Letter To The Editor

This was a letter I wrote to the Grimsby Lincoln News. It was printed in the "Letters" section on February 4th, 2009 under the heading of:

Let's set the example with street lighting.

2009 has been declared the International Year Of Astronomy.

While professional organizations and amateur astronomy clubs will mark the occasion by hosting public events, the International Dark Sky Association (ISDA) will be especially active. They recognize that the night sky is an endangered resource and work hard to educate urban planners as growing communities turn on more lights.

To monitor this, the ISDA utilizes a Sky Quality Meter; a hand-held device that accurately measures the darkness, or brightness, of the night sky.

I'm proud to say that these meters, now used in hundreds of global locations, were actually developed by a Grimsby resident along with a McMaster University professor.

Municipalities that adopt smarter lighting solutions generally start with the common bulbous-lensed cobra-head streetlight. Found on every street in Grimsby, they spill more light upward and to the sides than they send down to the ground.

By attaching a shield that extends below the bulb, or changing to the more efficient full cut-off unit, the municipality can significantly reduce sky-glow and lower their electrical costs.

As an amateur astronomer I decided to look into the Town's stance on this. My request, that two streetlights by my house be modified, was forwarded to the Public Works Department.

The response was that streetlights would not be altered to improve the night sky but, as a concession to glare coming into our home, they did apply a totally ineffective piece of tape to the lens nearest the house.

Grimsby has a natural head start in controlling light pollution. Sandwiched between the Green Belt and Lake Ontario we can still see the major stars of most constellations. It is possible to glimpse the Milky Way on a good night and, occasionally, catch the rare spectacle of the Aurora Borealis.

Yet, without an environmentally-responsible lighting ordinance, and the willingness to implement it, the quality of our night sky will continue to diminish. Since the world's newest standard measuring device was developed in our town, it would be nice if we could set a good example.

Glenn Muller - Grimsby