The Sky’s Silent Spring?
“It’s time for light pollution to have a louder voice in the energy conservation discussion.”
—Soll Sussman
Mimi Cavender
In the April 2022 issue, The Hays Humm brought you Hays County, Dusk to Dawn, beginning with a photo essay on the Texas Hill Country by night. For important context, please enjoy it [again] before you read further here.
Hays County Dusk to Dawn, was meant to recall the beauty and benefits of this region’s naturally dark night. It was pretty. We bathed you in nostalgia and then nudged you on to the Problem: light pollution exploding across our Texas Hills, threatening all that beauty and wildlife as well as human health, safety, and security.
“Security”-light-washed home above Wimberley, Texas. The glare actually makes its surroundings less visible.
Blue-spectrum white headlights’ brighter glare makes night driving blindingly unsafe. Photo: Rui Cavender
Then we revealed a surprisingly simple Solution: We can resist expensive bright-light trends, and make easy, smart lighting choices in our homes and our communities. Compared to other ecological issues, solving light pollution is a cinch! And we sent you to the local experts, Friends of the Night Sky, for specifics about how quick and inexpensive it is to reduce the harmful intrusion of too much, and the wrong kind of, light in our storied Texas night.
Nightfall on the Blanco River near Wimberley, Texas Photo: Rui Cavender
But we forgot to stress the economics of too much and the wrong kind of lighting: the waste of Texas’ energy resources relative to our galloping population growth and urbanization—the waste of our family’s savings on too much and the wrong kind of light—the waste of private and public money on too much and the wrong use of light. The sheer waste. We didn’t speak loudly and clearly enough.
But Soll Sussman does. He raises the volume a notch in an essay Light Pollution and Energy Waste as a Special Contributor on the Insights page at Austin-based energy think tank Zpryme.
Sussman worked on energy programs for more than 20 years at the Texas General Land Office and has regularly stayed in touch with energy research firms like Austin-based Zpryme since retiring in 2012 and starting his energy consulting business.
“I became involved in Hays County Friends of the Night Sky and later DarkSky Texas [currently a board member of both organizations] after moving to Driftwood in 2015 and seeing the difference that development makes to our view of the sky. It's been fascinating to learn how light pollution affects so many areas—animals, plants, land conservation, environmental justice, spirituality, and more—not just our ability to see the stars.”
Obviously, there are tough economic and political issues around light pollution, and since Soll Sussman is also a Hays County Master Naturalist, the connections between energy use and the natural environment are for him crystal clear.
“In my work at the General Land Office and in my consulting business, I have always tried to emphasize how to use energy resources in the most sensible way. That's why I wrote the Light Pollution and Energy Waste article, out of frustration that people in the energy sphere tend to consider light pollution—if they consider it at all—as an environmental or astronomical issue and not one that affects energy conservation.”
So Zpryme seemed a perfect platform for Sussman’s outreach. From their website: The company combines “influential research, events such as ETS (Energy Thought Summit), and premium media experiences that challenge the status quo” to achieve “thought leadership through energy.”
Here’s Sussman:
“The thought pieces that they [Zpryme] provide on a wide variety of energy issues can be useful to environmentalist nonprofits like Hays County Master Naturalists since they often provide context to the linkages between energy and the environment and our common goals. These are not issues that should be considered in silos, without understanding linkages. The Energy Thought Summit that Zpryme organizes each year in Austin tries to highlight what utilities and communities can do to improve electrification, transportation, and infrastructure —all topics with heavy impact on the natural world.
From starry dark skies—through light pollution—to energy conservation. A leap? It’s the logical move.
Soll Sussman is an environmentalist reaching out to the energy industry through a company of young people who aim to change the way the world uses energy. They research and then aggressively market energy conservation ideas to a long list of clients the likes of Toyota, Siemens, Intel, Fujitsu…and Austin Energy. More power to them! And kudos to Soll Sussman and his new generation of environmentalists finding new allies, new platforms.
In his essay, Sussman reminds us that “Scientific American published an article on light pollution last fall [Joshua Sokol in Scientific American, October 1, 2022] with the title, The Sky Needs Its ‘Silent Spring’ Moment, referring to Rachel Carson’s 1962 book that was a trigger for the environmental movement.”
In these ensuing 60 years of our growing awareness of rampant environmental degradation, including the loss of beneficially dark nights, our political will and home-based action remain appallingly fainthearted. “Too many people do business as usual…”
But discussion is heating up; Sussman is pleased with a surge in media attention. “Light pollution is having a moment.”
With our young people now effectively monetizing their speaking truth to power, informed by clear-speaking environmentalists, perhaps our world will again cherish the night sky—and every living thing under it.
Here’s Soll Sussman’s essay.
Zpryme
Light Pollution and Energy Waste
Soll Sussman
It’s time for light pollution to have a louder voice in the energy conservation discussion.
As an advocate for responsible outdoor lighting in my fast-growing Central Texas county as well as statewide with DarkSky Texas, I’ve noticed that too many energy conservation and efficiency programs pay little attention to the waste that derives from unnecessary use of light. There is a common perception that light pollution is an astronomy issue having to do with the view of the stars, and not enough realization that improper or unnecessary use of artificial light not only wastes energy but also harms virtually all forms of life.
The International Dark-Sky Association estimates that at least 35 percent of all outdoor lighting in the United States alone is wasted, often because it is improperly shielded or poorly aimed.
That’s one reason why Scientific American published an article on light pollution last fall with the title, The Sky Needs Its “Silent Spring” Moment, referring to Rachel Carson’s 1962 book, which was a trigger for the environmental movement. Sixty years later, too many people still do business as usual when they choose unwise lighting options.
Globally, the impact of light pollution is increasing at a startling rate. The journal Science reported in January 2023 that an analysis of citizen science data collected through the Globe at Night program found skyglow increasing faster than previously recorded. Skyglow is the artificial brightness of the night sky caused by light pollution, diminishing our view of the stars.
The Science report (C. Kyba, et al.), based on data from 2011 to 2022, found that “In Europe and North America, where most of the participating citizen scientists live, skyglow has been increasing by 6.5% and 10.4% per year, respectively.” Citizen science data points from other parts of the world were too scarce for conclusions, but the team conducting the study suspected that skyglow could be increasing at even higher rates elsewhere.
In a startling example, the study explained that a person born when they could see 250 stars in the sky would see only 100 by the time they are 18. Imagine how much energy it takes to obscure so much sky.
How often have you driven by an empty parking lot late at night with its light fixtures glaring or seen houses with outdoor lights left on throughout the night? Presumably, this is because of fear of darkness, even though energy wasting, bright white glaring lights may actually work against our safety and security.
Each light matters, from the bulb or bulbs of a home’s front door to those of a skyscraper. Certainly, indoor light should be considered, especially lights left on all night in empty office buildings.
International Dark-Sky Association (IDA), soon to be known as DarkSky International, and the Illuminating Engineering Society have teamed up to publish the Five Lighting Principles for Responsible Outdoor Lighting. It’s not enough simply to point light downward; all five principles should be considered together to be effective.
They state that light should be useful, targeted, low level, controlled, and of a warmer color.
Useful means that light should be used only when needed, with a clear purpose. Turn a light on to walk a dog outside; turn it off when you are back inside.
Targeted means using direct light so it falls only where it is needed. Shielding and careful aiming direct the light beam so that it points downward and does not spill beyond where it is needed.
Low level means that light should be no brighter than necessary for the task. The lowest level required should be the choice.
Controlled means using light only when it is needed. Timers or motion detectors help make sure that light is available when needed, dimmed when possible, and turned off when not needed.
Warm means that warmer color lights should be used where possible. Poor choices in many LED streetlights, for example, are in the shorter “cool” blue-violet length on the spectrum instead of toward the warm yellow. That’s why we often see so much glare from unshielded or even shielded streetlights and spotlights that use those bright cool white LEDs or compact fluorescents.
Light trespass (when your light crosses your property line) and glare can be minimized with proper lighting design.
In our local group as well as DarkSky Texas, we’re working to counteract the conventional view that more people and more buildings automatically must mean more light and more light pollution. The often used reminder is that light pollution is perhaps the easiest environmental concern to address, if only light could be used responsibly.
We are working to protect and restore our night skies, increase safety, reduce energy cost and waste, and enhance the health of people, plants, and animals.
Our view of the night sky is deteriorating at an astonishing rate. It’s time to understand the connections between energy, the environment, and light pollution—and act on them.