INTRO 896

02. Mission

Approximately 48% of existing bird species worldwide are known or suspected to be undergoing population declines.

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Photo: Melissa Breyer

Dark-eyed Junco

American Redstart

In the US and Canada alone:

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WHY SHOULD WE CARE ABOUT BIRDS?

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Humans depend on birds for critical ecological functions:

• Control insect and rodent populations, including lanternflies
• Reduce damage to crops and forests
• Help limit disease transmission, e.g., West Nile virus, dengue fever, malaria
• Regenerate habitats and human food sources by pollinating plants and dispersing seeds
• Additionally, bird watching is one of the fastest growing leisure activities in North America, an over $40 billion industry accounting for many jobs, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Northern Cardinal

Black-throated Blue Warbler

American Redstart

19%

All bird species

Migratory

70%

North American bird species

Migratory

80%

North American migratory birds

Migrate at night

Dr. Kyle Horton 2019. CSU AeroEco Lab/BirdCast

ADVERSE EFFECTS OF ARTIFICIAL LIGHT ON BIRDS

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Many birds migrate at night, navigating and orienting using the Earth’s magnetic field and celestial cues in the night sky. Artificial light may:

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• Disrupt their magnetic sense and vision
• Cause them to deviate from their flight paths
• Disproportionately cause birds to orient towards and stop over in cities
• Cause serious hazards and/or collisions with buildings and structures resulting in death
• The true extent of how much worse population losses might be are unknown because current surveys only identify some of the impacts

White-throated Sparrow

Graphic by Bartels Science Illustrator Megan Bishop, Living Bird 2018, Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Light pollution: indoor & outdoor lighting cause collisions.

Dark windows and skylines could save birds.

Van Doren et al. 2021 PNAS

• Turning off individual lights makes a difference.
• Decreasing illuminated area at Chicago landmark McCormick Place to 50% could reduce collisions over 50%.
• Mortality could have been 76% higher if all windows illuminated on every night.

Van Doren et al. 2017

Annual tribute since 2002 to lives lost on 9/11

• Visible for ~ 62 miles, >6 miles above ground
• Shutdowns: > 1000 birds, lights off ≈20min
• Lights off - typical migration behaviors resume

Annual tribute since 2002 to lives lost on 9/11

- 88 very bright lights! 7500 watt Xenon Bulbs

- Visible from ~100km, >10+ km above ground

- Radar, acoustic, and visual monitoring

- Shutdown procedures: > 1000 birds based on visual observations, lights off for ≈20min

National 9/11 Memorial & Museum Tribute in Light

Van Doren et al 2017 PNAS

The light generated by this annual tribute increases the risk to birds during this important migratory timeframe.

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BIRD COLLISIONS AND DEATHS DUE TO ARTIFICIAL LIGHT

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PLEASE ALSO VIEW MELISSA BREYER ON THE STREET

Bird collision is a serious issue.

Since 1997, NYC Audubon’s formal collision monitoring has documented collisions of 113 bird species.

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New York City, situated in the migration flight path, with a high density of glass buildings and glaring lights, poses danger to birds day and night.

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Some of the dead birds collected by NYC Audubon as part of the organization’s Project Safe Flight collision monitoring initiative.

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ADVERSE EFFECTS OF ARTIFICIAL LIGHT ON PEOPLE

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Artificial light at night (ALAN) can cause:

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• Cancer, particularly increased risk for breast cancer
• Suppressed melatonin secretion (also linked to cancer)
• Increased sleep onset latency (SOL) and alertness
• Sleep disorders tied to every major disease, e.g., diabetes, obesity, Parkinson’s, depression, stroke, multiple sclerosis
• Psychological, cardiovascular, metabolic disruptions
• Circadian misalignment and circadian phase disruption
• Increased heart rate and temperature
• “Mini jet lag”
• Disproportionate overburdening to EJ communities
• Exacerbation of mental illness in the unhoused
• Impediment to personal safety (see next two slides)

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Photo: George Fleenor

Photo: George Fleenor

ARTIFICIAL LIGHT'S CONTRIBUTIONS TO CLIMATE CHANGE

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Annual global expenditure wastes revenues and natural resources

• Costs tens of billions of dollars
• Increases the level of NO₂ — a regulated air pollutant that can harm people’s lungs as well as crops and ecosystems — by as much as 5%
• Accounts for 15% of global electricity consumption and 5% of worldwide greenhouse gas emissions
• Equals 1.9 billion tons of CO₂
• Calculation is likely woefully conservative, given that we cannot internalize the costs of rare earth elements, heavy metals, volatile organic compounds, etc., in the production of light bulbs and other instruments for illumination
• ​Local Law 97 requires a reduction in usage​

"With a flick of a switch, you can be part of a nationwide effort to dramatically reduce the hundreds of millions of birds killed by collisions with brightly lit buildings. Not only can you save birds - our most beautiful and accessible wildlife - you can reduce your energy costs. It's a no-brainer!”

Garrett Boone, Co-Founder�The Container Store

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LIGHTS OUT LEGISLATION

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• Forty-seven cities participate in the Audubon Lights Out program in the U.S. as of March 2022
• Maryland and Hawaii are the only states to enact Lights Out legislation

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• New York City passed two laws December 15, 2022 to reduce nighttime illumination:
• Local Law number 030-2022 (Intro 271) requires occupancy sensors that limit illumination in buildings owned by the City
• Local Law number 031-2022 (Intro 274) requires all nonessential outdoor lighting be turned off between 11pm and 6am during peak avian migration periods in City-owned and -leased buildings

Black-throated Blue Warbler

American Redstart

Lights Out Coalition is grateful to the City Council, as these local laws will save the lives of

4,000

migratory (and local) birds just this year!

nearly

Northern Cardinal

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WHY NYC NEEDS MORE!

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• Light pollution increases by nearly 10% every year
• There are more than 1 million buildings in NYC
• There are record-setting new constructions in NYC
• City-owned buildings account for only 1.7% of NYC’s buildings
• Privately-owned buildings are responsible for the deaths of about 250,000 migratory and local birds every year
• NYC is unique in its density and intensity of buildings and artificial light
• Roughly 15,000,000 birds pass over NYC every fall and 6,000,000 every spring
• 90% of birds who survive building collisions are euthanized due to the severity of their injuries
• New York City can be the progressive leader on this issue by passing Intro 896 to reduce illumination in and on privately-owned buildings
• New Yorkers care! More than 55,000 signed our petition in support of Lights Out legislation

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INTRO 896

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• Requires Business (Group B) and Mercantile (Group M) buildings to turn off exterior and interior light from sunset to sunrise

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• Exemptions:
• Retailers or wholesalers under 4,000 square feet, and not chain stores
• Landmarks above 20 stories in height may apply for a waiver
• Where building owners demonstrate special circumstances indicating a need for night security lighting
• Where individuals are inside a building at night
• Where such illumination is required by law, rule or the zoning resolution of the city of New York
• Storefront temporary seasonal display windows may be illuminated until midnight or until all have exited
• Other storefront display windows may be illuminated at night, provided that such illumination does not exceed certain measures

By passing Intro 896, we have the opportunity to change

02. Mission

4,000

saved lives...

into

02. Mission

^about 250,000

lives saved every single year!

​​To put this in perspective: This represents, conservatively, 1-2% annual mortality ... (12 million birds annually over NYC: ~9M fall, ~3M spring) Annual bird mortality is 3-6X human mortality that NYC experienced on average per capita 100K (~0.3% mortality)

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Houston

Lights Out Texas

Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Texan By Nature, and an array of partners supported and facilitated this effort, Pond5/John Benam

Lights Out Texas

Houston

Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Texan By Nature, and an array of partners supported and facilitated this effort, Pond5/John Benam

SOURCES

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Azman, M. I., et al. A Brief Overview on Light Pollution. 2019 IOP Conf. Ser.: Earth Environ. Sci. 269 012014

Bogard, Paul “The End of Night.” Little, Brown, 2013; excerpted in Living on Earth. August 19, 2016.

Bramley, Ellie Violet. Urban Light Pollution: Why We're All Living With Permanent 'Mini Jetlag.’ The Guardian. October 23, 2014.

Carlsen, A. 2023. BirdCast, Migration Dashboard; Spring and Fall, New York, NY, historical averages of cumulative migration traffic. Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Accessed 16 May 2023

Cho, YongMin, et al. Effects of artificial light at night on human health: A literature review of observational and experimental studies applied to exposure assessment. Ryu Institute for Occupational & Environmental Health, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea. Chronobiology International. vol. 32, no. 9 (Pages 1294-1310) September 16, 2015.

Corchado, Alfredo. What To Know About Light Pollution And Texas Dark Skies. Dallas Morning News. April 24, 2023

Gaynor, Keira. 8 Reasons Why Birds are Important for the Planet. Eco Redux. 2023

Higa, Sterling. How Hawaiʻi’s Light Pollution Affects Wildlife and Humans. Hawaii Business. March 3, 2021

Hollan, J. What is light pollution, and how do we quantify it? Darksky 2008 conference paper, Vienna, August 2008. Updated April 2009

Horton, Kyle. CSU AeroEco Lab. 2019.

Impey, Chris. Light Pollution Getting Worse, Increasing by 9.8% Per Year, Erasing Stars In Everyone’s Night Skies. Staten Islander. February 26, 2023.

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SOURCES CONTINUED p2

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Koo, Yong Seo, et al. Outdoor artificial light at night, obesity, and sleep health: Cross-sectional analysis in the KoGES study. Chronobiology International. (Pages 301-314) March 7, 2016.

Lees/Provided, Alexander. Global bird populations steadily decline. Cornell Chronicle. May 5, 2022

Light Pollution & Climate Change

Lights Out For Wildlife. Texas Conservation Alliance.

Lights Out' Initiative Launched in New York to Protect Migrating Birds. New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. May 20, 2022.

Nadybal, Shawna M., et al. Light pollution inequities in the continental United States: A distributive environmental justice analysis. Environmental Research. Volume 189, October 2020, 109959

Noor, Dharna. ‘I Was Just in Shock’: Mass Bird Death Reported in New York City. Gizmodo. September 15, 2021.

NYC Audubon.

Palmer, Jane. Bright city lights exacerbate air pollution. CIRES. University of Colorado at Boulder.

Rise and Shine: Lighting the World with 10 Billion LED Bulbs. Energy.gov. December 7, 2015.

Rosenberg, Kenneth V., et al. Decline of the North American Avifauna. Science. September 2019

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SOURCES CONTINUED p3

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Sheppard, Christine and Phillips, Glenn. Bird-Friendly Building Design. 2nd Ed. The Plains, VA: American Bird Conservancy, 2015.

Singh, Timon. Light Pollution Is Increasing Air Pollution Levels. Inhabitat. December 17, 2010

Small, Eddie. City Sees Record High Construction Numbers To Close Out 2021. Crain’s New York Business. February 1, 2022

Sotelo, Gabriella. How to Bring Lights Out to a City Near You. National Audubon Society. March 18, 2022.

Stark, NH, et al. Nighttime photochemistry: nitrate radical destruction by anthropogenic light sources. University of Colorado. December 2010.

Tulley, Tracey. Flaco’s Death Calls Attention to Bird Strikes and How to Prevent Them. New York Times. February 26, 2024.

Turina, Frank. Light Pollution and Climate Change. Night Sky Resource Center. Jan 11, 2022.

Van Doren, Benjamin. High-intensity urban light installation dramatically alters nocturnal bird migration. PNAS. October 2, 2017.

Van Doren, Benjamin, et al. Drivers of fatal bird collisions in an urban center. PNAS. University of California, Santa Cruz. June 7, 2021

Wild Bird Fund.

Willis, Gregory L,, et al. Parkinson's Disease, Lights and Melanocytes: Looking Beyond the Retina. Scientific Reports 2014; 4: 3921. Published online January 29, 2014.

Withrow, Brandon. Birding (Yes, Birding) Is a Multi-Billion Dollar Ecotourism Industry. The Daily Beast. Updated July 23, 2019

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COALITION MEMBERS

COALITION MEMBERS continued

Our Distinguished Professionals

Dr. Franz Baumann, Vice President, Academic Council on the United Nations System, Former Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations and NYU Visiting Research Professor

Lisa M Bandelli, Esquire

Ken Chaya, Past President, The Linnaean Society

Dr. Holly Cheever, Vice President, NYS Humane Association; Member, Advisory Board of NEAVS; Member, American Veterinary Medical Association, NYS Veterinary Medical Society, Capital District Veterinary Medical Society

Lorial Crowder, Community Leader, Inwood

Lorelei D'Avolio, LVT, VTS, CVPM

Dr. Kim Danoff, Owner, Paws To Heal Veterinary Services

Kelli Hata, Yale University, Divinity School

Robyn Hederman, Esquire{Co-chair, Animal Law Committee, New York Bar Association}

Kathryn Heintz, Past Executive Director, New York City Bird Alliance

Charles Komanoff, Energy Policy Analyst

Frederica Miller, Esquire, {Member, Animal Law Committee, New York Bar Association}

Viveca Morris, Executive Director, Law, Ethics & Animals Program at Yale Law School

Rebecca Seltzer, Esquire {Co-chair, Animal Law Committee, New York Bar Association}

David Siffert, Esquire, Director of Research & Projects, Center on Civil Justice; Adjunct Professor, NYU Law

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THANK YOU

https://www.instagram.com/lightsoutnys/ kathy.nizzari.nam@gmail.com lightsoutcoalition@gmail.com

This document may not be reproduced, copied or distributed without prior written consent of the Lights Out Coalition.