What is  Dark-Sky Lighting?

· It's simply a way of lighting that helps keep the sky dark by fully shielding the light bulb on the top and sides so the light is directed down rather than to the sides and up to the sky, which creates glare, excess light and hides our stars. (Skip to 4:50 of "Losing the Dark," below, to see this demonstrated). See photo examples.

· It is amber in color instead of blue, green or white. Amber LEDs are a better choice than warm white or low CCT white LEDS. However, choose warm white or low CCT (2700 kelvin or less) over a higher kelvin white LED. Find amber LED sources here. For further understanding, please see Dark-Sky Resources.

· It is dimmed and no brighter than necessary, is only used where or when needed, and often uses timers or motion detectors. 

This solution to light pollution began with Flagstaff Dark Skies Coalition, when in the 1950s, they realized the necessity of protecting their dark skies, and they now have the darkest skies of probably any illuminated city you will find. They use mostly *amber* dark-sky lighting, and it's now widely available--people just need to know about it. 

Thank you for reading! I appreciate you! As you can see, with amber dark-sky lighting, we all win! It's widely available and affordable. We don't have to settle for white LED streetlights and commercial lighting when there are amber LEDs that are affordable, efficient, and practical. We just need to stand together as a society (as we did with limiting cigarette smoking in public areas of the U.S.) and let our towns know we want it!

Please take 2 minutes to watch the beautiful trailer of "Saving the Dark" by Sriram Murali, below, which perfectly states what I wish all people knew--that we *can* reclaim our night sky! It will take all of us speaking up to our cities, asking for amber dark-sky lighting, and we must act fast, as new, even worse lighting, white LEDs, are currently being chosen.

Here, you will find a variety of sample letters, and please see How to Help for the most powerful things you can do to help reduce light pollution. We can do it, but to win this battle, we must all work together!

Sarah

Saving Our Stars

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