Lights out Boston Initiative

##Save energy, save the Birds##

On September 3rd 2008, Boston Massachusetts’ Mayor Thomas M. Menino teamed up with the Mass Audubon Society to promote the new initiative **Lights out Boston**.
Lights out Boston was primarily created to help migrating birds who have trouble adapting to urban areas during their fall migration. According to the Mass Audubon Society migrating birds often become confused when encountering brightly lit buildings at night and “*they may become disoriented, and aimlessly circle an illuminated tower until they collide with it, or else become so exhausted they fall to the ground.*”[^1]

This new initiative has Boston area property owners and managers voluntarily shutting off, or dimming the lights in their properties. Especially their high rise properties above the 30th floor between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. until the end of the fall bird migration season, which ends October 31st 2008. This includes internal window lighting as well as external lighting, such as decorative architectural lighting.
The program also suggests that cleaning crews work one floor at a time and work from the top down.

Some participating property owners are:

– Beacon Capital Partners, LLC
– BOMA – Building Owners and Mangers Association
– Boston Properties
– Brookfield Properties
– Broadway Capital
– CB Richard Ellis
– Chifaro Associates
– Equity Office
– Hines
– ING Clarion
– Pembroke Real Estate
– Tishman Speyer
– UGL Unicco

Checkout a graphic created by the [Boston Globe displaying some of the participating buildings](http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2008/09/03/lightsOut) via [Boston.com](http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2008/09/03/lights_out_conservation_on_for_citys_tall_towers/?page=full).

Lights out is not a new idea, similar programs have already been implemented in [Chicago](http://lightsout.audubon.org/), [Detroit](http://www.detroitaudubon.org/safe%20passage.html), [Minneapolis](http://mn.audubon.org/Birds_BirdSafe.html), [New York](http://www.nycaudubon.org/NYCASBirdWatch/safeflightupdates/) and [Toronto](http://www.flap.org/)

##Benefits of the Initiative##

Additional benefits of the Lights out Boston program, as listed by the [Mass Audubon Society](http://massaudubon.org/lightsout/)

* Save birds, especially during fall and spring migration periods
* Save energy and reduce the heat-trapping gases that contribute to climate change
* Save money on electricity costs

##More Information##

You can find more information about Lights out Boston at any of these following resources.

– [Mayor’s Office Press Release on Lights out Boston](http://www.cityofboston.gov/news/default.aspx?id=3972)
– [Lights out Boston FAQ](http://www.cityofboston.gov/environmentalandenergy/lightsoutboston_faq.asp)
– [Mass Audubon Society – Lights out Boston](http://massaudubon.org/lightsout/)
– [Lights out, conservation on for city’s tall towers – Boston Globe](http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2008/09/03/lights_out_conservation_on_for_citys_tall_towers/?page=full)

[^1]: [Mass Audubon | Lights Out Boston – FAQs](http://massaudubon.org/lightsout/about.php#faqs)