The Shutdown

Mr. Bill came back with a response that indicated that we could NOT do a transitional fixture. This is a REAL downer for Ashley and I, and is putting a damper on that whole plan. I met with a mechanical engineering buddy of mine anyways, just to see what he thought about the whole thing. He indicated that the fixture was definitely possible, granted he did not have all of the technical information about the light bulbs that these fixtures would cover. He said that aluminum would be the best bet as far as avoiding damage from heat absorption and corrosion (which I'll admit, I had to look up). The aluminum will not deteriorate over time as much as other metals, so that is what we are being advised to use.

The picture above is just an example of an aluminum light fixture that is commonly used in houses. I was having a hard time visualizing anything but aluminum foil flapping on top of a pole in the wind. This is not the case obviously (but still a funny image to have inside your head)! So this is maybe what it would look like, but there would be metal poles holding up the fixture, simply to block light from shining upward.

I also asked my friend Cyrus (the mechanical engineer) if he thought that the fixtures could be designed to be pleasing to the eye. He thought that it would definitely be plausible because aluminum is so cheap! This is also good news for if these fixtures end up actually happening. This would be a huge project for us to take on, and it may be too much for us to handle both the fixture and our pamphlet! It may come down to what we feel more passionate about, and the resources that are available to us. I don't know about Ashley, but my original intent was to spread the word about light pollution and get it out to everyone on campus, and eventually everyone in the valley. I also thought that I could take the information up to Park City and maybe get a night sky ordinance going up there, just because I think that they have the funds and the attitude to want to make the necessary changes. Although, they do have Pay-Day at PCMR and the Olympic park lit up every single NIGHT. I have never stayed up late enough to see if they keep these on all night, but I think that it would be possivle to get them shut off even earlier.

I thought that since I was talking about the Pay-Day lift and the Olympic park that I should include some images of these lit up at night! The olympic park in the wintertime usually has the ski jumps in the backround of the photo above lit at night.

Sorry about the tangent! Now, back to the fixture. I will see if I have the resources to come up with this. My buddy Cyrus says he has a computer program that would allow us to create a 3D image of the proposed fixture, but he can be a flaky dude, so I don't know when I will be able to get together and make that happen. He also happens to be a very busy guy, so catching him when he has time is a difficult task as well. We will see how it all pans out, but one way or another my ultimate goal is to SPREAD THE WORD, and RAISE AWARENESS about the light pollution on our campus and in our valley.