American Medical Association Adopts Resolution Supporting Energy-Efficient Outdoor Lighting That Reduces Glare And Light Pollution

At the 2009 Annual Meeting of the American Medical Association, held back in June, the AMA adopted the following resolution, which can be found here (PDF, page 40).

516. ADVOCATING AND SUPPORT FOR LIGHT POLLUTION CONTROL EFFORTS AND GLARE REDUCTION FOR BOTH PUBLIC SAFETY AND ENERGY SAVINGS

Introduced by Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont Delegations

HOUSE ACTION: ADOPTED

RESOLVED, That our American Medical Association advocate that all future outdoor lighting be of energy efficient designs to reduce waste of energy and production of greenhouse gasses that result from this wasted energy use; and be it further

RESOLVED, That our AMA support light pollution reduction efforts and glare reduction efforts at both the national and state levels; and be it further

RESOLVED, That our AMA support efforts to ensure all future streetlights be of a fully shielded design or similar non-glare design to improve the safety of our roadways for all, but especially vision impaired and older drivers.

This is powerful stuff, but is it really health related? I’m wondering if this is a great endorsement of good lighting design or a can of worms?

Craig DiLouie

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