Ideal Bite

LIGHT POLLUTION

Stars in Your Eyes

08.11.2009

Submitted by tmeronek on Mon, 08/10/2009 - 11:00pm.

The Bite:

Are you a stargazer? Point your telescope at the big Perseids meteor shower (its peak is August 12) - just cut your outdoor light pollution so you can see it clearly. Less light will help nature stay on course (migrating birds get confused by unnatural glow, for example) and it'll save you enough to buy that Astronomy Today subscription.

The Benefits:

More cash for NASA paraphernalia. In the United States, we waste $5-$10 billion annually on unnecessary lighting - turning off your lights at night will lower your electric bill.
Averting supernova-size eco-effects. Excessive night light messes with migratory patterns of birds, nighttime moth pollination, and even feeding schedules of plankton.
Getting a glimpse. If you live near a city, it might not make a big diff, but most everywhere else if you turn down the lights at night and look up, there's a big sky full of stars to get lost in.

Personally Speaking:

Biter team pet peeve: when people working in office buildings leave the lights on overnight. So we turn ours off religiously at the end of the workday.

Wanna Try:

Install motion sensors or timers, so lights only come on when you really need them.
Choose the lowest wattage bulbs that'll still allow you to comfortably see (you'll have to play around a bit to see what works for you) - the wattage on your lamp tells you the highest it can take, but it can always handle lower wattage bulbs. (Check our low-energy CFL and LED bulb tips for some good bets.)
Get outdoor light shades like the ones offered at Starry Night Lights - light attachments that help control the direction your lights shine ($11 and up). Enter the code idealbite09 during checkout, and get 10% off.

There Once Was a Sky Full of Stars - book that teaches starry-eyed kids all about light pollution in the prettiest way possible ($13).

Cocktail Fact

Nothing travels faster than light - it whizzes around at almost 186,000 miles per second.

Bang For The Bite

If 10,000 Biters turn off one 100-watt outdoor light bulb during the 8 hours they sleep every night for a month, we'll save a collective $264,000 in electricity costs.

11 comments

Email This

Tips Like This

Laura on August 11, 2009 at 03:44 AM 1

Why not opt for solar lights that will stay on all or most of the night depending on which you buy and never have to pay for the electricity to run them at all? It took me all of 3 seconds on google to find these: www.solarilluminations.com

Joan on August 11, 2009 at 05:13 AM 2

Your first link for LED lights leads to a site that doesn't offer this any more. Please update your info and let us know where we can find LED lights?

Adrienne on August 11, 2009 at 05:57 AM 3

If you happen to be in the market for new outdoor lights, look for ones that are "dark-sky certified." Go to www.darksky.org to find a list of approved outdoor light fixtures. Minimizing light at night also helps nocturnal animals, as well as humans who need darkness to sleep well!

Connie on August 11, 2009 at 06:23 AM 4

Sleeping in a dark room is good for you too! Seems that sleeping with the light on or staying up late could be a cause of breast cancer http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/...

Jim on August 11, 2009 at 06:56 AM 5

Thanks for bringing up the issue of light pollution. It is truly disturbing that so few people recognize the problems with obliterating the night. A couple of things to clarify: 1. Telescopes are NOT required to view meteor showers. You only need to find an open area way from lights, and look at the sky. @Laura, using solar lights does not solve the problem. Light pollution is not just about energy use and carbon output, but also about ruining the night-time environment with artificial light.

nif on August 11, 2009 at 08:22 AM 6

Hey, we've switched over to mostly CFL bulbs, but I'm having a "disagreement" with my partner: he says they need to stay on for several hours to actually save any money. My research online doesn't say anything about that - just that if you turn them off before they've been on for 15 minutes, you'll shorten the life of the bulb (which is part of the overall savings). Anyone know anything about this or where I could find more info? I HATE having the lights on all the time!

Kathleen on August 11, 2009 at 03:26 PM 7

I concur that energy saving is needed, but there are reasons for lights at night around homes for security/safety issues. Motion detector lights are certainly a valuable tool. I use a light sensor and low wattage bulb at my driveway - makes me feel more secure when I come home at night.

Idealbite Team Member tmeronek on August 11, 2009 at 03:52 PM 8

Joan - we've fixed the link; thx for bringing it to our attention. Nif - point your partner to the government's Energy Star website: http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=cfls.pr_cfls_about Their advice: Definitely change out your old incandescent bulbs, but "you’ll maximize the lifetime savings and effectiveness of your CFLs by keeping them on for 15 minutes or more at a time."

cheryl on August 12, 2009 at 06:45 AM 9

Thanks for addressing light pollution. I grew up in rural Michigan. I now live in a city in VA. Whenever I go back home I am amazed and in total AWE at how many stars are up there that I do not see here due to light pollution. Motion detectors on your porch light and driveway are great tools, agreeing with Kathleen. I missed the meteor shower last night because of this, too much light. Tonite I will try to drive to the country to see it.

minnie on August 12, 2009 at 08:07 PM 10

hubbie won't let me turn off one light in the living room atnight, so we compromise in 2 ways. 1) i turn itoff during the day when he's not home and 2) we have a CFL in the lamp. while i'd rather it was off unless necessary, at least i'm finding ways to make it greener. my pet peeve are the neighbors. they 1) leave their porch light on all night and 2) installed a street-style lamp in their back yard! it might as well be daylight in my back yard, with all the light that comes back there. if it weren't illegal, i'd hunt up a pellet gun!

Post new comment

target='_blank'>

border='0' alt='' />

Stars in Your Eyes

Cocktail Fact

Bang For The Bite

Tips Like This

Other Related Content

Post new comment

Sign Up