "Coleman: bring the glare with you".

The solution is so simple: create a lantern that directs light downward and sell a mounting pole accessory to hold the lamp at chest or eye level for adequate illumination of one's campground while preserving the ability for all to see.


jg

Lighting in Wildomar: Glarebombs slip though the cracks

A new building in Wildomar has installed lighting that violates Wildomar's municipal code and creates a safety hazard near a public school.

The Wildomar City Council has taken action on lighting violations in the past, and so this presents another problem-solving opportunity. It may be difficult to correct this building, as so much lighting has already been installed. The parking lot lighting needs to be of a lower color temperature (no higher that 3500 k). The wall-mounted glare bombs are useless, and need to removed or replaced. Even the decorative post lamps fail because they aren't adequately shielded.

These glare bombs are on Bundy Canyon Road across from Elsinore High School, a route that is frequently tread by youth showing poor judgment when crossing roads. The area is fairly dark, but now a motorist will have to see the students' dark silhouettes against the glare from the building.

This is how a community loses its dark sky.


jg

LED 3500 K example:

Wildomar is slipping into lightness

As is common for all the cities in my region, people tend to forget the lighting policies in place and upgrade or retrofit their businesses with lighting that fails to conform to the municipal codes. For example, this diagram illustrates the effect of poor choice of lighting fixtures recently installed at a business on Mission Trails Road in Wildomar:

Please note that I'm not criticizing the products or services of the business, just the lighting.

jg

Solar observation must be done in the sun, no exceptions

It was a hot, sunny day yesterday. Whimsically, I checked for sunspots with my Sun Spotter telescope. I had checked within the past week, so I wasn't expecting anything. However, a constellation of sunspots demanded my attention, so I set up the equipment for this photo.

I would have tried higher power magnification, but my equipment was getting hot to the touch.

The previous night I took my yearly light pollution monitoring photo. I try to capture the Milky Way from my backyard to verify that I can still do it and that protecting the night sky is still worthwhile in my community. My methods are inexact because I've switched from slide film to digital over the years, and I'm always dealing with variations in seeing conditions.

This time of year at 3:00am, the Milky Way rises straight up from the west and crosses the sky. This photo is a composite of two images from the morning of July 5.

This night was a bit humid, so the viewing was compromised by visible wispy clouds. I also tweaked the photos to enhance contrast. Directly overhead, I could see the Milky Way through Cygnus:

 However, once I turn northeast, the sky is heavily polluted:

The southwest, west, and overhead is our "Wildomar Window" and still worth protecting.

jg

Carlsbad Rejects Electronic Sign

The City of Carlsbad has rejected the use of electronic billboards:

Carlsbad Rejects Freeway Sign

Their decision was based on aesthetics, but any sign designed to attract and hold a driver's attention should be considered a driving safety hazard too. I'm not aware of any study linking animated signs to traffic accidents, but this study demonstrated that such signs effectively hold a driver's attention longer than other advertising:

The Effects of Electronic Billboards on Driver Distraction

It's worth noting that although the electronic billboard study did not run long enough to establish a link between signs and accidents, the Swedish Road Association had enough information to act:

Based on the results reported in this article, along with the results from other studies, the Swedish authorities decided not to extend the test period and to remove the electronic billboards under investigation.

jg

Don't Panic! Wildomar's new lighting ordinance is not scary

The Wildomar City council will be considering an revised lighting ordinance during their March 13 council meeting. The ordinance is a great improvement over Riverside County Ordinance 655 which was adopted by Wildomar upon incorporation as a city. The revised ordinance keeps up with changes in land use, population density, and lighting technologies that have emerged since the 1980s when ordinance 655 was created.

Residents of Wildomar may be asking themselves this question: Do I have to change my lights?

No.

The ordinance is not intended to apply to existing dwellings unless that dwelling is undergoing a change of use or new construction.

As much as I wish this ordinance would provide one neighbor some reasonable protection from another's intrusive and inconsiderate use of light, it doesn't. I hope this limit in applicability will assure any resident that the new ordinance is not to be feared.

I'll be writing more on the ordinance, but felt this one point needed clarification.

jg

Bright lights did not deter this vandalism

Bright light did not deter the vandalism to this billboard on I-15 in Murrieta, CA. This Lamar billboard stays well lit all night. I am making the assumption that the graffiti occured at night. If not, well, that may assist my argument too. Also, lighting often makes us complacent: we automate the light and then get lazy. The best response to graffiti is to quickly cover it up so the vandals don't have the reward of seeing their work displayed night and day for tens of thousands of motorists who commute on this freeway. The Lamar sign company is on autopilot. This graffiti has been blazing for over two weeks, and still no response by the company to do what it can to deter future acts.

jg

Electronic Billboards and New Lights

A study released last October demonstrates the effectiveness of digital billboards in gaining drivers' attention.

Driver attention study

Congratulations to the sign manufacturers and those who would deploy these animated, colorful signs. They've found away to engage a driver by triggering one's normal reflex toward motion or by creating something of interest that a driver will choose to observe for at least two seconds, a period recognized as a common rule of thumb for safe following distance between vehicles.

The study was conducted in Sweden. It examined only the attention of drivers and did not make any connections between the use of signs and accidents. Sweden, however, will not be using such signs and has removed those in place for the study.

Other lighting news: A rather efficient light bulb that continues to spray light in all directions (which can be quite inefficient in outdoor fixtures) is described here:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/story/2013/02/04/technology-nanolight-led-bulb.html

And last, a friend wrote a fine guide for assessing household energy use that I wish to post here for reference:

http://milo-scientific.com/pers/essays/energy.php


jg

TEDx Temecula: Light Pollution

On Oct. 12, 2012, I participated in an independenly organized TEDx event in Temecula. My 12-minute talk on light pollution can be viewed here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIZYTFUrhCY&feature=player_embedded

jg

American Medical Association reports that night light is a health hazard

The following article describes the AMA's new policy recognizing health and safety hazards of night lighting and recommending further research:

Night Light Can Harm Your Health

jg

LED signs in Wildomar under consideration

The Lake Elsinore/Wildomar Patch reports that the Wildomar City Council is considering the request by two organizations to use LED signs on their premises:

• led-signs-debated-in-wildomar

I have no objection to light being used for safety, security, and decoration, but if it's nature is to harass, boldly miss the target, or distract motorists, then its convenience to the owner is not worth the public nuisance, energy waste, and light pollution.

The organizations requesting these lights are the Elks Lodge and Cal Lutheran High School. Both should claim to be community-oriented, so I would ask why they want to deploy technology that can distract motorists, especially in front of a school. Both organizations are also in violation of Wildomar's existing lighting ordinance. Cal Lutheran's area lighting should be low pressure sodium and their floodlight illuminating their emblem should be downward pointing. I discussed these with their principal years ago.

The Elks Lodge installed white wall mounted lights and white parking lot lights that are in violation of Wildomar's ordinance 8.80, making this a recent violation. Members the Lakeland Village/Wildomar Revevelopment Project Area Committee (RDA) asked them to comply with Wildomar's lighting ordinance. The RDA was involved because the Elks Lodge is a recipient of an RDA grant, and the request came specifically from a member whose community organization is a next door neighbor to the Elks Lodge.

jg

Light Trespass Is Now a No-No in Riverside County

Thank you, Bob Buster, John Tavaglione, Jon Benoit for your 3-0 vote passing ordinance 915 regulating light trespass. By passing this ordinance, the County now requires aim in outdoor lighting. Light trespass results from bad aim, and aiming a light is one of the easier concepts for people to understand if they are aware of the need. The right to bad aim has never been an American virtue, however, many will defend their laziness in the implementation of outdoor lighting, calling it a basic right, or this ordinance, an over-reach by the County.

I write this less that 24 hours after the ordinance's passage, and already I've received a question as to when it can be applied by a person who has endured a neighbor's bare bulb security lights and is now eager to correct the problem.

There is no reason for common security and area lighting to extend beyond one's property, and the passage of this ordinance, avoiding light trespass will become a design standard in building construction.
jg

Local articles on ordinance 915:
Californian, 12/21/11 (older articles in the Californian: Californian 11/22/11, Californian, 11/15/11, Californian 10/25/11)

Lake Elsinore/Wildomar Patch, 12/21/11

Press Enterprise, 12/21/11

KPSP Local 2 News Services, 12/20/11

Riverside County Light Trespass Ordinance 915, a boon for property rights

For people who may be searching the web in regard to the Riverside Board of Supervisors introduction of ordinance 915 regulating light pollution (or more accurately light trespass), here are a few stories and the text of the ordinance. I will be commenting on this in the next couple weeks.

Ordinance 915

Californian: 26 Oct 2011

Press Enterprise: 26 Oct 2011

Valley News: 26 Oct 2011

ABC news

Lake Elsinore-Wildomar Patch: "county-cracks-down-on-shining-too-brightly"

riverside-county-residents-to-see-fine-for-nuisance-lights

jg

Meteor over Joshua Tree

I photographed this meteor while camping in Joshua Tree National Park on the weekend of 9/3/11:

I was trying to capture how much light from Palm Springs and neighboring cities pollutes the southern sky of Joshua Tree National Park. Quite a lot, as shown by this 50-second exposure. (Joshua Trees are the tree-sized yuccas, shown here, that give the park it's name.)

jg

Dark sky Wildomar, a standard for preservation

I'm using the Milky Way as a metric for local light pollution. I don't expect to restore the skies of ten years ago, rather, I hope only to keep the Milky Way visible from typical backyards. Below is a photo of the Milky Way on August 12, 2010 from my backyard. Though the contrast is poor, our galaxy is still visible to the naked eye and to the camera.

Photo: Region near Sagitarius and Scutum.

jg

Supervisor Marion Ashley fails to understand basic lighting design yet speaks

Today's Californian covers the Riverside County Board of Supervisors review of light trespass, brought before the Board by Supervisor Tavaglione (http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/swcounty/article_9b21982f-eb68-506a-b736-428477b26114.html).

The article reports Supervisor Ashley saying that

"most commercial properties before the board in the last decade or two have been vetted to ensure they are dark-skies friendly and 'There's probably not a lot more they can do unless they turn the lights out'."

Ashley reveals some misunderstanding of lighting and light trespass. Set aside for the moment that the County has allowed numerous violations of the lighting ordinance on commerical properties, light trespass refers to bad aim, and there is a simple solution.

Consider this photo of an arc around the sun. Notice how the photographer (me) is using the object in the foreground as a shield to block the bright direct light of the sun. I'm not advocating turning off the sun, but shielding it so I can see and take the photograph.

Now observe these lights. The top one is typical light installed by a developer, and shines more light on the neighbor's house than it shines on the property on which it's installed. This is bad design, wasteful use of energy, and light trespass.

The bottom photo is a properly shielded light, and everyone can see (and sleep) better.

Light trespass regulation isn't about denying anyone the right to light their property; rather, it requires that they do just that, light their own property.



The real advantage of a light trespass standard is that developers will stop installing lights that will be subject to a legal complaint. Instead, they should use lights with reflective hoods that aim all the light onto the property the light is intended to illuminate. By using all the light, the property owner will get effective lighting with a lower watt bulb.

Update 20 Oct 10. The Board voted 5-0 in favor:

http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/swcounty/article_fe72a3aa-f71e-5467-970f-8db0bca2ffb5.html

 

jg

Riverside County Considers Regulating Light Trespass

Riverside County is considering a light trespass ordinance that will give a property owner some legal recourse to deal with an intrusive light. In doing so, the County will be recognizing the concept of "light trespass," a term I first heard used by the International Dark-sky Association. It's a good term, accurate, simple to understand, and describes a pervasive mis-use of light. I've been approached many times by people asking me if there's anything they can do (legally) about a neighbor's annoying light. "No," has always been my answer. Now, I'll say "wait."

It should be noted that a light trespass regulation doesn't stop anyone from lighting their own property; rather it stops them from lighting their neighbor's property. I've never met anyone who likes having a neighbor's bright light shining into their bedroom windows; and I've never met anyone who insists on the right to light a neighbor's property. I think a lot of people, however, will fall in between: they will want to retain the right to not have to care what type of light fixture they install; thus, they see their right not to care as greater than another's right to enjoy darkness.

I do foresee some challenges, depending on the scope of the ordinance. If the ordinance will not be retroactive on home owners, then it will be difficult to invoke. How does one prove that an intrusive light was installed after the ordinance went into force? One would have to photograph the surrounding properties before the light was installed. Not many people would think to do this before the offense.

Businesses will balk at anything that's retro-active, yet they are some of the worst offenders. Some consider it their right to shine bright white light beyond their property and into the sky as an indirect means of attracting customers or to cater to the perception that light makes for safety, and therefore, more light makes for more safety. (I accept that well aimed light may enhance safety. Businesses should be allowed prominent signs and well lit entry ways. It's when they neglect good design and illuminate indescriminately that the net gain is reduced by the nuisance, glare, waste of energy, and light pollution.)

Billboards are very indescriminate about how much light they use and where they shine it. A downlit design is available. We should require that it be used, especially in the 45-mile radius of Palomar Observatory. No light trespass standards applied to new construction can save money and energy, as well as protect the nightsky. All of these are benefits in addition to the intended goal of freeing people from intrusive lighting.

I recommend that cities encourage the County of Riverside and leverage it's efforts in order to adopt their own lighting trespass regulations. Residents should consider contacting their county supervisors to support the development of light trespass regulation. This issue os schedule for discussion on Oct 19, 2010.

jg

References:

http://www.swrnn.com/southwest-riverside/2010-10-15/news/rivco-board-of-supervisors-to-consider-proposal-to-limit-outdoor-lights

Update: 16 Oct. 2010: I've added some light trespass examples.

This is the type of lighting that the ordinance would address. Notice how far beyond the property these lights shine. Here's a close-up taken with a zoom lens:

The grand opening of Gerrome's Furniture in Murrieta demonstrates a business thinking the sky is their advertising space that they have the right to stomp on research at Palomar Observatory.

The search lights are a violation of Murrieta's civic code. The night I took this photo, I went into the store and had a promising chat with the manager. I said intervening via code enforcement would be a lose-lose situation, and perhaps Gerome's would consider after their opening to bring the lighting the store inherited within the city's code. The manager struck me as genuinely concerned and gave me contact person at the corporate office. However, the contact number didn't work and so I tried contacting other departments at Gerome's corporate office and made polite inquiries via their phone message system. None of my inquiries were acknowledged, and since then, Gerome's has added more snshielded white lighting to their building.