Today started off as one of those Midwestern winter days where I’d rather go back to bed and start over sometime in spring 2008. Here’s the pre-9 A.M. highlights: a dead car battery, 5 inches of snow to shovel, a broken water heater, an extra 45 minutes added to my commute, and a painful fall on an ice patch.
When I finally reached work, I started to sift through my e-mail inbox and came across a fantastic message from Contributing Editor Phil Harrington that allowed me to quickly forget the morning’s misery.
Last year, Phil and other citizens of Brookhaven, New York — the largest town in the state in terms of total area — helped draft light-pollution legislation for the town. The original legislation passed last December and became law in June. Last night, Brookhaven’s council unanimously passed amendments that the committee created, under the auspices of Councilman Kevin McCarrick.
Two of these amendments include a 10-year sunset clause that requires all lighting to be full cutoff within 10 years and clearer language for the enforcement of light-trespass provisions.
It is nice to see the rare opportunity when government gets it right. Sensible legislation seldom survives the planning committee or survives following legal review. Bravo to Brookhaven’s leaders for recognizing the environmental and energy issues and passing this legislation and amendments.
And kudos to the light-pollution committee: Tom Madigan, David Cohn, Alan Stadler, Susan Harder, and Phil Harrington. How many times do we complain about an issue, but not provide ideas to rectify the situation? I know I do my fair share of talking the talk, but never walking the walk. The Brookhaven committee's efforts should be an inspiration to citizens to get off the sidelines and into the game.