2. 2
What is Light Pollution
1) Energy Waste – Light shining outward and upward
into the sky is wasted.
2) Glare – Obtrusive and inappropriately
applied outdoor lighting generates glare.
3) Light Trespass – Light that spills onto your property,
without your consent.
4) Environment – Lights at night confuse and harm
animals and birds, and distresses trees, and excessive
CO2
emissions.
5) Urban Sky Glow –Blocking your view of the stars.
Interestingly, taking care of 1) above, takes care of all of
these.
3. 3
What is meant by Energy Waste?
Any outdoor luminaire that is
• not directed to the object (e.g., globe lighting)
• on long after necessary (after midnight, is it
needed?), or
• too bright for the task at hand.
4. 4
Recent Talk
Sandy Springs – recently put in good lighting
but did not remove the old lighting
- 30 superfluous 150W lights
- 37.3 tons of CO2
- 565 lbs of SO2
- 339 lbs of NOx
- 1.4 lbs of Mercury
5. 5
Current Situation
• General Electric now sells more FCO
luminaires for streetlights than non-FCO’s
• Hundreds of local municipalities and counties
have adopted some form of Dark Sky
ordinances
• Conservation is coming back to life
6. 6
Current Situation
• Greenhouse gasses are becoming front page
news and HR 2454 passed by House on June
22, 2009, foreshadowing limits on CO2
• Certain Utilities have joined the fight against
Light Pollution (e.g., Georgia Power, LIPA)
• New technologies and fixtures becoming
available
• AMA has just joined the fight
7. 7
Why should AEP get involved?
The constituencies involved:
• Public - Baby Boomers are aging, making Glare a major
concern
• Press – skeptical of AEP’s environmental record, construction
of new plants, global warming
• Local Governments – starting to pay attention to greenhouse
gasses and economics
• Environmental Groups – becoming aware of impact of Light
Pollution on trees, humans, mammals, and insects
• Department of Energy – proposed limits on greenhouse gas
emissions may be hard to accomplish without a great deal of
conservation
8. 8
Why should AEP get involved?
The following issues were identified by your
stakeholders as being important to them:
• Leadership in the public policy arena
• Climate change
• Environmental performance upstream and
downstream
• Leadership on energy efficiency/demand
response
“….energy efficiency is an excellent tool that can hold customer bills steady, delay
the need for new generation resources and help us address climate change.” –
Michael G. Morris, 2009 Corporate Sustainability Report
9. 9
Now is the time for AEP to get involved
Big Opportunity for AEP
• Currently taking huge steps to be perceived as a
“green” company, reducing CO2
footprint
• Vendor of majority of outdoor luminaires
• Currently viewed as an outdoor lighting expert
• Currently viewed as a major polluter
• Help meet goals of National Action Plan for Energy
Efficiency, as well as any limits set by Congress
10. 10
Strategy
• “We must be a Leader internationally to help achieve
a global solution.” – Corporate Sustainability Report
• Chance to become a National Leader in the fight
against Light Pollution and Wasted Energy
• Make the fight against Light Pollution an Executive
priority
• Hire a dedicated person or persons to organize and
lead the educational and outreach process
Achieve Efficiency, while talking about glare, sky glow,
etc.
11. 11
Tactics/Recommendations
• Start addressing Light Pollution issues with
– Press
– Education for customers
• Become an advocate and educator to customers on
conservation at night (e.g., turning off lights from 12 -5 am)
• Become an advocate of appropriate outdoor luminaires (offer
only full cutoff luminaires)
• Lobbying with local, state and Federal governments
• Outreach to Sierra Club, FLAP, AARP
• Begin educational process for cities, counties and
states on street and highway lighting
• Clean up own house with AEP locations
12. 12
Result if AEP becomes a leader in the
fight against Light Pollution
• AEP manages the situation, not the reverse
• AEP becomes known as a Leader in the fight
against Light Pollution
• AEP realizes CO2
savings toward goal of
National Action Plan and limits on greenhouse
gas emissions
• AEP creates evidence of actions taken to reduce
demand, when applying for new plants
• Over time, less glare, trespass, and sky glow
due to elimination of bad luminaires
14. 14
Examples
• San Diego – changed street lights to Low Density Sodium (LDS) lights,
which are most cost efficient lights available – Saves $3M per year
• Des Moines – turned off 39% of its streetlights – no increase in crime
• Calgary - changed street lights to LDS lights- Savings of $3M per year
and a reduction of 17 kilotons of carbon-dioxide emissions per year
• France and Holland – starting to use programmable ballasts on street
lights to cut energy use by 40%
• A 70-km section of the A16 highway in northern France has been
extinguished. This was followed by a significant decrease in the number
of accidents.
• Since November 2006, over 40 municipalities in Loir et Cher have
been extinguishing luminaires after 11:30 pm.
20. 20
Who We Are
• International Dark-Sky Organization – more
than 11,000 members worldwide
Dedicated to stopping the adverse effects of LP,
raising awareness of the problem of LP and
educating the public about LP
