Light Pollution

New Yorkers know all too well the effect of light pollution - the bright orange glow that floats above every city in the state at night. That glow represents wasted energy, light that should be focused downward from outdoor lighting but that is actually emitted skyward. It costs us real money, and it also costs us something more intangibly valuable, a chance to see the night sky in all its glory. There is a good opportunity to do something about this. The State Senate Rules Committee has in its hands a bill that would call for the use of fully shielded outdoor lamps designed to concentrate light on the ground and not in the sky. The Assembly has already passed an identical version of it. The Rules Committee should send the bill to the Senate for passage and and on to Gov. George Pataki.

There has been a fair amount of misunderstanding about what this bill might mean. It sets energy and light pollution standards for outdoor lighting and calls for the gradual replacement, where feasible, of conventional lighting with new lamps designed to keep light from being thrown upward or outward where it isn't wanted. The two major concerns are, of course, cost and security. New York City has objected to this bill on the mistaken assumption that it would be required to double the number of streetlights. But actual installations have demonstrated that the increase is likely to be closer to 5 percent. The city is conducting a competition for a new streetlight design, and it would make a real difference in night-sky visibility and long-term energy savings if those new lights were fully shielded.