Bulb Buster Lights Up Earth Hour

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Bulb Buster Lights Up Earth Hour | Photo 04

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Washington, DC – Councilmember Mary Cheh seeks to protect the environment by restricting lighting, but during Earth Hour her house was lit on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd floors. In addition, both her front stoop lights were on.

Earth Hour was observed internationally beginning at 8:30pm local time for 60 minutes on Saturday. From the Earth Hour website: “Switching off your lights is a vote for Earth, or leaving them on is a vote for global warming.”

At least 2 local 6 o'clock TV newscasts and the ABC evening news on Saturday advised the public of the night's event.

On March 3, 2009, Cheh introduced the Smart Lighting Act of 2009 before the DC Council. On March 9, she even gave a Press Show on the topic "Limit Light Pollution". She gave this presentation at the Livingston Park, a community recreational facility. This is the very same park where Councilmember wanted to add lighting for night ball games even though the neighbors objected. In addition, other DC Councilmembers voiced concerns about the $1.2 million proposed spending which included redirection of funds from renovations in their neighborhoods for this unwanted project. The addition of ball field lighting is now on hold.

Excerpt from Cheh's Legislation as introduced:

Sec. 2. Findings and purposes.

The Council finds that:

(1) The use of unshielded light fixtures and excessive lighting intensity:

(A) Jeopardizes human life and property because it produces glare, reducing visual acuity and distracting drivers, bicyclists, and pedestrians;
(B) Causes excessive consumption of electricity, resulting in greater amounts of spending and air pollution than necessary;
(C) Increases safety risks by keeping human eyes from properly adjusting for night vision;
(D) Causes other human health impact, i 1 ncluding contributing to insomnia and, by interrupting the human body’s production of melatonin, possibly increasing the risk of certain cancers;
(E) Affects worker productivity by causing discomfort and distraction;
(F) Interrupts animals’ breeding cycles and migration patterns by disorienting their sense of direction; and
(G) Detracts from the aesthetic beauty of not only the night sky, but the District’s local environment.

(2) The deliberate regulation of lighting systems is desirable for purposes of:

(A) Reducing long-term expenditures for lighting systems;
(B) Increasing the popularity and aesthetic beauty of the District’s tourist destinations, residential neighborhoods, and nightlife areas; and
(C) Restoring the view of the cosmic natural beauty of the night sky.