Thunderstorms likely. Potential for heavy rainfall. Low 72F. Winds E at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%..

Thunderstorms likely. Potential for heavy rainfall. Low 72F. Winds E at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%.

Syndicated and guest columns represent the personal views of the writers, not necessarily those of the editorial staff. The editorial department operates entirely independently of the news department and is not involved in newsroom operations.

It’s not easy to find a truly dark nighttime spot around Charleston. Our population growth has brought more buildings, more streetlights and more vehicles on our streets. The growth around our urban center has added a lot of light to our night skies with ill effects on humans, wildlife and the ecosystem.

Unfortunately, some local governments and utilities are rushing toward the installation of bad street lighting (more than 2,700 Kelvin) on a hurried schedule; these lighting fixtures are overly bright, create significant glare (threatening public safety) and emit unnecessary amounts of harmful blue light into the nighttime environment, threatening wildlife.

The International Dark-Sky Association and its members urge local governments to do the right thing for all Charlestonians and their night sky. Councils should consider commissioning an independent study of the street lighting issue that is informed by sound scientific research and current lighting technology. The public should be engaged, in part by providing feedback on lighting options through demonstration installations.

Simply put, we can do better than the current glary, blue-rich white LEDs without paying more, largely by installing shielded lighting, directed downward and with a Kelvin rating below 2,700.

The governments that rush into LED conversion projects face a potentially sharp public backlash. Residents of cities across the United States have complained about the harsh quality of new white LED streetlights. In some cases, residents have demanded the removal of these new lights at great expense to taxpayers.

There are other reasons to pay attention to the issue. Scientific studies demonstrate that exposure to artificial light at night has severe consequences for all living things. In 2016, the American Medical Association provided guidance for reducing harm from high-intensity street lights that are badly designed.

Contrary to popular belief, intense outdoor lighting can diminish the security of people and property, making localities less safe. And light pollution wastes energy, contributing to climate change.

The International Dark-Sky Association is leading a global effort to minimize light pollution. About 80% of all people cannot see our home galaxy, the Milky Way; in our country, nearly 99% of Americans do not live under dark skies.

The association offers five simple but impactful principles for implementing responsible outdoor lighting:

A report released in June, The Artificial Light at Night: State of Science 2022, summarizes our current knowledge about how the widespread use of artificial light at night interacts with wildlife and ecology, human health, public safety, entry security, climate change, social justice and light pollution.

The International Dark-Sky Association recognizes that we won’t solve the light pollution problem by eliminating all outdoor light at night but by applying commonsense principles for high-quality outdoor lighting that puts the proper color and amount of light only where and when it is needed. This simple approach also keeps unwanted light out of our bedroom windows, away from motorists’ eyes and out of our night skies.

Both the Lowcountry Stargazers and the Grand Strand Astronomers are working closely with the leadership of the Hampton Plantation State Historic Park to get the state park designed as a Dark Sky Park, but local governments farther south, including the city of Charleston, have a chance to set a good example that will influence other municipalities across the state and beyond.

We have an important chance to get this right. We all should urge Charleston to adopt the best available lighting technology to save energy, reduce light pollution and enhance the quality of life.

Thomas Berta is a member of the International Dark-Sky Association. He lives in West Ashley.

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