Urban light pollution to be outlawed

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/leg...icle337256.ece

Urban light pollution to be outlawed
By Tom Anderson
Published: 08 January 2006

To the Australian aborigines, they represented ancestral beings
watching protectively over humanity. To the ancient Aztecs, the stars
were gods waging a perpetual battle to destroy the sun.

For millions of Britons the stars that inspired our ancestors have
been lost in an impenetrable fug of light pollution, invisible behind
the orange glow of neon and sodium lighting.

Not for much longer. From April the first UK law criminalising light
pollution will come into force, the result of a decades-long fight by
astronomers.

The legislation will force local authorities granting planning
permission to ensure that outdoor lighting does not add to light
pollution. Lighting for new shopping centres, sports facilities,
housing estates and offices will have to point downwards, rather than
spilling sideways and upwards.

Campaigners are vowing to use the new law to pursue high-profile
targets such as Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square and the Liver
Building in Liverpool. Both are floodlit from ground level and blot
out the surrounding city sky. Modern lighting techniquessuch as
higher, smaller lights would eliminate light haemorrhaging into the
night sky.

Previously the victims of environmental disturbances such as loud
music, smoke and dust could apply for abatement orders, but those
whose homes and gardens were flooded with light had no right of
redress. The Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005 will now
fill that gap, making "exterior light emitted from premises so as to
be prejudicial to health or a nuisance" a criminal offence.

The law is a personal triumph for the astronomer Sir Patrick Moore,
who has spearheaded the British Astronomical Association's campaign
for dark skies. According to Sir Patrick, the situation in England has
become impossible for astronomers. He said yesterday: "Until now, law
and order had broken down with light pollution. I'm over 80 - I can
remember when the sky used to be dark. There's a truly horrible glow
over the cities now. A whole generation has grown up with no view of
the night sky."

BRITAIN'S WORST OFFENDERS

Nelson's Column

Smaller lights placed higher up the monument could eliminate light
spilling into the night sky. Light shields could be placed at
strategic points.

Great Malvern Priory, Worcestershire

Campaigners cite the medieval priory as a good example of a historic
building that is massively overlit, completely obscuring the starscape
over the Malvern Hills. Modern lighting would benefit both the priory
and the environment.

The new Terminal 5 building at Heathrow airport

Some lights here are from temporary works but, according to dark skies
activists, the terminal is "lit up like a Christmas tree", covering
the sky for miles.

The Liver Building in Liverpool

The famous bird sculptures are lit from ground level, wasting energy
and light while blotting out the sky above the city.

Croydon town centre

Typical of many towns and cities, Croydon has been criticised by light
campaigners for wasteful use of light at night.