-COPY OF EMAIL TO CITY COUNCIL DATED 8/15/2007- To: Selected members of the City Council of Kansas City, MO Councilman John Sharp Councilwoman Beth Gottstein Councilwoman Cindy Circo Councilman Terry M. Riley It is my understanding that you will be attending a P&Z meeting where the Kansas City lighting ordinance will be discussed. On behalf of our 11,000 members, especially those from the Kansas City metropolitan area, I would like to thank you for helping us control excessive and wasteful outdoor lighting. I am currently serving as the president of the board of directors of the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA). Our members include professional and amateur astronomers, lighting designers and engineers, wildlife enthusiasts, planning and zoning departments, media reporters, medical researchers, and many concerned citizens. About 600 of IDA's members are organizational, including cities, universities, astronomical societies, lighting companies, and others. In addition, large numbers of non-IDA members have supported thousands of recently passed and effective outdoor lighting ordinances across the USA and around the world. I have visited Kansas City frequently, and while serving as President of the Astronomical League, I attended our 2005 annual convention in Kansas City, MO. The Astronomical League represents thousands of astronomers from over 250 societies. Since it is such a great place, we relocated our national headquarters to Kansas City, MO, a few years ago. Unfortunately, there has been uncontrolled growth of light pollution in the entire region. The problems include excessive sky glow, glare, energy waste, and light trespass. We all know that glare can be a problem for safety and security. It and excessive lighting waste an enormous amount of energy. Currently, many municipalities and jurisdictions are facing energy problems. So why not help reduce the problem by using the right amount of glare-free light? We've estimated that the USA alone pumps about 38 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every year because of unnecessary lighting. Another key issue is the health problems that may be caused by melatonin suppression. A nationally recognized lighting handbook states, "In addition to entraining melatonin secretion from the pineal gland, light can have an acute suppressive effect on melatonin." The IDA and other groups routinely host conferences during which medical researchers update their research into health problems related to melatonin suppression -- including the increased growth rates of cancer tumors. Clearly, bright days and dark nights are essential for good health. In addition to the problems of human health and energy waste, the adverse impacts of light pollution on wildlife are well documented. As an example, all seven species of sea turtles are listed as endangered or threatened. Bright lights are known to interrupt nesting habits and disorient hatchling sea turtles, preventing them from finding their way to the ocean. It is no wonder that Florida's city and county government have passed many laws to protect sea turtles from excessive outdoor lighting. There are many other adverse impacts of lighting on wildlife, such as migrating birds that become disoriented from excessively bright city lights. Shouldn't we care about those species, too? Dark skies are critical to astronomy. In the area of Kansas City there are many astronomical Observatories, and I'm sure the Astronomical Society of KC could provide details on this. Around the globe, we have already we have lost many of our prime observing locations to light pollution. Each year we must search for more distant, remote, and dark locations for telescopes. Some multi-million dollar telescopes have been shut down, in part due to sky glow. But there is another critical element - our heritage of dark skies. How many of us have been inspired by the night sky? How many have enjoyed the music, literature, art, and science inspired by it? Under dark skies we can view thousands of stars and begin to ponder such questions as: How many are there, exactly? How far is the last star? Could there even be a last star? What is the nature of infinity? Many people throughout history have been inspired by the night sky; it is an essential element of our heritage. Excessive outdoor lighting is the reason our night skies are vanishing. For those of us who have experienced the beauty of the night, this is a horrible tragedy. But all is not lost. IDA has been working other organizations to find solutions to the problems and raise awareness. Good lighting codes that are technically accurate, easily understood, and enforceable will help solve the problems of excessive lighting -- for our health, our environment, our wallets, and our heritage. We thank you for supporting good quality zoning to protect the nighttime environment. IDA does not want everyone to live in the dark. What we do want is improved safety and security by controlling glare and enhancing energy conservation. These goals and more are possible with well-designed systems. Fully shielded fixtures, with limits on lighting levels, and curfews will control the problems. Why use lights when we don't need them! In closing, we all believe that better quality lighting can protect the nighttime environment, save energy, and improve safety and security as well as improve the nighttime ambiance everywhere, and we will create a better place to live. Thank you so much for helping us solve these problems and for protecting Kansas City. Sincerely, Robert L. Gent, Lt Col, USAF, Ret., Past-President, Astronopmical League and President, Board of Directors International Dark-Sky Association www.darksky.org To preserve and protect the nighttime environment and our heritage of dark skies through quality outdoor lighting