Terra Nova National Park is home to one of Parks Canada’s Dark-Sky Reserves. (Submitted by Parks Canada)
St. John’s looks brighter these days, according to people who spend more time than most looking at the night sky, and some popular energy-saving solutions may be making things worse.
On a foggy evening, for example, the sky glows orange after dusk, as the reflected light appears to reflect off the air itself.
However, the problem is not the fog, but the lighting that keeps the city safe at night.
“Over the years we’ve noticed that the city seems to be glowing brighter,” said Jerry Ennis, a fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society of St. John and a former federal fisheries researcher who has been advocating against light pollution for more than 15 years.
The society uses Butter Pot Provincial Park for stargazing. The park, which is close to Holyrood, is well outside St John’s and the thousands of street lights in the metro area.
Ennis is part of a growing community advocating for more control over the lights that illuminate our skies. Their goal is light pollution, and the work is carried out not only in cities, but also in isolated areas.
For example, one of the bright – or rather dark – spots is in Terra Nova National Park, 250 kilometers west of St. John’s.
Parks Canada welcomes visitors to what it calls Dark-Sky Preserves, a set of 13 locations across the country where people can stargaze with as little interference from artificial lights as possible.
“Becoming a Dark Sky Preserve seemed like a natural fit for us,” said Karen Wolfrey, visitor experience manager at Terra Nova National Park.
“We’re in one of the darkest areas of the Island, and if you look at a sky map of eastern North America, you can see that we’re actually in one of the darkest parts of Canada,” she said.
“It just made so much sense.”
Made changes to the park
Parks Canada teamed up with the Royal Astronomical Society for the project, and the agency says it now offers more protection from dark skies than anywhere else in the world.
The reserve has existed in Terra Nova since 2018.
Oasis with a View: Terra Nova National Park has “capsules” that visitors can reserve. At night, they offer a wide view of the sky. (Terra Nova National Park/Facebook)
Wolfrey said the park has made numerous changes to achieve this status.
“We had shades installed on our lights,” she said. We no longer have an overhead light, we’ve reduced blue light emissions and we have lights on timers.”
Community engagement, Wolfrey said, is critical.
“They helped us develop dark sky programs and astronomy programs. We hope the programs help people learn about the benefits of managing light pollution and get people excited about the night sky,” she said.
What is the best time of year to stargaze at the Dark-Sky Reserve? “The fall,” she said.
“It’s beautiful in the fall, and the night sky is so clear and spacious,” Wolfrey said.
Parks Canada offers kits that visitors can borrow, including binoculars and other tools. Wolfrey also recommends visitors reserve what’s called an oasis tent or pod.
“It looks like a water drop and has transparent roof panels and side windows,” she said.
Wolfrey has other tips, too.
“People should check the phases of the moon and pick a date when there is little or no moon in the sky – the light from the moon will affect your ability to see at night,” she said. Visitors should also check the weather forecast, set up equipment before dark, download an astronomy app and turn off all their lights.
Light pollution and how it affects people
Finding such a dark space in the St. John’s is almost impossible.
Ennis spent years looking at lighting in the metro area and advocating for change. His advice and the researchers’ findings may surprise those who believe they are doing the planet a favor by using energy-efficient LED street lights.
Jerry Ennis teaches at a public solar observation hosted by the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. (Submitted by Jerry Ennis)
“Light pollution, especially with LED lights, which many cities are switching to, has the potential to be very bad for human health,” Ennis said.
Ennis presented his case to Newfoundland Power and the City of St. John’s. He points to an American Health Association report published in 2016 that linked blue light emitted by LED streetlights to mood disorders and prostate and breast cancer.
People are very complacent about light pollution.- Jerry Ennis
The same report found that blue-white LED street lighting is five times more disruptive to human sleep than conventional street lighting.
“It negatively affects human health and ecosystems,” Ennis said. “It harms migratory birds and is terrible for nocturnal pollinators. However, it is not understood in the way that water or air pollution. People are very complacent about light pollution.”
Ennis said part of the problem in solving the problem of light pollution is the widespread myths about city lights.
“People think brightly lit parks and spaces are safer, but studies consistently show that bright lights are not associated with reduction in a crime,” he said.
He said the use of LED streetlights — while more energy efficient and economical — can affect the circadian rhythms of anyone nearby. If they’re too powerful, those lights actually waste resources, he says.
Ennis says Newfoundland Power appears to be targeting light pollution. “The new LEDs are much safer and in some places they use dome fixtures so the light doesn’t splash all over the place,” he said.
“However, they are not good for us and I do not believe that every street light should be replaced with LED. I think people may be putting cost savings ahead of human and ecosystem health.”
Looking at the lights
Most street lights in St. John’s are owned by Newfoundland Power. Count. Ian Froude, the city council’s sustainability officer, says Newfoundland Power is replacing old streetlights with LEDs because they are in need of repair.
He said people concerned about the brightness of the light should contact the city through the 311 access line or contact Newfoundland Power.
A satellite image shows Newfoundland at night in a clear sky. The St. John’s area in the far east is the easiest to spot because of the street lights and other lighting. (Submitted by Jerry Ennis)
In the meantime, it looks like some more changes are on the way. In 2019, the city is considering replacing more than 270 decorative, shorter bulbs — not street lights — with LED lights.
A downtown decorative street lighting task force was established, chaired by Cone. Debbie Hanlon and found that replacing the bulbs resulted in only slight improvements in lighting levels. In addition, high wattage bulbs reduce energy efficiency and profitability.
A 60 watt LED test fixture was provided by a manufacturer and installed in the center of the corner of George and Adelaide Streets. This new fixture appears to reduce glare and improve visibility, so installation of new LED fixtures and bulbs is scheduled to begin next year.
The task force report does not mention blue or white lighting, the maximum lumens of the lights, or whether the lights will have built-in shields or guards to protect the light.
Although the city has regulations regarding maximum lumens allowed on removable message signs, there are no bylaws or rules for light pollution on residential properties.
“You can always contact your city councilor if you are concerned about light pollution. That’s something you can bring to our attention,” Froude said.
St. John Cone. Ian Froude says city dwellers can complain about night lights that are too bright. (Gary Locke/CBC)
Ennis pointed out that people can make personal adjustments to the lighting in their property.
“Use warm-colored LED bulbs, not those with blue or white light,” Ennis said, adding that dimmers, timers and outdoor fixtures can shield and minimize glare.
“The biggest thing you can do is turn off your lights at night.”
Changing policies on light pollution, Ennis says, can be a tougher sell.
“I was sending letters to municipal affairs and building presentations,” he said.
“In my naivety, I thought change would come quickly, but we are reluctant to change. Still, reaching out and raising awareness about light pollution is worth a shot.”
The culture of the night sky
Hilding Raymond Neilson, a professor of physics at Memorial University, focuses on the physics of stars and understanding the exoplanets that orbit them.
He says he believes light pollution leads to a sense of detachment and has both a scientific and a cultural impact.
“I just moved here from Toronto. Maybe I could see six stars,” he said.
“I’m not a psychiatrist, but I imagine that the lack of connection to the night sky makes us feel disconnected from nature. If we’re used to a world of concrete and light, we won’t care about trees and plants,” he said.
Terra Nova National Park lends dark sky kits to people who come to the park. (Submitted by Parks Canada)
Nielsen points out that not all light pollution is from street lighting. Satellites, he says, are becoming a problem.
“The number of satellites in the sky is about to jump. Companies like Starlink [a network developed by SpaceX] promise to place tens of thousands. Many of these satellites are put into low Earth orbits and have solar panels attached that reflect light down to Earth,” Nielsen said.
“I don’t want to demonize all satellites, because some of them do good things by giving rural communities access to the Internet, but this is the capitalist Wild West.” One action people can take is to demand regulations and limits on the amount of satellites launched.”
In addition to concerns about human and animal health, Nielsen worries that the cultural heritage of the night sky is disappearing.
“We’re in St. John’s. Native lands are…
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