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Down in Timaru, New Zealand, a new LED street light outside a family home had some really bad effects on a resident. His father, an astronomer, did lighting tests over the next two years and made some interesting discoveries about blue light. https://i.stuff.co.nz/national/116865102/effects-of-led-streetlights-on-autistic-son-led-damien-mcnamara-on-dark-sky-campaign
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Effects of LED Street Lights on Autistic Son Led Damien McNamara on Dark Sky Campaign
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* m2 stares at the monitor... it looks like a hamburger...
m2 - that's a bad sign
(Score: 2) by bart on Sunday November 03 2019, @02:34PM (12 children)
nuff said
(Score: 3, Interesting) by JoeMerchant on Sunday November 03 2019, @02:38PM (2 children)
Even installing a solid hard storm shutter outside the window would seem to be a cheaper and less disruptive solution than moving house. Moving house with Autistic children can be... more challenging than normal.
However, life is a complicated thing - decisions like moving house tend to have dozens of factors big and small that play into them, the light alone probably wasn't the major factor in this decision, but it could have been a deciding one.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 2) by Gaaark on Monday November 04 2019, @02:00AM (1 child)
Yes: moving house seems the last thing we'd do. The disruption and not knowing the new neighborhood and neighbors, and them not knowing him......
Blackout curtains would have been our first step, but HEY! Let's move! Sounds dumb.
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Monday November 04 2019, @02:41AM
I'm too indifferent to bother with the article, but my guess of things is that they were probably going to move anyway and noticed this change after they moved, and Dad being a light pollution campaigner to begin with wants to make sure to pile on every bit of "evildence" he can against the cool LEDs.
We've moved three times since "symptoms appeared" - the first time was horrible, we just moved across town and made the mistake of showing our 3 year old his old room empty, 11 on the 10 point meltdown scale. The next time we moved 1000 miles, he was 5 and he took it better, we did lots of vacation travel and the whole thing sort of seemed like a vacation that never ended - we were very careful to not show him his empty room on the way out. Again when he was 12, about 100 miles that time, and a lot of gradual moving - I started work in the new town 4 days a week while they finished school, everybody together in the new house on weekends, after about 3 months we were fully moved. Just in case, we still moved his room "behind his back" but I think he liked it overall. New neighbors have a horse, other cool stuff, and the old town wasn't a prize - especially for him and schools.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 5, Insightful) by SomeGuy on Sunday November 03 2019, @05:14PM (8 children)
A couple years ago my condo association put up new outdoor flood lights with these blazing LED lights. It really looked like the sun was coming up at 3:00am. Their only suggestion to deal with this bullshit was to get thicker curtains. Sorry, I like getting real sunlight without having to fuck with opening and closing curtains every day. I eventually just changed some things so I didn't have to look in that direction while I was sleeping. Fuckers.
I also had to shop around carefully to find some indoor LED lights that weren't bright ass blue. Eventually found some although they were expensive as hell. At least in theory they should last longer if the Chinese have not sabotaged them (you know they do). Looking at LED light packaging, they actually use this "whiter white" bullshit AS A SELLING POINT!
While I am at it, here is a big hearty MIDDLE FINGER to every single consumertard who uses blue-tinted LED headlights. I can't see the damn road when you are coming at me! Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you, fuck you some more, and follow up fuck you with a big splintery wooden dick.
I shudder to think about what will happen when I have to buy a new car. Not only will it probably come with such headlights, but all newer cars that I have seen light up the interior dashboard with blue shit, not to mention all the retarded computer screens they build in. I don't know how people even see over all that shit at night. (I'm guessing they don't, they just drive around thinking "oh wow, this car looks soooo new and cool it makes my dick look big, lets play around with the touch screens... CRASH!". Moar money for the body shop and the doctors.)
OF COURSE there is no research in to problems with blue LED light. These things are fucking mind control, and the entire industry knows it and will oppose any such research. Start a research project? Send in the blue-LED consumertard zombies to bitch about how you are just being a Luddite, don't want people to have new things, or you are not being good for the planet.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by PlasticCogLiquid on Sunday November 03 2019, @05:48PM
I feel ya boss! I have a Sylvania LED bulb that is actually colored like a good old fashioned CFL bulb and it's nice. I hate the white lights, I've always hated fluorescent lighting and the white LED's are just as bad. Those car headlamps you speak of..... I've nearly went off the road a few times because of those stupid things.
(Score: 1) by Sulla on Sunday November 03 2019, @06:19PM
I assumed the blue lights in dash decision went along the lines of
Person 1. should we have blue or green lights in the dash?
P2. i read somewhere that blue led keeps you awake
P1. so blue then?
P2. if we don't someone will fall asleep at the wheel and crash then sue us for not going with blue to actively keep the driver awake.
Ceterum censeo Sinae esse delendam
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Runaway1956 on Sunday November 03 2019, @06:33PM
I feel for you - but, I'm on the opposite side of the fence with blue light. I'm the guy who sees a whole lot better with 4,000k or higher lighting. I've spent my life wishing that bulbs could be brighter. Warm red, cool white, and all the other names thrown around to make you like one brand of bulb or another, none of them did anything for me. Today's "daylight" LED's really light up my night. I can even see color under them! If the lights are 4k+, I don't even need them to be as bright. A "60 watt equivalent" bulb allows me to see better than an actual 100 watt incandescent ever did.
But, I can still empathize with you. We don't all have the same vision, after all. One man's meat is another man's poison and all that.
As for vehicles? The DOT is lax in establishing standards, and ENFORCING them. You're right, there is no excuse for those blinding bright lights at night. I'm pretty sure that a lot of those are off-road lights illegally mounted and wired in place of headlights and fog lights. Young idiots have no idea what they are doing to us aging drivers. They haven't a clue that when they blind us, we may very well drive right into them, and kill them. It's happened many a time in the past!
(Score: 3, Interesting) by corey on Sunday November 03 2019, @08:34PM (1 child)
I don't share the level of anger as you, but for in house, I like "warm" LEDs. I think it's better for your eyes/brain to calm and wind down at night before sleeping. Think back to caveman days, only artificial light at night was warm campfire emissions.
Our friends just ripped out their ceiling lights and installed a million intense blue tinted LEDs. It feels like a hospital in there at night, it's horrible.
(Score: 1) by PlasticCogLiquid on Sunday November 03 2019, @08:36PM
Oooh I hate that! One of my cousins did that to his man-cave and I couldn't stand hanging out there anymore!
(Score: 2) by ChrisMaple on Sunday November 03 2019, @08:43PM
https://www.lifeextension.com/magazine/2019/12/shield-eyes-from-toxic-blue-light [lifeextension.com] cites several studies on the harm of blue light.
Recognize also that this is a relatively new complaint. You're expecting too much if you think there should already be a large body of research on the subject.
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Monday November 04 2019, @12:23AM
Thanks for reminding me, I've got a headlight out and I've been meaning to upgrade to these:
https://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo/high-beam-and-low-beam-headlight-bulb/h4-led-fanless-headlight-conversion-kit-with-internal-drivers-4000-lumensset/5321/11896/?year=1999&make=48&model=1156&scc_id=1398 [superbrightleds.com]
I feel your pain with all the 2019 pickup trucks around here that seem to need to adjust their LED headlamps to where they are constantly beaming into my eyes below the low beam "courtesy cutoff line", but, I can't do anything about them - I CAN get some better lights for my car so I have a chance of seeing something after they pass and my night vision has been completely obliterated. I do think I see things on the road a little more clearly with the cooler headlight temps.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 3, Interesting) by driverless on Monday November 04 2019, @02:50AM
We had our street light, a reasonably efficient sodium-vapour lamp, replaced with ghastly garish LED lighting a few years ago. Then it failed, and was replaced ($$$). Then it failed, and was replaced ($$$). Then it failed, and was replaced again ($$$). Then it failed, and was replaced again ($$$). I noticed a few days ago that it had failed again, since the street is now pitch black at night. I hope they take their time in replacing it. Thirty or forty years would be good.
At some point I'd going to FOIA the council to see how much more than sodium-vapour lighting their high-intensity LED floodlights are costing ratepayers.