What is Light Pollution?  Light pollution is artificial light which shines where it is neither wanted, nor needed.  Sky glow  Glare from poorly positioned lights  Light Clutter  Decreased visibility of the night sky

 We ALL suffer from it….

Artificial lighting is responsible for ¼ of all electricity consumption. The UK generates 6.4 GWh per year just to light up the country and consumes 211 million tons of fossil fuels per year to do so.

Campaign for Dark Skies  British Astronomical Association and Welsh Assembly Government backing  Local expertise at University of Glamorgan, and Cardiff, Usk, Heads of the Valleys, Bridgend and Swansea Astronomical Societies  Proven abilities in organization of large public events  Continued pressure on local councils and industry

 Astronomers at Brecon  Setting up for a great night under the stars with minimum light pollution in the distance.  The BBNP is not only an area of outstanding natural beauty  It has one of the darkest skies in the UK

Winter Milky Way

Summer Milky Way

Brecon Beacons National Park Dark Sky Survey Date

Time

Grid Ref

GPS

Location

Reading 1

Reading 2

Mean

Magnitude

11-12.04.12

22.01

55128

N51.48.27 W03.22.24

Pontsticyll reservoir

20.34

20.71

20.52

5.83

11-12.04.12

22.1

49185

N51.48.27 W03.22.28

Craig y Fan Ddu

20.88

20.94

20.91

6.06

11-12.04.12

22.17

107205

N51.52.33 W03.18.15

Talybont Reservoir

20.85

20.85

20.85

6.03

11-12.04.12

22.24

128227

N51.53.45 W03.15.59

Bwlch

20.47

20.72

20.59

5.87

11-12.04.12

22.37

219187

N51,51.31 W03.08.08

Crickhowell

19.79

19.75

19.77

5.34

11-12.04.12

22.54

181242

N51.55.10 W03.11.14

CwmDu

21.27

21.33

21.3

6.3

11-12.04.12

23.01

172301

N51.58.57 W03.13.54

Pengenffordd

21.12

21.15

21.13

6.19

11-12.04.12

23.11

154338

N51.59.31 W03.23.27

Talgarth

19.02

18.94

18.98

4.76

11-12.04.12

23.21

115272

N51.56.07 W03.16.13

Llangorse Lake

21.26

21.25

21.25

6.25

11-12.04.12

23.35

39285

N51.56.47 W03.23.54

Brecon

17.65

17.43

17.54

3.58

11-12.04.12

23.44

974286

N51.56.45 W03.29.36

The Old Lodge

21.07

20.92

20.99

6.11

11-12.04.12

23.57

917285

N51.56.39 W03.34.33

Sennybridge

18.94

19.15

19.04

4.8

11-12.04.12

0.07

896295

N51.56.47 W03.37.47

Trecastle

20.98

21.05

21.01

6.12

11-12.04.12

0.16

835285

N51.56.38 W03.41.55

Usk Reservoir

21.57

21.55

21.56

6.41

11-12.04.12

0.28

820271

N51.55.03 W03.43.02

Pont y Wysg

21.43

21.36

21.39

6.33

11-12.04.12

0.34

730192

N51.51.13 W03.50.31

Pen Rhiw Ddu

20.82

20.86

20.84

6.02

11-12.04.12

0.46

720151

N51.48.30 W03.54.14

Brynamman Info

19.28

19.31

19.3

4.8

11-12.04.12

1.03

840161

N51.50.`16 W03.40.29

Dan yr Ogof Caves

21.09

21.02

21.05

6.14

11-12.04.12

1.18

886210

N51.54.52 W03.35.12

Crai Reservoir

21.26

21.23

21.29

6.28

11-12.04.12

1.36

878264

N51.56.02 W03.28.40

Mountain Centre

21.49

21.56

21.52

6.39

11-12.04.12

1.47

982204

N51.52.19 W03.28.46

Storey Arms

21.48

21.54

21.51

6.39

11-12.04.12

1.54

989185

N51.51.38 W03.28.16

Beacons reservoir

21.49

21.58

21.53

6.4

11-12.04.12

2.07

5131

N51.48.30 W 03.26.43

Garw Nant

20.16

20.15

20.15

5.59

11-12.04.12

2.11

11119

N51.47.47 W03.26.14

Llwyn On reservoir

19.68

19.64

19.66

5.26

11-12.04.12

2.32

946085

N51.38.42 W03.30.40

Penderyn

20.14

20.21

20.17

5.61

11-12.04.12

2.45

929124

N51.46.36 W03.55.49

Ystradfellte

21.17

21.23

21.2

6.23

Potential of Wales  Some of the darkest areas in the UK  Good road and rail links  Plenty of accommodation  Wide geographical area in easy reach of midlands  Minimal investment required  Backing of national parks/councils

Astronomy Tourism  Holiday cottages  Caravan parks  Outdoor education centres  Three national parks  One International Dark Sky Reserve (Brecon Beacons)  Dark rural centre

Lighting and health 

Breast, Colon and Rectal Cancer: 30-50% risk Journal of Environmental Health Perspectives (2010 December; 118(12): A525)



Suicide risk: 22% Dr Helina Hakko, Department of Psychiatry, University of Finland (2000)



Hyperactivity in Children (15%) Dr Chris Idzikowski, director of the Sleep Assessment and Advisory Service (2003)



Migraines (23%) Rami Burstein, professor of anaesthesia and critical care medicine at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Centre in Boston (2010)



Immune system (Unknown Percentage) George Brainard, a neurologist at Thomas Jefferson University in Pennsylvania (2005)



Stress (54%) Russell Foster, professor of molecular neuroscience at Imperial College, London (2005)

Typical security light – 500w bulb

Lighthouse – 35 watt bulb

Why on Earth would you want such a bright light on your house?

Lighting and Crime 

The principal conclusion is that no evidence could be found to support the hypothesis that improved street lighting reduces reported crime.", The Influence of Street lighting on Crime and the Fear of Crime (Crown Copyright 1991).



Harsh, glaring floodlights are not a deterrent to criminals;” UK Government Home Office report on Security and Lighting 2009



Measures such as CCTV, increased street lighting and longer custodial sentences were judged in the report to have been expensive failures, with only a few exceptions.” The Times June 2005



“Peninsula School in Clark County has reduced vandalism to almost zero with a policy to darken campus after 10:30 p.m.” Clark County Times 2008



A year on year comparison for April 2006 to May 2007 [when streetlights were left on all night] and April 2007 to May 2008 [when street-lights were turned off at midnight] has shown that night-time crime has almost halved in Saffron Walden that year and reduced by over a third in Dunmow.” Total Essex 2010



“Thieves steal Brighton and Hove streetlamps”. Argus, May 2010

What is the cost of lighting the sky?  One streetlamp averages 23p per day to operate.  There are 8.2 million streetlights in the UK. Say £1 for every 4 or £2.05 million per day  365 x 2.05 x 106 = £750 million per year!!  This is an unacceptable waste of energy and taxpayers money. 

This does not include private lighting, security lighting, floodlights or industrial lighting. The total cost of this pushes the above figure to over £1 billion.

 If there is a 50% reduction in lighting the night sky, the savings could be put to better public use.  “When you consider how many streetlights there are in the UK alone, it's clear there are some big opportunities for energy and cost savings.” Roger Shuttleworth, Lighting engineer, University of Manchester. 2012

Headlines  “Many councils switching off street lights to save money” BBC 2010  Council ‘could save up to £300k on street lighting costs’ Cumbernauld News July 2012  Wyre Forest residents' views sought on street lighting. The Shuttle June 2012  “Street lights are changing the ecology on the ground” BBC 2012  Street lights are responsible for between 20 -25% of the carbon footprint of local councils. Ecology UK 2011  Public street lighting in the UK is responsible for 565,000 tonnes of CO2 emission into the atmosphere per year Energy News 2011

This Assembly: Supports the British Astronomical Association’s Campaign for Dark Skies Regrets the cost of poor artificial lighting to the environment and ecosystem Acknowledges that the quality of many people’s lives is seriously degraded by poor-quality exterior lighting Calls for a nationwide campaign to discourage floodlighting, over-bright and poorly directed light Calls on Visit Wales to promote the aesthetic and scientific value of dark sky in Wales. WAG 2009

What can we do?  Keep our external lighting to a minimum – and turn it off when not needed.  Petition the local council to turn off/down streetlights after midnight.  Petition local councils/WAG to put replace old lighting with energy efficient bulbs and full cut off hoods  Contact the Welsh Government to press through regulation of lighting and encourage public education on this issue – and turn off/down the lights.  Gain some knowledge of the night sky – educating yourself and others.