By John McDonald
At our December monthly meeting I suggested the idea of
making the major focus for our Centre in 2010 "Light Pollution Abatement" (LPA).
Your response was positive and several individuals immediately offered to help.
The concept is to build on the goodwill and awareness of
astronomy that has developed in the Greater Victoria Community as a result of
the efforts of ourselves, our partners and the international IYA activities
during 2009.
I set out a possible strategy in an e-mail on Dec 15 and
received additional support for the concept and some good suggestions. There
seems to be a consensus that a coordinated approach based on several different
activities could be effective with a small team taking responsibility for each.
At this time the following teams appear to cover the bases, however we can
learn and adjust as needed during the year.
Team 1) Preparation of packages to be distributed to the
schools for students to take home. The ground work is well prepared as a result
of the work of the school program. In addition, our light pollution cards are
excellent as is the one-pager material on our website.
Team 2) Approaches to the technical staff that deal with municipal lighting to
make them aware of the technologies that can be used to improve lighting and
regulate private enterprise use of lights.
Team 3) Approaches to vendors of lighting fixtures to
enlist their active help in promoting the use of smart lighting.
Team 4) Approaches to community groups to help them understand the negative
effects of light pollution and enlist their support in combating it. Coupled
with this we could have a speakers list - members who could give short
informative talks on LPA.
Team 5) Approaches to politicians and committees in the local municipalities to
enlist their support and commitment to light pollution abatement.
Team 6) Approaches to media. Finding a champion in the
media would be very helpful. Creating op-ed articles for local (and national)
media to reach as many citizens as possible with good information about light
pollution could also be effective. The need here is for people with media
connections and/or effective writing skills.
I would appreciate hearing from you if you want to help
with any one or more of these tasks. There will also be a short organizational
session following our first regular meeting of the year on January 13 for those
who can make it. For those who can�t stay after the meeting,I would be happy to
pass on your suggestions and/or willingness to help.
