Hi, From Friends of the Portland Night Sky 🌃🌃

How Many Lumens Do You Need For Your Outdoor Lighting?

How many lumens you need for your outdoor lighting will depend on the type of lighting that you are using and the area that you want to illuminate. This will range from 12-800 lumens depending on the purpose of the light.

Greetings!

I get information from a variety of sources. Mark Baker of Soft Lights Foundation does really good work on LED lighting. mbaker@softlights.org is his email address if you're interested in reaching out to him. He's been writing our Portland City Council for the last couple of years and he also just sent this to them.

The Soft Lights Foundation and Glow Object collaborated to bring Low Pressure Sodium streetlights to Ketchikan, Alaska. As a result of this initial effort, Glow Object has published a brochure that highlights the benefits of LPS street lighting. (https://www.softlights.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Glow-Object_LPS_2026.pdf).

In another letter to them he wrote this: "The claim of "safety" is tossed around by government officials frequently, without any concern for what "safety" means. Your reaction to blue-rich LED light glare is typical, especially for women. (https://theconversation.com/more-lighting-alone-does-not-create-safer-cities-look-at-what-research-with-young-women-tells-us-113359). Glare is light that is directed into our eyes which impairs our vision and the vision of drivers. High-glare, blue-rich streetlights make us less safe. Traffic control devices such as RRFBs which direct high intensity strobe lights into drivers' eyes reduce driver vision and may trigger seizures or migraines.

Your instincts are correct about lighting. Safety and visibility require low intensity light, just enough to see and no more. Amber is the best color. Blue-rich lights are the worst choice for pedestrian safety. Here are some research articles on our site. (https://www.softlights.org/crime-and-safety/)."

Right now, I'm working on creating an archive of our most recent newsletters, and I'm also meeting with one of the City Council members in about a week to talk about some of these issues. If you have any volunteer energy on this topic or if you'd like to meet for coffee, please just hit reply and let's figure it out. I hope you're having a great spring into summer and that what we're doing is making a difference. It usually does.

Albert Kaufman

Stargazing at Oregon's Dark-Sky Parks

Nature rules the areas around Prineville in Central Oregon, and will have you in awe at night when the sky is packed full of stars with little man-made light.

Travel Oregon with Dark Sky

You don't see them in the day, but at night Dark Sky comes out to party. In fact, thanks to Oregon's many high-desert regions (a quarter of the state)

Want to tell the City what's wrong with this picture?

Mayor’s Email: Mayor@portlandoregon.gov

City Councilor Emails:

District 1:

councilor.avalos@portlandoregon.gov

councilor.smith@portlandoregon.gov

councilor.dunphy@portlandoregon.gov

District 2:

councilor.ryan@portlandoregon.gov

councilor.pirtle-guiney@portlandoregon.gov

councilor.kanal@portlandoregon.gov

District 3:

councilor.novick@portlandoregon.gov

councilor.koyamalane@portlandoregon.gov

councilor.morillo@portlandoregon.gov

District 4:

councilor.zimmerman@portlandoregon.gov

councilor.green@portlandoregon.gov

councilor.clark@portlandoregon.gov

Or, all at once:

Mayor@portlandoregon.gov, councilor.avalos@portlandoregon.gov, councilor.smith@portlandoregon.gov, councilor.dunphy@portlandoregon.gov, councilor.ryan@portlandoregon.gov, councilor.pirtle-guiney@portlandoregon.gov, councilor.kanal@portlandoregon.gov, councilor.novick@portlandoregon.gov,

councilor.koyamalane@portlandoregon.gov,

councilor.morillo@portlandoregon.gov, councilor.zimmerman@portlandoregon.gov,

councilor.green@portlandoregon.gov,

councilor.clark@portlandoregon.gov

Asleep at the Wheel in the Headlight Brightness Wars

The crusade against bright headlights has picked up speed in recent years, in large part due to a couple of Reddit nerds. Could they know what's best for the auto industry better than the auto industry itself?

Light pollution: The silent threat to the planet that's easily solved

New research has revealed for the first time the full extent of how "Artificial Light At Night" (ALAN) is increasing carbon released by plants and animals across continents-without any increase in the carbon they absorb. The result is reduced carbon storage in ecosystems-which has major implications for climate models and global carbon budgets.

Here's a NEW link to the sign-up form for this newsletter. You can share it on Nextdoor, Social Media, Email or wherever you like. Thank you! - Also, Join us join our Facebook group here.

https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/sl/GETBaV3/friends