1. by trade I am not a salesperson (I do not profit in anyway, shape or form by selling lighting products or anything else.

2. my background in lighting goes back 19 years as an architectural lighting designer and educator, and yes about 15 years ago did sell product.

3. my initial comments were based upon my personal experiences such as attending a local IES section meeting which organized a joint discussion with local IDA members. The intention was to talk about what each organization would like to see happen with “sky glow” and the MLO however, all it turned into being was the IDA attendess getting upset that they could only see about 40% of stars from Kerry Park (a Seattle City Park located 1/4 from the Space Needle).

3. My discussions with several researchers in the study of blue light, from different corners of the world, when asked what the final result was of their findings were they typically came back as saying “non-conclusive”…their words, not mine.

PS: Thanks Craig for a website and blog that is informative and certainly sparks lively discussion!

With regards to the post on the Seattle light test: Yes, sorry to hear about that one… There are plenty of very low quality LED fixtures out there just as there used to be lots of low quality cars on the market in the 70′s. It would be a mistake to paint all automobiles with a broad “low quality” brush just because the first one you tried was a Relient K or a Yugo. We are working with cities and universities to help them write good specifications and RFQs, and filter out the junk that opportunistic peddlers are pushing on the market. See http://www.architecturalssl.com/content.php?section=magazine/archive&id=02_09_story3 for more details on this…

Can the blue spike of white LED lights be filtered to remove the
human melatonin suppression effect at 464 nm? What color do you end up with?

It’s not 1988 anymore….

We aren’t “just” nutty astronomers either.

Fact is that if you look around at new projects you are beginning to see Full Cutoff Luminaires are becoming the norm not the exception.

Last time I checked, your “Profession” has gotten a “Black Eye” as in the November,2008 Cover Story of The National Geographic entitled

“The Death of Night”.

Nope, I don’t think that “we” have to compromise anymore…

YOU DO and our movememt is growing.

And I speak for the entire astronomical community.

BTW, it should interest you to know that I don’t make one red cent doing this either.

But I don’t think anybody here is arguing that outdoor lighting should be wasteful. Best lighting practice entails providing outdoor lighting that achieves the project lighting goals efficiently, placing light only where it is needed and when it is needed, and with good visual comfort (without glare). When best practice is not followed, this is not the fault of the lighting industry as a whole–and often what ends up installed is more a factor of what the owner wants than what the lighting specifier wants. Rather, the contention here appears to be whether advising designers to avoid blue-white outdoor lighting is based on good research. Apparently, the jury is still out on that, and hence the criticism that IDA is getting from the lighting people here–that they would publish a recommendation without developing a scientific case built on solid ground.

IDA and the Illuminating Engineering Society have partnered on a draft Model Lighting Ordinance that hopefully will be published in final form this year. It is this kind of partnership–the dark sky community working with the lighting community based on common interests–that can really make a big difference in reducing light trespass and skyglow in the nighttime environment.

Some have this idea that it’s just about our “hobby”.

Just ask your kid or grandkid or neice of nephew if they have ever seen the Milky Way cast a shadow?

Or The Aurora Borealis?

Astronomy isn’t just a “hobby” it’s for the soul and it inspires.

And I want to make sure that every child has that experience..

BECAUSE IT IS THEIR BIRTHRITE!!!