Night Blight from Church Lighting

 

And God Divided the Light From the Darkness...(Genesis 1:4)

 

In Autumn 2004, the Archbishop of York, David Hope, and the head of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales, Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor, joined with other denominational leaders in the UK to call for the saving of energy. "Operation Noah" (see their website at www.christian-ecology.org.uk/noah) embraces a campaign to curb climate change, by reducing emissions of greenhouse gases. The campaign aims to highlight warnings that atmospheric warming from burning carbon fuels is altering climate patterns and raising sea levels. Their literature urges churches to spread the word about energy saving, and even mentions the use of energy-saving light bulbs in church (though CfDS could find no mention of exterior floodlighting on the website).

 

All over the UK, in both urban and rural areas, hundreds of churches contribute to skyglow and energy waste, some every night and some occasionally, by using exterior floodlighting schemes which do more than the job they are supposed to do - to illuminate the building by night. They also throw light into the night sky. This problem was considerably accentuated during the Millennium period, when many churches "lit up", at the instigation of both the Millennium Commission and the Church Floodlighting Trust, using money from both the public and from interested parties to urge churches to install exterior lights.

If you belong to a church congregation, or are simply interested in saving energy and preserving our view of the stars, please make sure that your local church authorities understand that floodlighting should be included in their energy debate. Future outdoor lighting schemes, if they are to go ahead, should be efficient and well directed. A survey of local people before decisions are taken on floodlighting churches may well show that it is not a universally popular measure...

Rural Floodlighting - a popular option?

A concerned resident sent a questionnaire to all householders in the village of Creaton, Northants, on the subject of the proposed floodlighting of the local church. Returned questionnaires showed that:

 ·         76% (45 out of 59 respondents) were not aware of the planned installation.

·         83% (49 out of 59 respondents) were not in favour of the proposed scheme.

·         Of the 59 respondents, 48 (81%) would prefer, if lighting were installed, not to have floodlights on every night, but only on special occasions.

 The Millennium Commission's clear statement that church floodlighting schemes should have local support, and the Church Floodlighting Trust's assumption that floodlighting rural buildings is a popular and welcome measure, are not borne out by these findings.

 The outcome of the presentation of the data to the church authorities was that the proposed scheme was reduced to occasional lighting only (church festivals, St George's day, New Year's Day) with an 11 p.m. switch-off.

 

 

Light Pollution      Campaign for Dark Skies        Astronomy        Home