Over the next 10 years nearly every outdoor light in the Pacific Northwest will be replaced with LED.  We should use this opportunity to make ALL outdoor lighting dark-sky compliant.  Reducing light pollution will not only save energy, it will bring out more stars and prevent unwanted light from shining in our bedroom windows.  Reducing glare will also improve safety and security by enhancing our ability to see what is being illuminated.

International Dark-Sky Association Information

http://www.darksky.org/for-the-public/downloadable-brochures

Here is a link to a Google Map that shows outdoor lights in your area as seen from space.

http://www.blue-marble.de/nightlights/2012

If you don't know the BUG rating of your outdoor LED lights you are installing then you are doing it WRONG!  BUG rating stands for Backlight, Uplight and Glare.  Good outdoor light will have very low backlight (light should shine only where you want it), have zero up-light, and very low glare.  Each letter in the BUG rating has number that ranges from zero (good) to five (very bad).

B Backlight, 2 or less

U Uplight, Zero

G Glare, 2 or Less

A technical description of how the BUG numbers are calculated can be found at:

https://www.ies.org/PDF/Erratas/TM-15-11BUGRatingsAddendum.pdf

Let's not waste this opportunity to save energy, improve safety and security, restore the night sky, and minimize light trespass.  We should all do what we can to make the quality of life in the Pacific Northwest even better by insisting that ALL LED outdoor lighting be done right.  Doing it right will save money, save energy and provide a better end-product.