Bright night skies may feel convenient, but they have a profound negative impact on our planet. The most serious effects are felt from skyglow – but in some instances, localized glare and light trespass can also have a significant effect. Want to know how to reduce light pollution and preserve our beautiful Texas night skies? Then you’re in the right place!
Learn more about light pollution here.
How to Reduce Light Pollution at Home?
The alternative to light pollution is not to live in darkness. We must be smart about where and how we use outdoor lights. The good news is that a few rational tweaks to our routine can prevent light trespass and glare. In addition, our combined actions can also help us keep Skyglow from spreading any further.
Some of the things you can do to reduce light pollution at home include:
- Install blinds and blackout drapes at home to keep your light inside, stopping it from escaping your home.
- Turn off any landscaping tealights, torches, or reflectors when there’s nobody around.
- Replace any landscaping lights with warm-colored LEDs rather than “white” lights, which are more harmful.
- Avoid using your car’s high beams when driving at night unless necessary.
- Do you have any safety lights by your driveway? Point them downwards so that the light source can not be seen from another property and install timers or motor sensors to reduce the amount of light trespass and glow.
- Add shields to any outside lamps or reflectors. Remember, if you can see the light bulb or the source of the light, then more shielding is needed.
How Can Businesses Reduce Light Pollution?
For local businesses and commercial properties in Texas, the advantages of light pollution prevention go beyond the environment – in many cases, they can also translate into energy savings.
The most significant sources of commercial light pollution are LED billboards, parking lot lights, and floodlights. LED billboards are costly and sometimes blinding. However, they can normally be dimmed as the evening progresses. Other types of outdoor lights can be retrofitted and shielded to direct the light where it is needed. Shielding normally allows the owner to reduce the amount of light being produced in half without reducing the amount of light in the area where illumination is desired. This will curb light pollution, lower the electricity bill, and even diminish the company’s total carbon footprint.
Business owners can achieve this by:
- Rethinking lights in porches, entrances, and front windows after business hours. Well-lit entrances are seen as a safety guarantee or crime deterrent in many areas. However, several studies fail to support this or directly contradict it.
- Replacing outdoor light installations with low glare options. These often consume less energy, and if placed near storefronts, they may even improve the visibility of any merchandise on display.
- Install motion sensors near driveways or parking areas so they’re only lit when necessary.
- Creative, colorful, unlit billboards may increase foot traffic and prevent local accidents.
- Contact your DarkSky Texas for a partnership. Our experts can help you find cost-efficient ways to retrofit your installations.
How Can Local Governments Reduce Light Pollution?
Just like with all types of pollution, there’s a lot we can do as individuals to curb the impact of light pollution. But if you seek to lower the light pollution effects on human health or local wildlife at a broader scale, then we need collective, well-coordinated action.
To achieve this, consider approaching DarkSky Texas for help in becoming a certified International Dark Sky Place©. The program dates back to 2001. International Dark Sky Places (IDSP) helps protect natural landmarks, neighborhoods, and reserves from light pollution.
To get your location recognized, you can:
- Attend our coaching events on the 1st Wednesday of each month to learn how to proceed.
- Get residents onboard with the Five Principles of Responsible Outdoor Lighting
- Work with your local government to perform an inventory of city-owned outdoor lights.
- Currently, we have over 20 certified IDSPs in Texas. Together, we can help position our state as the country’s greatest destination for astronomical and sky tourism and comfortable, no-glare outdoor spaces.
Small Actions Add Up – Get Started NOW
The key to curbing light pollution lies in the combined actions of many. Whenever we shield the reflectors around a stadium or tilt our floodlights away from the nearby park, we are chipping away at our community’s skyglow and preserving the night sky for all Texans.
Does that not feel enough? Give it time, and those who care to look will start noticing the effects. First, it’s the insects. Then, the birds. Next, your sleep quality. Take the first step – and spread the mission!
Image Source: Canva
