In short
- The Sunshine Protection Act, which would make Daylight Saving Time permanent, passed the House on July 14 but stalled in the Senate. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine backs permanent Standard Time instead.
- Dr. Lin Meng’s team found that areas with artificial light had pollen seasons starting 20 days earlier, with 27% of pollen season days severe versus 17% in areas with little satellite-measured light pollution.
- Breckenridge, Colorado began enforcing its lighting ordinance in January, and the cost of upgrading has become a point of friction.
- Tesla exceeded the legal headlight brightness limit by double the lumens on 20,000 vehicles and GM did the same on 725,000 SUVs. Both lost their arguments.
- Guy Ottewell, who published his Astronomical Calendar for 43 consecutive years, had an asteroid named in his honor on July 6.
This month, I had some really insightful conversations with Dark Sky Consulting’s John Barentine and ecologist Lin Meng. I was also joined by remote sensing researcher Zhe Zhu for the first show this month. We had some great conversations this month. Be sure to check out Solar Days and Lighting for Reassurance! As always, you can find all of the links to this show and beyond over at LightPollutionNews.com. Light Pollution News is a listener-supported show, which means that all of the work here is solely fueled by supporters like yourself. If you like what we’re doing, please consider sharing this update.
So let’s jump into it!
House Passes the Sunshine Protection Act for Permanent Daylight Saving Time, but the Senate Stalls
Did you hear about the Sunshine Protection Act of 2025? I’m sure you did, but were you aware that it was not only reintroduced this summer, but it breezed through the House on July 14th. The bill seeks to enshrine permanent Daylight Saving Time under the sponsorship of two Florida lawmakers: Representative Vern Buchanan and Senator Rick Scott.
However, the bill stalled in the Senate. An interesting twist came in how places like Disney World and Universal, which built entire event seasons around darkness, would be affected by losing one hour of night. Permanent DST would leave those parks with 2ยฝ hours of usable nighttime programming. Conversely, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine backed the other solution, a permanent Standard Time under the competing, and no less sappy sounding, Sunshine for Our Kids Act. Science appears to be in alignment that Standard Time is healthier than permanent Daylight Saving Time. The US tried permanent DST in 1974, loved it initially, then reversed course within ten months when northern states suffered through 9 AM sunrises. Oof!
Artificial Light Linked to Pollen Seasons That Start 20 Days Earlier
In the wonderful world of ecology, of which we have a tremendous amount but were only able to cover select stories this month, Dr. Meng’s team found areas with artificial light correlated with pollen seasons starting 20 days earlier and running significantly longer (See all of our Ecology News). In light-polluted areas, it was found that 27% of the pollen season days tended to be severe, versus 17% in areas with low levels of satellite-measured light pollution.
Artificial Light Cut Moth Pollination Nearly 50% and Seed Maturation 56% on the Tibetan Plateau
A study looking at nighttime pollination on the Tibetan Plateau found that moth-driven pollination activity dropped nearly 50% under artificial light, reducing seed maturation by 56%.
Breckenridge Lighting Ordinance Enforcement Brings Upgrade Costs and a Hunt for Fixtures
Breckenridge began enforcement of its lighting ordinance in January of this year. However, the cost to upgrade has become a source of consternation. One business owner spent $8,000 upgrading its lighting to compliance. The most notable complaint involved simply finding the right fixture. Consumer hardware stores, perhaps unsurprisingly, proved of little help. Breckenridge adopted its lighting ordinance in 2007 and had a very generous 15-year runway to comply.
Kentucky House Bill 571 Requires Shielding on Highway Lights Near Farmland
Kentucky’s House Bill 571 took effect on July 15th, requiring shielding on highway lights near farmland.
Rockport, Massachusetts Declines Free LED Streetlights and Keeps High-Pressure Sodium
Rockport, Massachusetts declined free LED lighting from energy provider National Grid, which would have saved $40k annually. Rockport voted 823 to 82 to keep high-pressure sodium lighting over the more efficient and cheaper-to-operate LED fixtures.
Exploratory Study Suggests Cities With Lighting Laws See Later Spring Leafing and Earlier Autumn Color
Dr. Meng also discussed her team’s new exploratory study looking to see if there was enough data to assess whether lighting policies had effect on communities. They looked at two pairs of cities: New York City and Newark, New Jersey; and Philadelphia and Washington, DC. New York and DC both had lighting policies on the books, while Newark and Philadelphia lacked any responsible lighting codes. Their exploratory study found that city lighting laws worked. Cities with policies saw spring leafing delayed 4 days and autumn color arriving 7 to 9 days earlier, signaling shorter, less disrupted growing seasons. It should be noted that the research here is very preliminary.
DarkSky International and Allies Petition the FCC for Environmental Reviews of Orbital Data Centers
DarkSky International, Environment America, and Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility petitioned the FCC on July 8th for environmental reviews on planned orbital data center constellations.
SpaceX Reentered 260 Starlinks in Six Months and Ran 355,000 Collision Avoidance Maneuvers
SpaceX disposed of 260 Starlinks in six months via atmospheric reentry and executed 355,000 collision avoidance maneuvers in the past year.
Study of 222 Schizophrenia Outpatients Links the Brightest Bedrooms to Obesity and Hypertension
A study of 222 schizophrenia outpatients found those in the brightest bedroom settings showed 4x higher odds of obesity, 3.4x higher odds of hypertension, and carried 22 lbs more body weight.
Tesla and GM Lose Arguments Over Headlights Brighter Than the Legal Limit
In the auto world, do you think headlights were too bright? Well, you are right! Tesla exceeded legal headlight brightness by double the lumens on 20,000 vehicles, argued no one complained so it must be fine, and lost that argument two years later. GM tried the same for 725,000 SUVs. GM also failed.
Guy Ottewell, Publisher of 43 Years of Astronomical Calendars, Gets an Asteroid
We closed out this month with a discussion on Guy Ottewell, who published his Astronomical Calendar for 43 consecutive years and received an asteroid named in his honor on July 6th.
Star Axis in New Mexico Is Charles Ross’s Decades-Long Astronomical Monument
Did you know that there’s essentially an American Stonehenge? Artist Charles Ross spent decades building Star Axis in New Mexico. The facility is aligned to astronomical calculations in the tradition of Stonehenge.
Quick Answers From This Month’s Light Pollution News
Did the Sunshine Protection Act become law?
No. According to Light Pollution News, the Sunshine Protection Act of 2025, which would make Daylight Saving Time permanent, passed the House on July 14 but stalled in the Senate. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine backed permanent Standard Time under the competing Sunshine for Our Kids Act.
How does artificial light affect pollen seasons?
Dr. Lin Meng’s team found that areas with artificial light had pollen seasons starting 20 days earlier and running significantly longer. In light-polluted areas, 27% of pollen season days tended to be severe, versus 17% in areas with low satellite-measured light pollution.
Did Rockport, Massachusetts turn down free LED streetlights?
Yes. Light Pollution News reported that Rockport declined free LED lighting from National Grid that would have saved $40,000 annually, and voted 823 to 82 to keep high-pressure sodium lighting.
Do city lighting laws change when trees leaf out?
Possibly, but the research is very preliminary. An exploratory study by Dr. Meng’s team compared New York City and Newark, and Philadelphia and Washington, DC. Cities with lighting policies saw spring leafing delayed 4 days and autumn color arriving 7 to 9 days earlier.
Which automakers had headlights that were too bright?
Tesla exceeded the legal headlight brightness limit by double the lumens on 20,000 vehicles and argued no one had complained. It lost that argument two years later. GM tried the same argument for 725,000 SUVs and also failed.
