Dark Sky

On October 23, 2024, two significant bills were introduced aimed at protecting New York City’s bird population. These initiatives are part of a legislative package known as “Flaco’s Laws,” named after Flaco the owl, who died after flying into a building window following his escape from the Central Park Zoo in 2023. Details of the [...]

The NEMA/ANSI C78 Committee for Electric Lamp Standards has two working groups developing chromaticity standards addressing non-white light (NWL).  C78.377 working group This working group is revising the ANSI C78.377-2017 standard by adding 1800K and 2000K nominal and extended quadrangles. C78.378 working group  This working group is creating a new ANSI C78.378 standard defining long [...]

  In September 2024, McCormick Place completed the installation of bird-safe window film on its Lakeside Center, a crucial step in preventing future mass bird casualties. This initiative comes in response to a tragic incident in October 2023, when approximately 1,000 birds died in a single night after colliding with the building’s glass facade. The [...]

  A Finnish city has introduced innovative streetlights designed to protect nocturnal pollinators, such as moths. These new lights feature a warmer color temperature that is less disruptive to insects, particularly moths, which are crucial for biodiversity and food production. The initiative aims to create a more pollinator-friendly urban environment, aligning with broader environmental goals. [...]

  Artificial light at night can disorient sea turtles, and send them into car traffic, instead of the ocean. Sea turtle hatchlings are born on sandy beaches at night and must find the ocean by the light of the horizon. The problem isn’t new. Many coastal areas have enacted lighting regulations to protect sea turtles, [...]

  The American Lighting Association (ALA) and NEMA have provided requested comments to the DarkSky International Technical Committee to develop new outdoor and landscape luminaire specifications for certified dark sky luminaires, that go beyond the traditional shielding requirements.  Being considered are lumen limits, chromaticity ranges, controls and light distributions.  According to DarkSky, light pollution is [...]

While turtle-friendly lighting isn’t new, there has been rapid growth in turtle-friendly tape light, from leading manufacturers. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) rated lighting can be Red, Orange, and Amber, without wavelengths below 560 nm. Some manufacturer examples include: Tivoli Lighting (released turtle-friendly tape light at LEDucation last week) Omni Light (found at [...]

  The Oregon Outback Dark Sky Network (ODSN) has completed the first phase of a multi-phased project to establish a landscape-level International Dark Sky Sanctuary within the largest, contiguous dark sky zone in the lower 48 United States. Phase 1 (Lake County) of the proposed Oregon Outback International Dark Sky Sanctuary (OOIDSS) was certified as an International [...]

  You’re likely familiar with DarkSky Approved luminaires for commercial applications. However, DarkSky also approves residential luminaries. In both cases, the program approves outdoor luminaires that minimize light pollution as well as negative impacts on people and wildlife. DarkSky requirements for residential luminaires include: Uplight allowance: Not to exceed 50 lumens from source reflection or [...]