Lights Out

It is often mentioned in our articles that Great South Bay Audubon Society is very fortunate to have been appointed stewards of Brookside County Park. We are fortunate to have a space that is ours to use for public programs, classes, board meetings and storage. The County has indeed been generous to us in that the requirement for us is to maintain the grounds and trails and to host educational programs.

I want to take the opportunity to “bring to light” the fact that the legislature also acts in other ways to protect our environment, our own health and the natural world that we love and value. In October a bill was introduced to the legislature by Legislators Fleming and Anker to amend the County’s light pollution law. Taking into consideration the advances in lighting technology, the proposal was introduced requiring all County departments, when necessary to purchase or replace lamps for luminaires, to replace them with lamps “having a correlated color temperature no higher than 2200 Kelvin.” This is a reduction from 3000 Kelvin. Legislator Bridget Fleming of the 2nd District on the South Fork, pointed out that “advances in technology have created more opportunity to reduce light pollution at no cost to taxpayers. Excessive light pollution has the potential to harm nocturnal wildlife, add to carbon dioxide emission, and pose safety concerns for people with cataracts or an astigmatism, as well as interfere with enjoyment of the night sky.”

Happily the bill was passed in December.