March 2025: Follow Where Others Are Going., Light Pollution News.

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This Episode:

Today, we talk lighting and crime, look at the importance of coalition building, and what would you say about some visually impressive light art?

This month, on the show I welcome Los Angeles dark sky advocate, Spencer SooHoo; the founder of the Dark Skies subreddit, Jeff Schmalz; and the law enforcement veteran and educator, Art Hushen!

Host:

Art Hushen

Art Hushen is an Adjunct Professor at the University of South Florida where he teaches a graduate level Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) Course under the Department of Criminology. He is a thirty-year law enforcement officer having retired from the Tampa Police Department’s Special Operations Division. He was instrumental in the creation of the first CPTED Unit in the country and Tampa’s first of many CPTED Ordinances under planning and zoning.

As the Founder of NICP, Inc. Art continues a similar process of implementing CPTED concepts and strategies at an international level through training programs and consulting with various government, private sector, and nonprofit groups. Through the implementation of the CPTED Professional Designation (CPD) Program the NICP has set a standard for professional recognition for those earning the CPD. The NICP’s training program is recognized and certified by a variety of local and federal law enforcement agencies, and corporations, and codified by cities throughout the US.

Art is the lead CPTED Instructor for the Florida Attorney General’s Office where he assisted in the creation of the Advanced CPTED program, the State standards for the FCP CPTED Designation, Critical Infrastructure and CPTED, Making Schools Safe by Design program, CPTED for Health Care Facilities, and Lighting for Safety. Art holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminology from the University of South Florida.
Art is the Executive Director of the US-CPTED Association, Past Chair of the Florida Design Out Crime Association (FLDOCA) where he received the FLDOCA “Lifetime Achievement Award,” member DarkSky Internationals ROLAN Committee, member of ASIS International, past member of the ASIS Physical Security Council, and past member of the IESNA Security Lighting Committee. In 2022 Art was inducted into the University of South Florida Department of Criminology Wall of Fame as a Distinguished Alumnus.

Jeff Schmalz

Jeff Schmalz is a dark sky advocate who created the subreddit r/darksky which has grown to over 32,000 members.

Spencer SooHoo

Spencer holds a PhD in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Southern California and has been working at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center for over 40 years. During his tenure, he has held several positions, including Chief Information Security Officer and Director, Research Informatics and Scientific Computing before switching careers to become a research scientist at Cedars-Sinai.

As a child growing up in Northern Arizona, Spencer did not fully appreciate what the impact of light pollution could be, since he took it for granted that in the Summer, one could just step outside and see the Milky Way. In 1986, he purchased his first telescope to see Comet Halley and his wife gifted him a membership in the Los Angeles Astronomical Society (LAAS), where he is currently the Membership Secretary. He enjoys sharing views of the night skies at public star parties and on most new moon weekends, tries to hone his astrophotography skills at the LAAS dark sky site about 90 miles from the Los Angeles area. Over the past 10 years, he has noticed that the night sky at the dark sky site is getting brighter and brighter. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors’ approval of a proposed development of 19,000 homes near the LAAS dark sky site prompted him and another LAAS member to form and co-chair the LAAS Light Pollution Committee. Their goals are to educate the public and elected officials about the impact of light pollution and to persuade governmental officials to either enact night sky friendly ordinances or to enforce and enhance existing night sky friendly ordinances.

Article List:

1. Dear Abby: Host pulls the plug on adults-only night-sky event when BIL adds 3 pre-teens to the mix, Dear Abby, OregonLive.
2. Denver police fight crime with new parking lot lighting rules, Jasmine Arenas, CBS News.
3. An Evaluation of Citywide Street Lighting Upgrades on Gun Violence, Crime Justice Lab.
4. Turn Down the Streetlights, Eric Scigliano, The Atlantic.
5. Street lighting environment and fear of crime: a simulated virtual reality experiment, Virtual Reality.
6. Reducing Crime Through Environmental Design, Crime Lab.
7. Philly saw a historic drop in murders in 2024. What changed?, Chris Palmer and Ellie Rushing, Philadelphia Inquirer.
8. Rural students hit jackpot in dark sky, to be trained in astronomy, New Indian Express.
9. How Indians are Turning Astro Tourism Into a Travel Trend — India Report, Bulbul Dhawan, Skift.
10. Oil and gas company recognized for reducing light pollution, Danielle Prokop, SourceNM.
11. DarkSky International launches new Oil and Gas Industry Lighting Program, recognizing three Franklin Mountain Energy sites in New Mexico, Drew Reagan, Dark Sky International.
12. Dark Sky Lighting Guide, New Mexico Oil & Gas Association.
13. Energy megaproject in Chile threatens the world’s largest telescopes, Daniel Clery, Science.
14. World’s clearest skies for astronomy research ‘at risk’ from massive green hydrogen project, Polly Martin, Hydrogen Insight.
15. Travis County parks join project to keep the Hill Country’s night sky dark, Hannah J. Phillips, Culture Map Austin.
16. Wales’ Gower National Landscape Shines Bright as Latest Dark Sky Community, Valerie Stimac, Forbes.
17. DarkSky Approved Outdoor Sports Lighting projects, Dark Sky International.
18. Jun Ong’s Illuminated Art: “HALO” and the Power of Light in Space, Jesse James, Stupid Dope.

Light Pollution News: March Highlights

Dear Abby and Dark Sky Getaways

A warm-up story discusses a conflict over preteens attending an adults-only night-sky event, highlighting the importance of preserving the dark sky experience.

Denver’s Approach to Crime Reduction Through Lighting

Denver is implementing new parking lot lighting rules to combat auto thefts and break-ins, emphasizing the role of lighting in crime prevention. Kayla Knabe from the Denver Police Department believes “Lighting is the number one way to reduce crime.”

Seattle’s Bright Street Lights: An Atlantic Article Analysis

An Atlantic article examines Seattle’s installation of bright street lights and its potential impact.

Philadelphia’s Homicide Reduction and LED Streetlights

Philadelphia has seen a historic drop in homicides, alongside the rollout of new LED streetlights. The Crime Justice Lab at the University of Pennsylvania, led by Aaron Chalfin, is studying the connection between brighter lights and reduced gun violence.

Chalfin’s previous study in Chicago showed a 4% reduction in violent crimes through high-powered diesel light towers. The Philadelphia study aims to determine if increased street lighting leads to a feeling of safety and reduces gun violence.

The Impact of Natural Illuminance on Fear of Crime

A study from the journal Virtual Reality found that a decrease in natural illuminance increases the fear of crime, especially shortly after sunset. Interior lighting also plays a role in comfort later at night.

Astrotourism in India

Astrotourism is on the rise in India. The Indian Institute of Astrophysics is training librarians and supervisors to educate people about the night sky. Starscapes, an astrotourism guide company, partnered with a local development board and saw over 600 people attend their astrotourism events.

Dark Sky International Recognizes Franklin Mountain Energy

Franklin Mountain Energy is the first oil and gas company recognized by Dark Sky International’s Oil and Gas Industry Lighting program for their efforts in balancing safety and protecting the night sky.

This success is due to the Dark for the Park Alliance, which includes organizations like Carlsbad Caverns National Park, Chaco Culture National Heritage Park, and the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association.

Atacama Desert: Energy vs. Astronomy

AES plans to build hydrogen and ammonia plants in the Atacama Desert, potentially impacting the Very Large Telescope. The European Southern Observatory (ESO) expresses concern that the construction will have permanent impacts on astronomical research.

Hill Country Alliance’s Night Sky Preservation Fund

The Hill Country Alliance awarded its Night Sky Preservation Fund to organizations dedicated to preserving a healthy nighttime ecosystem. Recipients include Blanco County Friends of the Night Sky and Travis County Parks Foundation.

Wales Gower Peninsula Designated as International Dark Sky Community

The Wales Gower Peninsula has been designated as an International Dark Sky Community.

DarkSky Approved Sports Lighting Program

Dark Sky International’s DarkSky Approved Sports Lighting Program is helping communities reduce light pollution from sports fields. The program certified 15 US sites in 2024.

Jun Ong’s HALO Exhibit: Light as Art

Jun Ong’s HALO exhibit in Taiwan uses LED light bars to create the illusion of floating light, connecting to the Buddhist concept of enlightenment.

Light Pollution News: March Read Along

Here’s a warm up article if I ever saw one. ‘Dear Abby: Host pulls the plug on adults-only night-sky event when Brother in Law adds 3 preteens to the mix.’

Starry-Eyed In the West, the author and 25 year amateur astronomer, got themselves into a pickle when they protested their brother in law’s inclusion of three granddaughters in their annual dark sky getaway. I’m not sure why that person needed to reach out to the syndicated columnist, Abigail Van Buren, who runs the well known Dear Abby column.

And if you must know, Abby agreed with Starry-Eyed’s frustration that the girls were just sprung on them at the last minute.

Let’s kick off today’s show with some crime stories. It’s not often that I’m able to actually cover some of these stories because many of the crime related stories tend to come in the form of the following.

Per CBS News, ‘Denver police fight crime with new parking lot lighting rules.’ According to the piece, Denver has always required ‘proper’ parking lot lighting. Despite this, the city released new best practices to reduce “auto thefts, break-ins, and crime.”  Because, as Kayla Knabe, the resource officer at Denver’s police department, says “Lighting is the number one way to reduce crime” – even though the prior lighting code apparently didn’t do that.

Now, Art, you added an article to the list this month from the Atlantic. This came out in September of last year.  It’s a very intriguing piece that leads off with Seattle’s City Light installing very bright street lights throughout the city. The article leads to some interesting findings. Art, why don’t you walk us through why you selected this one?

I have these two items from here in my neck of the woods, and I’ll be honest, it’s very hard to not be cynical about the latter piece we’ll talk about in a second.

Philadelphia has witnessed a historic drop in homicides. Since its all time high in 2021 at 562, 2024’s numbers came in at 268, 142 fewer victims. To understand the gravity of those numbers, we have to go back to 2013 and 2014 to see lower homicide counts.

Shootings fell from an all time high during the range of 2020 – 2022 at 2,331 in 2021 to roughly half of that at 1,081 last year, again numbers not since 2014.

At the same time, the city of Philadelphia has rolled out new LED streetlights. The Crime Justice Lab team over at the University of Pennsylvania, led by Aaron Chalfin looks to deliver their initial assessment later this year. Chalfin is most notable for his authoring of the Chicago Crime Lab’s Reducing Crime Through Environmental Design study, which analyzed the positive effect that high powered diesel light towers’ had on crime in low income neighborhoods, a 4% overall reduction in violent crimes.

The street lighting conversion here in Philly was rolled out with the explicit goal of public safety and the assumption that brighter lights would cut down gun violence. So let me reiterate before continuing. It wasn’t enough that lights were already in place. It wasn’t enough that street brightness had increased continually since 1900. But the assumption was that they had to be even brighter to cut down on gun violence.

The study is a joint effort with the Urban Affairs Coalition and is, at the very least, looking to connect lighting to a feeling of safety and social cohesion, for which of course there’s longstanding sufficient documentation that lighting already creates feelings of safety.

The bigger question that will be assessed is whether lighting reduces gun violence, and given the data from the Philadelphia Inquirer above, I’m going to speculate that they’ll draw an inverse correlation between street light upgrades, specifically daylighting of select neighborhoods and gun violence.

The Inquirer cites that in 2024, gun violence, including robberies was down by more than 1/3, and arrests in violent crimes were up.  

I will note that the University of Pennsylvania Crime Labs study has the following listed on their website. Before reading, I want to nuance the terminology here.

Whereby in the New York study, the Crime Labs team wrote “It has long been thought that street lighting could impact crime and yet little rigorous evidence existed to support this contention.”

The new Philadelphia one…“ will add to our knowledge connecting street lighting to violence reduction, and has policy implications for other cities that are looking for place-based investments that can help curb the epidemic levels of gun violence…”

Let’s close out our conversation on lighting and crime tonight by mentioning a study that will close the circle on where this discussion began. From the journal, Virtual Reality, it’s found that a ‘decrease in natural illuminance’ leads to an ‘increase in fear of crime (especially shortly after sunset).’ 

The study also interestingly found that interior lighting played a role in comfort later in the night.

I’ve stumbled across many news stories regarding astrotourism in India, though haven’t found one ripe for this podcast until today. As astrotourism increases, the Indian Institute of Astrophysics will train librarians and supervisors in rural India to learn all about the sky including what to see, why they’re seeing it and how to convey that to people of all ages.

The article from the New Indian Express goes on to mention that this infatuation with experiencing a natural night has people making 2-3 days’ long trips to rural communities. The goal is to help those communities maximize their opportunity to help people explore the night sky.

In a separate piece in Skift, an astrotourism guide company named Starscapes partnered with a local development board and reportedly saw over 600 people in attendance for a four part event astrotourism event series.

In the world of culture and policy this month we start off with a big win for nature. The oil and gas company, Franklin Mountain Energy became the first recognized company via the new Oil and Gas Industry Lighting program through Dark Sky International.

This program showcased two site retrofittings and a Dark Sky certified third location to obtain what co-founder of Franklin Mountain Energy, Audrey Robertson, called a “win-win solution’ balancing safety while protecting the night sky.

The success of the program derived from a coalition of stakeholders in the Dark for the Park Alliance including, and this is a lengthy list, the Carlsbad Caverns National Park, Chaco Culture National Heritage Park, New Mexico Oil and Gas Association, Bureau of Land Management, New Mexico State Land Office, McDonald Observatory, Apache Point Observatory, DarkSky International, and DarkSky New Mexico.

This simple win helps Franklin Mountain Energy divert attention away from, apparently continued clean air standards violations at a number of their facilities. However, with the Trump Administration in power, they may not have to worry.

If you are interested in taking a look at the pamphlet put together by the Dark for the Park Alliance, we will have that over at our website, LightPollutionNews.com. The pamphlet walks prospective companies through the five principals with real world examples.

Now, on the other side of the world, we have a different tale emerging. Unlike in New Mexico, the developer, US company, AES, plans to begin building hydrogen and ammonia plants on 3,000 hectares of the Atacama Desert. The plants would be processing an estimated 730,000 tons of ammonia per year. The plans involve the construction of a solar and wind array involved in the plant operations. Ground breaking is slated to begin in 2027, with a completion date of 2032.

The concern from the European Southern Observatory is that the end result of this construction will have permanent impacts on research. The plant facility is to sit just 5 kilometers from the Very Large Telescope, which could mean serious impediments for these super sensitive instruments.

For you at home not aware of the Very Large Telescope, it’s a four telescope array of 8.2 meter mirrors sitting in Cerro Paranal, Chile.

Per ESO Director Xavier Barcons in Science, “Even if AES does a perfect job, using perfect lights that probably don’t even exist and perfect shielding, there will be an impact and that will be significant.”

To add to the frustration for, perhaps, all parties, Chilean representatives have found themselves beginning to take either a pro-energy or pro-science stance.  Chile has aggressively pursued renewable energy, including a 2023 ‘green hydrogen action plan’ that enables the country to export hydrogen.

Now, before we depart from the theme of coalition building, I have this article from ‘Down in the Heart of Texas,’ as friend of the show Betty Buckley likes to say. Coalition is the name of the game in the Hill Country.

The Hill Country Alliance awarded its Night Sky Preservation Fund to a number of organizations. The fund is dedicated to supporting the goals of providing a healthy nighttime ecosystem for all. The fund is backed by grants from the Chicago based Coypu Foundation – a nonprofit trust that generates income largely off of investments.

This year’s recipients included 9 awardees: Blanco County Friends of the Night Sky, Comal County Friends of the Night Sky, Gillespie County, Jonestown Night Sky Advocacy, Keep It Real Beautiful, and the Real County Friends of the Night Sky, the Northwest Hills Homeowners Association, the Real County Public Library, the Travis County Parks Foundation, and the Lampasas County Friends of the Night Sky. The fund is to be used for night sky quality monitoring, fixture upgrades to dark sky compliance, and public programs.

Let’s finish up tonight with a designation, maybe something you weren’t aware of, and an interesting piece on light art.

First, and I hope you’re not sick of this word yet, but if you haven’t figured it out, collaboration is the name of the game. Through the combined effort of the Swansea Council, the Welsh Government, Natural Resources Wales, the Gower Society, dark sky advocates, and local environmental groups, The Wales Gower Peninsula has been designated as an International Dark Sky Community.

According to Forbes, this is one of the last remaining areas in South Wales with dark skies. Good luck to them and congratulations!

Next, the nighttime lighting of sports fields is a perpetual source of community conflict. But they shouldn’t be. Were you aware, as I was not, that there’s a DarkSky Approved Sports Lighting Program through Dark Sky International? Started in 2023, when they only certified 3 fields, it expanded 5 fold in 2024 to include 15 US sites.

Speaking as someone who reads the news each month, pursuing such a certification could seriously save a lot of communities some headaches. And just to be sure you at home aren’t getting the wrong idea, Light Pollution News receives no support, zero, of any kind from Dark Sky International. I just wanted to include this because this is a no brainer that we need to get behind.

Now, to close out this month, light displays are often given the title of art in the winter months, sometimes without any artistic validation. However, I want to get your thoughts on this one.

Jun Ong, a Malaysian artist has been bending LED bars into astonishing visual epics. Currently, he is debuting an outside exhibit called HALO. The exhibit sits in the confines of a building that formerly was a Buddhist temple in Taiwan, the Xiu De Bai [Shee dee Bye] Pavilion.

In keeping with the Buddhist concept of light as a metaphor for enlightenment, the exhibit utilizes led light bars to project individual beams of light in a visual experience that can best be described as tricking the eye into believing that the light is floating in midair, and even coming right at you.