Working toward legislation to curb light pollution in Illinois.
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Current News From Our CoalitionHere's the place to keep up to date with our group's activities, and news which we'd like to share with the entire community of citizens who are concerned about our environment and the role which manmade light plays in it. Check back often for updates. If you or your group have related news to share, send it along to us for submission to this page.
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February 28, 2010A feature article in the Southtown Star newspaper talks about our team member Debra Norvil's successful efforts in her home town of Homer Glen to improve outdoor lighting conditions there, and about the work of our coalition. |
February 11, 2010Only one month remains before our symposium, "Manmade Light at Night: Perils and Promises"; remember that pre-registration (by mail) is required, and that space is limited. Visit the Symposium Webpage for instructions on registering. The event will feature fine speakers -- specialists in the various topics covered on this website -- who are coming in from around the country to inform us. If any issues surrounding the use of artificial light outdoors at night concern you, DON'T MISS THIS EVENT! |
February 4, 2010Illinois State Representative Renée Kosel (R, 81st District) filed House Resolution 0884, "for improved night preservation practices in the State of Illinois and encourages municipalities and State agencies to research and adopt suitable outdoor lighting practices" today. We are extremely proud to have worked with Rep. Kosel in getting the resolution written and submitted; it will serve to raise attention to our issues and "open the door" to future discussions with our state leaders about improving outdoor lighting practices in Illinois. |
January 20, 2010Team member Debra Norvil inaugurated our status as a Member Organization of Chicago Wilderness by attending a meeting of the C.W. Steering Committee. During the comment session, Debra invited the Steering Committee members to attend our March 11, 2010 "Manmade Light at Night: Perils and Promises" symposium at Lewis University. |
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January 7, 2010We exhibited again this year at the DuPage Environmental Summit, sponsored by the DuPage Environmental Commission, The Conservation Foundation, The DuPage Community Foundation, the DuPage County Board - Environmental Committee, the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County, Benedictine University, SCARCE, and the University of Illinois Extension Service. This year's focus for the summit was on preserving open space; our goal was to remind attendees that open space should look natural both during day and night! |
December 3, 2009Buildings Magazine's December 2009 issue features the article Improve Outdoor Lighting Practices by our team member Drew Carhart. The article was also selected to be mirrored in Archi-Tech Magazine's December issue. |
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November 3, 2009At their monthly business meeting, the members of the Naperville Astronomical Association voted both to join us as an official Coalition Partner, and to donate funds to become a leading Sponsor for our March 11 "Manmade Light at Night" symposium. We welcome the NAA to our team, and look forward to a cooperative effort to help bring some darkness back to the astronomy group's Chicago-area nighttime skies. (Photo: Debra Lazar Pearl and NAA President Steve Miller) |
October 29, 2009Team members Debra Lazar Pearl and Drew Carhart met with staff from the Smart Energy Design Assistance Center in Champaign to discuss outdoor lighting and energy efficiency. SEDAC is a state agency, run through the University of Illinois, which provides assistance to Illinois businesses and communities to help them reduce energy consumption through the application of better engineering. Our team and SEDAC will be working together to create an informative report on energy-saving outdoor lighting principles. |
October 6, 2009After months of planning, we're delighted to announce that we're organizing Illinois' first public seminar on the "perils and promises" of outdoor lighting, to be held at Lewis University in Romeoville in March of 2010. See our Symposium webpage for more details, and reserve the date of Thursday, March 11 on your calendar now! |
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October 3, 2009Our team exhibited at the "A Day Of Astronomy" public event organized by the Naperville Astronomical Association in recognition of the 2009 International Year of Astronomy. |
September 26, 2009Team member Drew Carhart gave a talk explaining "light pollution" and why the Chicago area has lost its starry night sky as part of a public stargazing event at Cantigny Park in Winfield. |
August 13, 2009The members of the International Astronomical Union voted unanimously at their biennial convention to approve a resoultion "in Defence of the night sky and the right to starlight". Here are some quotes from the text of the resolution: 1. An unpolluted night sky that allows the enjoyment and contemplation of the firmament should be considered a
fundamental socio-cultural and environmental right, and that the progressive degradation of the night sky should be regarded as a
fundamental loss. |
June 17, 2009At the annual meeting of its House of Delegates, the American Medical Association adopted its Resolution 516 "Advocating and Support for Light Pollution Control Efforts and Glare Reduction for Both Public Safety and Energy Savings". We roundly applaud our nation's medical leaders for taking the initiative to recognize the level of impact nighttime illumination has on the well-being of our citizenry. Here are some quotes from the text of the resolution: Whereas, Our AMA has long advocated for policies that are scientifically sound and that positively influence public health policy; and Whereas, We in the AMA have an opportunity to influence and promote legislation at both the state and national level on energy savings through a reduction in light pollution; and Whereas, Light Pollution is increasingly recognized as a waste of energy and a public safety issue... |
May 17, 2009Team member Debra Norvil exhibited at the C.A.R.E. (Citizens Against Ruining the Environment) Earth Day celebration at Dellwood Park in Lockport. |
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May 16, 2009Our team participated in the Citizens for Glen Ellyn Preservation's "It's Good to be Green" event. Debra Norvil and Debra Lazar Pearl addressed outdoor lighting concerns from about 75 attendees, many seeking near-term remedies on their residential properties, such as neighbors flood lights, where to find shielding for existing lights, and information on protections within their village code. |
May 14, 2009Team member Debra Norvil gave a presentation on Light Pollution to the Will County Audubon Society during their monthly meeting. |
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May 3, 2009Our team joined dozens of other exhibitors at the Green Earth Institute's 2009 "Green Earth Fair" in Naperville, where we had been invited to raise public awareness of outdoor lighting issues. |
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April 25, 2009We set up our educational exhibit at the Elgin Climate Change Organization's "ECCO Green Expo", and shared our lighting message with many folks from Kane County and beyond. Team member Drew Carhart was also a speaker during the event. |
April 21, 2009Team members Debra Lazar Pearl and Debra Norvil met with U.S. Congressman Bill Foster's (IL-14) Eastern District Director of Outreach to discuss H.R. 1732, Outdoor Lighting Efficiency Act (see March 26th news item, below), and luminaire efficiency. |
April 8, 2009Our team has created a new 2-page flier aimed at explaining to people in decision-making positions that streetlight fixture choices need to be made based on energy efficiency and environmental responsibility. Much too often we hear about how fixture selections for whole municipalities are still being made based on how the units look in daytime photos in catalogs, totally ignoring the fact that the lights are huge energy consumers, installed to serve an illumination need at night. We welcome your use of the flier as you see fit; it is available for download on the Resources> Our Materials page of this website. |
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March 28, April 2-5 2009Our team members participated in public outreach events during both Earth Hour and the International Year of Astronomy 100 Hours of Astronomy event. Raising public awareness of outdoor lighting issues is one of our major goals, and these events provide an excellent way of tying lighting issues directly to practical issues which matter to people, like energy savings (Earth Hour) and light pollution taking away our ability to see the night sky (100 Hours of Astronomy). |
March 30, 2009We've unveiled a major addition to this website: An "Encyclopedia of Lighting Terminology", featuring definitions of many terms used in lighting engineering, the study of light and the environment, and vision. We hope that this tool helps our visitors learn about and understand our issues better; also that it "keeps us on the same page" when using terms which have vague, multiple, and/or confusing definitions. Many specific terms on other pages of this website are now linked directly to their entry on the encyclopedia page, which can also be found in the website menu under Resources > Encyclopedia of Terms. |
March 26, 2009U.S. Representative Jane Harman (D-California) has introduces H.R. 1732, Outdoor Lighting Efficiency Act, to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. The bill is intended "to provide for standards for energy efficient outdoor lighting". We applaud Congresswoman Harman's efforts, and are in communication with her. Our team's main suggestion is that the bill speaks about outdoor "luminaire efficiency", when in application, it only addresses lamp efficacy, and not the actual overall efficiency of the luminaire. While lamp efficacy is an important factor in energy savings, and perhaps a good step on the path to energy efficiency in outdoor lighting, the bill's wording should not give the impression that total luminaire efficiency is being addressed. |
March 19, 2009Team member Drew Carhart's letter, "LEDs and the environment" about LEDs and outdoor illumination was published in the March 2009 issue of Photonics Spectra. |
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March 18, 2009Team member Debra Norvil presented lectures on Light Pollution to the Earth Science classes of Ms. Flood and Ms. Jackson at Lockport Township High School, District 205. The students were very interested in the subject of Light Pollution as it was new to them. Lockport Township High School is also participating in Earth Hour 2009. |
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March 11, 2009Our team presented a seminar to more than 40 staff members of Christopher B. Burke Engineering, Ltd. at the firm's Rosemont offices and via webcast to their satellite offices. CBBEL is a consulting engineering firm specializing in civil, municipal, traffic, construction, water resources, environmental, structural and mechanical engineering, and their employees had many interesting questions and comments about outdoor lighting practices. Our thanks to CBBEL for inviting us to come and speak. |
March 5, 2009A suburban Chicago newspaper published this fine article about the Village of Homer Glen's planned participation in Earth Hour this year, and their other public night-sky-oriented plans. |
February 18, 2009Illinois State Representative Rich Brauer (R., Springfield) will be presenting HB0854, "Outdoor Lighting Control Act", to the Illinois House Environment & Energy Committee on February 25th. Our coaltion enthusiastically applauds Rep. Brauer for independently deciding that the quality of the nighttime sky over our state is worth protecting. |
February 9, 2009A Joint Task Force of the International Dark-sky Association and the Illuminating Engineering Society released the core portion of the Model Lighting Ordinance (MLO), which they have been working on for a number of years, for public comment. Our coalition has reviewed the document, and is of the opinion that it contains several principle flaws which would limit its application and effectiveness so severely in our state that we could not promote its adoption here.
Of most serious concern are three major items: |
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February 7, 2009Our full team was kept busy at the 2009 "Wild Things" conference, discussing lighting issues with some of the hundreds of attendees. The excellent event was organized by Audubon Chicago Region, Chicago Wilderness, The Nature Conservancy of Illinois, and the Volunteer Stewardship Network; it was held at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Our state is very fortunate to have so many citizens who are sincerely concerned about environmental issues! |
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February 4, 2009Chicago's Mayor Daley announced today that his city will once again serve as a U.S. Flagship City for Earth Hour this year. The Village of Homer Glen is also on board, to serve as a flagship for smaller towns across America; Homer Glen's Mayor Daley recorded this video clip to express his village's support. |
January 28, 2008Team member Drew Carhart gave a lecture to students at Lewis University (Romeoville) on the nighttime natural environment and how manmade light is disturbing it. |
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January 8, 2009We set up our traveling exhibit at the sixth annual DuPage Environmental Summit, which had "Greening Our Transportation and Roads" as its theme (so we did a lot of discussing roadway lighting with attendees!) The event was sponsored by the DuPage Environmental Commission, The Conservation Foundation, the DuPage Community Foundation, the DuPage County Board -Environmental & Transportation Committees, Benedictine University, SCARCE, and the University of Illinois Extension Service. |
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January 7, 2009Our team gave a presentation on our many concerns about outdoor lighting to the Environment and Natural Resources Committee of the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP). CMAP is working toward creating a 2040 Comprehensive Vision Plan to guide growth for Cook, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry, and Will Counties. We are pleased to announce that following our presentation, the committee members voted to add nighttime environmental stewardship and outdoor lighting improvement goals to their areas of concern in the 2040 Vision Plan. |
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December 12, 2008Our team ran an informative booth at The Illinois Green Governments Coordinating Council's 2008 Sustainable Government Symposium in Springfield, and had the opportunity there to discuss lighting issues with conservation-minded staff members from a number of State agencies. |
December 2, 2008Team member Drew Carhart gave the feature presentation at the monthly meeting of the Naperville Astronomical Association, filling in the astronomers about where light pollution comes from, how stargazers are not the only people (or organisms) suffering from its ill effects, and what can be done about it. |
November 24, 2008Two of our team members met with the Senior Policy Advisor to Illinois Lt. Governor Pat Quinn, and had a good discussion on responsible outdoor lighting. |
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November, 2008It is time to get involved in Earth Hour 2009. The 2007 and 2008 events were wonderfully successful at letting the general population know not only that energy consumption is a critical issue of our time, but that decision making by individuals can make a big difference, and that unnecessary and inefficient outdoor lighting wastes tremendous amounts of electricity. Get personally involved, and encourage your local government to participate. |
November 5, 2008Two of our team members attended a meeting of the Environment & Natural Resource Committee of the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, and introduced our concerns to the committee during the public forum section. Considerable discussion ensued, and we've been invited back to give a full presentation at their next meeting (January 7, 2009). |
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October 24, 2008Our group made its public debut today at Lt. Governor Pat Quinn's 2008 Sustainable Cities Symposium. A great crowd of conservation-minded people attended this fine event; we were happy to be a part of it, and met many wonderful, concerned Illinoisans. While we still have a few pages to complete the work on for this website, we welcome our new visitors, hope that the resources we have here now will be helpful for you, and invite you to contact us for further information. |
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October 23, 2008The November 2008 issue of National Geographic Magazine features a fine cover story on manmade lighting and its effects on nature and mankind. Chicago is, much to the shame of Illinois, is featured as a "poster child" of energy waste; nothing at all for us to be proud of! |
September 8, 2008While this website hasn't yet "gone public", and not all of the planned initial content is completed, some of our friends and associates have been invited to take a look at what we have to offer so far, and give us their thoughts and suggestions. Thanks for taking a look! We would definitely like the site to be an effective, useful resource, and we're making every effort to have it present good, factual information in a readily understandable manner. Please feel free to send us your comments and ideas. |
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light pollution Illinois Chicago Cook County DuPage County Will County Springfield energy enviromnent global warming anti light pollution legislation lighting ordinances |
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