By Don Corrigan
The bright lights and colors of Christmas were once a sure way to spread good cheer. Concerns about light pollution may have dimmed the holiday happiness a bit, but those concerns can be addressed.
There are plenty of ways to have a bright, eco-friendly Christmas, and it can start by replacing Rudolph’s red-hot, glowing nose with more energy efficient LED lights.
Santa Claus would approve! That’s because Santa swore off spreading light pollution on his annual sleigh ride journeys years ago. He’s sworn off naughty incandescent lights, and travels now with the nicer LED lamps.
Researchers find that in many major U.S. cities, nighttime lights shine 20 to 50 percent brighter during Christmas and New Year’s when compared to light output during the rest of the year. Energy consumption also increases.
LED Christmas lights are the best substitutes for regular Christmas lighting. They require 90 percent less energy than that needed for regular Christmas bulbs on trees and the exteriors of homes.
Because of their energy efficiency, LED Christmas lights have very minimal effect on your electricity bill. From an environmental standpoint, this is good news: When less energy is consumed, less carbon dioxide is produced.
According to U.S. Department of Energy, LED bulbs consume up to 75 percent less energy, and they will last 25 times as long as standard bulbs.
Since Christmas lights are on for hours at a time, switching to LEDs will lower your typical electric bill over the holidays. They are safer because they don’t get hot to the touch and LED bulbs pose much lower fire risks.
LED lightbulb strands reduce the amount of energy you waste and cut costs. They won’t impact wildlife outside, in fact, they are animal-friendly and they don’t significantly increase light pollution.
Spreading Good Tidings
Two St. Louis area elves who spread the good tidings of LED lights at Christmas time, and year-round are: Stephanie Todd of Olivette, who serves on the board of DarkSky Missouri; and Liz Gibbons of Kirkwood, who advocates against light pollution.
Gibbons, a member of the Kirkwood City Council in suburban St. Louis, helped organized a well-attended informational session about combatting light pollution at the Kirkwood YMCA this fall.
Todd told attendees that light pollution is growing exponentially. She discouraged use of incandescent lights and cautioned that LED lights should be kept to 3,000 kelvin or less.
“Powerful lights disorient migrating birds,” said Todd. “Most migrate at night to save energy and avoid predators, and the Mississippi Flyway is a main migratory route.
“Birds navigate by the moon and stars,” added Todd. “If lights are shining up in the sky, they circle them ’round and ’round until they literally die or hit a building. An estimated 600 million birds die each year from building collisions.”
Though many residents believe bright lights are needed to deter crime, Todd said criminals are actually more likely to go after well-lit properties, as they can “hide in the shadows.” Extremely bright lights, she added, actually make it more difficult or impossible to see darker areas — and the resulting light pollution may annoy other residents.
“We’re not saying you can’t have lights. Just focus them down and use warmer colors. It’ll save energy,” said Todd. “You’ll be a good neighbor, and you’ll also help the environment.”
Kirkwood Council Member Gibbons said three St. Louis communities — Clayton, Brentwood and Ellisville — have enacted legislation requiring public lighting to be 3,000 kelvin or less. Both MoDOT and Ameren switched to 3K for their standard lighting.
The city of Kirkwood, however, still uses 4K as its standard lighting, resulting in many residents complaining about light shining into their windows at night.
Gibbons said the most important steps to reduce light pollution involve educating residents, as well as current public officials.
What better time to increase public awareness about responsible lighting than the season of Christmas lights and decorations. It’s time to follow the example of Santa Claus and his dear Rudolph, the LED-Nosed Reindeer.
Environmental Echo 