The Lights Out DC campaign seeks to reduce the District of Columbia’s light pollution.
A collaboration of DarkSky DC, City Wildlife, and DC Bird Alliance, this campaign expands on City Wildlife's Lights Out DC program, whose volunteers have been documenting problems for migratory birds caused by light pollution and glass collisions since 2010.
Why Lights Out DC?
Artificial light at night increases the risk for obesity, depression, sleep disorders, diabetes, breast cancer, and other serious diseases.
Light pollution disorients migrating birds, drawing them into urban areas and causing collisions with buildings, which kill one billion birds each year in the U.S. alone. Light pollution is also a leading cause of the “insect apocalypse,” and it disrupts the circadian rhythms of almost all life on Earth.
In the United States, outdoor lighting consumes approximately 380 terawatt hours per year — the equivalent to driving 49 million passenger vehicles for an entire year.
Nearly 80 percent of the people in North America cannot see the Milky Way, and if people in the Washington area want to see it, they first need to spend the better part of a day in a car. This does not need to be this way.
Solving these problems can be as simple as flipping a switch.
By turning off our lights, we help protect ourselves, wildlife, and our local environment.
Contact Us
Feel free to contact us with any questions.
Email
lightsoutdc.campaign@gmail.com
Phone
(202) 882-1000