to advance knowledge and disseminate information for the improvement of the lighted environment to the benefit of society
Salt Lake City, UT (PRWEB) February 10, 2007
On Tuesday, February 13th, Night sky friendly outdoor lighting specialist Starry Night Lights will team up with astronomy advocacy and education group Utah Skies for a presentation to the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America. The event will take place in Salt Lake City and will focus on the standards currently used for outdoor lighting design and the need to alter these to deal with the realities of our time: light pollution, resource depletion and global warming.
Exterior lighting accounts for an amazingly large percentage of our total energy consumption. Reigning in that portion of outdoor lighting that does not directly contribute to improving night time visibility is an imperative. Recent estimates show that in the United States, as much as $10 billion dollars is spent annually on light shining up into the night sky. This light pollution is a colossal waste of money and valuable natural resource. It also contributes significantly to global warming through the burning of fossil fuels to produce all this unnecessary illumination. Roughly 2/3 of Americans can no longer see our own Milky Way galaxy overhead from their homes because of light pollution.
Standards are in place to guide lighting designers and engineers in their work and yet the problem of light pollution continues to grow. Many of these standards were developed years ago when lighting and vision were less thoroughly understood and efficient resource utilization was not a priority.
IESNA-Utah, IESNA-Utah.org, The IESNA and the approximately 90 members from the Utah Section are a nonprofit organization that is dedicated "to advance knowledge and disseminate information for the improvement of the lighted environment to the benefit of society".
Utah Skies, http://www.UtahSkies.org, is a leading astronomy portal by an for amateur astronomers. Located in Park City, UT, Utah Skies brings the joys of astronomy to the public through awareness, advocacy, and education including via star parties designed to introduce the community to the wonders of the night sky.
Starry Night Lights, http://www.StarryNightLights.com, is the leading provider of ordinance compliant, night sky friendly outdoor lighting products. Each and every exterior light fixture offered for sale on their website has been hand picked to meet night sky friendly outdoor lighting criteria. Their complete catalog of residential and commercial lighting fixtures can be purchased online safely and securely.
For More Information:
Mark Barton, IESNA-Utah, mark[at]commerciallightinginc.com
Don Brown, Utah Skies, Donb[at]UtahSkies.org
Anthony Arrigo, Starry Night Lights, Anthony[at]StarryNightLights.com, Tel: 877-604-7377
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