> Unfortunately leds have made light pollution worse.
They also do an end run around the legal efforts to contain or limit light pollution.
In my state, we have the Dark Skies Act which tries to limit the amount of light pollution in certain areas, but it largely hasn't been updated for the use of LEDs. Some counties now define light output based on lumens, but the law AFAIK still references wattage limits. So, new lights that, under the intent of the law, are too bright and require shielding can probably skirt around it (IANAL).
But, almost no one knows about it, so enforcement is spotty at best.
(I'm slightly annoyed presently, because some new neighbors installed a floodlight that's pointed directly at my bedroom from across the valley and it doesn't appear to be doing anything useful. Stargazing and amateur astronomy is going to suck this summer.)
When it comes to bright outdoor lights, high fences make good neighbors. I have a neighbor that leaves their wide angle floodlights on all night in the backyard, some of which are directly pointed towards our shared fence. That is less of a problem now that I have a block wall that may(not) be just a bit too tall for local code but makes my backyard very dark.
They also do an end run around the legal efforts to contain or limit light pollution.
In my state, we have the Dark Skies Act which tries to limit the amount of light pollution in certain areas, but it largely hasn't been updated for the use of LEDs. Some counties now define light output based on lumens, but the law AFAIK still references wattage limits. So, new lights that, under the intent of the law, are too bright and require shielding can probably skirt around it (IANAL).
But, almost no one knows about it, so enforcement is spotty at best.
(I'm slightly annoyed presently, because some new neighbors installed a floodlight that's pointed directly at my bedroom from across the valley and it doesn't appear to be doing anything useful. Stargazing and amateur astronomy is going to suck this summer.)