A Q&A with the Louisville Climate Action Network’s Executive Director Sarah Lynn Cunningham
Sarah Lynn Cunningham is a licensed environmental engineer and educator who also has served our community as an activist for more than 50 years. She holds two interdisciplinary degrees from the University of Louisville: a bachelor’s degree in applied science in environmental engineering, and a master’s degree in environmental education and environmental history. After retiring from civil service, she began applying her practical experience to helping clients meet their energy-efficiency and renewable-energy goals as a co-founder of the nonprofit Louisville Climate Action Network (LCAN). Sarah Lynn also teaches for Building Operator Certification, a leading national program for building operating and maintenance personnel.
Sarah Lynn was a featured panelist at the Louisville Audubon Society’s Lights Out Louisville launch event on August 22, 2024. This Q&A has been condensed and lightly edited for clarity.
Louisville Audubon Society (LAS): What do you think is the most important reason that people should support the Lights Out Louisville initiative?
Sarah Lynn Cunningham: It depends on who you’re talking to.
Your initiative focuses on two key groups: community residents and businesses. For residents, it’s important to remember that turning off unnecessary lights will help migratory birds survive their perilous nighttime journeys, and that it’s an easy thing to do. The commercial sector would likely be interested in hearing how helping birds could also help save their businesses real money.
LAS: Could you explain more about the commercial buildings piece?
Cunningham: I’ll give you a local example: When I’m out late at night, I see so many office buildings lit up as if everyone were still at work, long past when even cleaning staff would be there. There’s clearly no need to have lights on when employees and staff aren’t there. And even if the intent is to advertise the property for real-estate purposes, it’s not as if anyone shopping for office space is out at that time of the night, studying their options.
I’d urge all commercial-property owners or managers to go by their properties late at night to see how many lights are left on. If they see a lot of unnecessary lights, they can then instruct staff and cleaning crews to turn off the lights when they leave—both to save birds’ lives and to save themselves money.
I’d urge all commercial-property owners or managers to go by their properties late at night to see how many lights are left on. This may help them understand how much money they’re spending to keep lights on unnecessarily—it sounds small, but each floor can have many dozens of lighting fixtures.
If they see a lot of unnecessary lights, they can then instruct staff and cleaning crews to turn off the lights when they leave—both to save birds’ lives and to save themselves money.
Even if they focus on turning off unused lights only during peak migrating period, that would really add up—although being more diligent about reducing artificial lighting at night year-round would save even more money.
LAS: We understand folks—residents, business owners, and building operators alike—might be hesitant to implement Lights Out Louisville because they believe nighttime lighting makes an area safer. Do you think that’s true?
Cunningham: I don’t believe outdoor lighting provides the security most people assume. People like to think that outdoor lighting will deter criminal activity, but the data do not back up that idea.
I’ve also heard security experts say bad guys don’t want to break into dark buildings, because they can’t see what they’re doing, and prefer to break into well-lit ones.
Instead of keeping your outdoor lights on from dusk till dawn in the name of safety, I’d encourage property owners to install motion sensors when possible, so outdoor lights come on only when someone approaches, and only at night. (You may have to adjust the angle of the sensor, so trees blowing in the wind won’t trigger lights.)
Motion sensors will startle anyone who has no business being there—leaving them wondering whether someone inside sees them, and potentially scaring off any would-be intruders.
LAS: Apart from security, are there other seemingly practical reasons someone might want a lot of outdoor lights on all night?
Cunningham: I understand why a landlord must keep a light burning in areas where residents come and go, such as entryways and stairwells. Building code often requires it, and we also don’t want anyone to trip and fall.
But there are ways to be smarter about how much artificial light your building is emitting after dark: Keep lights on constantly only in areas where code requires it, such as stairwells, and use motion sensors for less critical areas that see lower traffic at night.
For instance, if you manage an apartment complex with outdoor recreational areas for residents, such as a community garden or a playground, there’s no need to keep those areas lit up all night.
Whether we’re talking about multi-family homes, single-family residences, or commercial buildings, I’d urge everyone not to illuminate all night where it’s not needed. (For those using outdoor night lighting for aesthetic reasons: I don’t think anyone who’s out after dark is admiring your landscaping or potted plants at that time of day—so it seems unnecessary to have all those lights on!)
In areas you do need outdoor lighting, make sure it’s turned downward and uses “warm-white” bulbs. Warm-toned light is less disruptive to nocturnal animals, including migrating songbirds, compared with “cool white” or “daylight” tones.
LAS: As we’re speaking with the executive director of the Louisville Climate Action Network, we also wanted to talk about climate change and disruption to natural systems. Is there a connection between unnecessary artificial lighting or light pollution and climate change?
Cunningham: There is an obvious connection: Generating the electricity that powers lights often requires burning fossil fuels. A recent New York Times report found coal and natural gas still account for 91% of utility-generated electricity in Kentucky.
But—as the Lights Out Louisville team well knows—even if nighttime artificial lighting comes from greener sources, such wind or solar, it can have harmful effects on wildlife, from birds and insects to mammals.
In fact, we’re learning more with each passing year about how disruptive bright light at night is to all animals (including humans) because it negatively impacts circadian rhythms.
So here’s another good reason to reduce the artificial light our homes and buildings emit at night: By lowering our exposure to bright lights before bed, we’ll sleep better.
LAS: We know LCAN often engages with building operators and citizens to help them take action on climate change. Does your organization have any resources that might be relevant to the Lights Out initiative, such as tools for understanding your potential energy savings?
Cunningham: LCAN offers simple worksheets for both residential and commercial property owners to compute their cost savings by reducing the hours they light their homes or buildings—as well as if they relamp to more efficient LEDs. (Nowadays, LEDs come in “warm white” tones, allowing people to avoid the cooler tones that affect birds and people.)
LCAN’s worksheets address savings in terms of both dollars and tons of greenhouse gases. On our website, we offer a worksheet to calculate savings by swapping out incandescent bulbs for LEDs, and another worksheet to calculate savings by swapping out fluorescent tube lamps for LEDs. (In fact, we created the second one in support of the Lights Out Louisville program!)
LCAN has many other resources to help people take action on climate change—from simple steps to bigger initiatives, and from civic advocacy to social-network sharing—and Lights Out Louisville supporters and sustainability advocates can find all these helpful resources and tips on our website.
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