You bring up a good point. Fact is, a lot of people feel more secure thinking that their lighted porches will help keep the boogey man away, so they tend to leave them on, all night at times. Myself, I prefer total darkness and night vision equipment. Not only does it NOT ADD to the surrounding light pollution problems, but it scares the hell out of everyone who approaches my door. Of course the cammo face leering at them through the window helps... ;) Here is just one Marines suggestion for folks who depend on motion detectors/IR sensor type security lighting devices to chase away spooks and trespassers. Install these fixtures as usual, but instead of using the glaring light to chase away trespassers, rewire the fixtures and run the actual lights back inside the house to quietly alert YOU to their presence. By doing this, you will not only be doing your part to help fight outdoor light pollution, but, keeping this in the context of astronomy, you will most likely be able to sneak upon an otherwise useless scumbag, and by applying just the right amount of 'baseball bat', introduce him/her to some stars... Just kidding. Quoting Steve Trottier <strottier@novell.com>:

Besides getting a dark-sky friendly fixture, the other thing you can do to help, obviously, is to not turn it on. I never turn mine on unless I'm expecting someone. I don't understand why so many people think they need to leave their outside lights on all night.

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