If you wish to see an improvement in public lighting please consider drawing attention to the issue and making your voice heard. It takes little time to make a difference. This template letter/email may be copied and sent to your national and local elected representatives - with some tweaks as appropriate.  

Dear [Name of your MP],

I am writing to you as a constituent of [your constituency] because I am concerned about light pollution in our area since the installation of blue-rich LED streetlights.

There are a growing number of research articles and news reports about the new LEDs being harmful to our eyes, health, road safety and wildlife as well as creating high levels of light pollution that poisons the night sky and renders it prosaic and ugly. LED lighting has been proven to adversely affect the insect population and other wildlife and to have serious consequences for human physical and mental health. I’ve already seen the impacts of the streetlights in our local area, such as [insert some changes you have seen] and is [preventing me from enjoying my home/local green space/the night sky].

Blue-rich LED lights increase the amount of glare sensed by the human eye and also the amount of visible light pollution. This occurs because blue light scatters more through the atmosphere than red light. Amber/yellow streetlights therefore mitigate the risk of public lighting – the solution is not going dark, but about targeted, sustainable and environmentally friendly lighting. LED lighting does not have to be brutal and damaging. . .  

I am asking that we phase out over-bright blue-rich streetlights as they reach the end of their natural life and replace them with lighting more sympathetic to the environment, the wildlife, the night-sky and human beings, and to do this in consultation with the people who have to live under them.

Several organisations are raising awareness about light pollution and documenting the effects of blue–rich white lighting on human physical and mental health, quality of life, society and culture and its impact on the health and quality of life of nocturnal wildlife and plants.  I strongly encourage you to have a look at their work and extensive resources:

·         International Dark Skies Association - https://www.darksky.org/

·         Soft Lights Foundation - https://www.softlights.org/

·         LightAware - https://lightaware.org/

·         Campaign for Amber Street Lights – https://www.thecasl.org/

The All-Party Parliamentary Group for Dark Skies favours dark sky friendly lighting and planning policies and I hope that you will consider joining their number.

I am raising this issue on to make sure we protect our citizens and our wildlife from blue-rich glaring white LEDs and reduce the poisonous light pollution they are creating in our night sky. I hope you will feel able to commit to supporting policies that allow us to banish this environmentally-damaging and aesthetically-catastrophic lighting and enjoy a more thoughtfully lit future.

Thank you for your time. . 

Yours sincerely,

[your name]

On behalf of [insert local organisation(s) if relevant]