Interview with Dee Durham of New Castle County, Delaware.
The topic of light pollution shouldn’t be polarizing. It shouldn’t be divisive. ‘Why It’s So Bright at Night’ attempts to bring together all ends of our shared space in hopes that we may walk together with the common goal of creating a better tomorrow for all living things on this planet.
This month, New Castle County Councilmember, Dee Durham, joins host Bill McGeeney to review and discuss the new light pollution mitigation ordinance that she sponsored. County ordinance 23-122 strives to reduce light trespass from commercial centers.
“The goal was to align the County’s code to the extent possible with the recommendations of the Pennsylvania Outdoor Lighting Council and DarkSky International which seeks to advance responsible outdoor lighting as light pollution disrupts wildlife, impacts human health, wastes money and energy, contributes to climate change and blocks our view of the universe,”
To aid in Durham’s cause, she emphasized that lighting controls were not meant to darken the roads or pavements, a common misnomer. Rather, simply deter untargeted and misdirected lighting from entering into a residential property (typically through use of omni-directional wall fixtures).
Durham’s ordinance passed unanimously, including with support from Joseph Bloch, the county’s chief of police who surmised in an email that lighting may not act as an effective deterrence to crime “anymore.”
In this episode of Why It’s So Bright at Night, Durham details how the ordinance appeared on her desk, those who helped bring the ordinance to fruition, and commends the cooperation of the council to pass this regulation. Durham also speaks to objector’s concerns on lighting.
