RIDGEFIELD -- If, at night, you drive to the top of Governor Street and then look back, what you see is a town fully illuminated, basking warmly in its own glow.

It may look terrifically picturesque, but that flood of light has its costs.

"I used to come to Ridgefield when I was kid,'' said Michael Autuori, now a member of the town's Planning and Zoning Commission and the town's expert on light pollution. "You used to be able to see the Milky Way at night."

But the light from the town -- from its downtown, from its school parking lots, from its streetlights -- and from places like Danbury to the north, from the development along Route 7 to the south, make star-gazing much harder to do.

"There's definitely too much light out there,'' Autuori said. "From high points, I can see the glow from Danbury, from Bridgeport, from Norwalk.''

Throughout the entire Danbury region -- really, throughout the entire Northeast corridor from Washington, D.C., to Boston -- that wash of light is in the night sky.

"That's why there are no major observatories anywhere on the East Coast,'' said Ridgefield astronomer Heidi Hammel, who depends on the Keck Observatory on Mona Kea, Hawaii, when she does land-based astronomy.

Light pollution may be harmful to human health -- too much light at night can disrupt sleep patterns.

Some studies even point to a higher risk of breast cancer in women working the night shift because the light disturbs their

hormonal balances.

Nor are humans the only victims. Light pollution can mislead migrating songbirds, pulling them into danger. Beaches with too much light on them disorient female sea turtles coming in to lay their eggs and the hatchlings that emerge from those nests.

All this leaking light also represents an enormous waste of energy. And money.

Which is why Ridgefield -- and many other towns in the area -- are now looking at their light.

While Ridgefield is the only town trying to reduce sources of light, others, including Bethel, Newtown and New Milford, are considering the installation of more energy-efficient fixtures.

"We are looking at the cost of everything today,'' said Ridgefield First Selectman Rudy Marconi.

Ridgefield's first step in reducing lighting will be discussed at a Board of Selectman meeting Wednesday.

By cutting about 40 percent of the lights at several school lots, at the old high school, and at the Parks and Recreation Center, the town could save $6,829 the first year -- a savings that includes the one-time $12,000 cost Northeast Utilities would charge the town for shutting off the unused poles.

In the following years, the savings would go up to $18,829 a year.

At the recommendations of the town's Police Department, that plan does not include reducing light at Ridgefield High School -- the biggest of the town's school parking lots -- or on any streets.

Marconi said the town might look at ways of reducing lighting there in the future, ensuring first there would not be safety issue involved.

"Do we need every light lit?'' Marconi said of the Ridgefield High lot. "I don't think we do.''

And, he said, the new technology of LEDs -- light emitting diodes, which are solid-state light fixtures rather than bulbs -- may offer even greater savings.

The town has already had experience with LEDs.

It's switched its Christmas lights from traditional bulbs to LEDs and saw the town's holiday lighting costs go from $9,000 to $300.

The LED lights mean installing new fixtures, which can mean an up-front expense. But they last for years, rather than months.

And they throw off a strong, white light with far less wattage than conventional bulbs -- 40 watts instead of 175 watts.

Throughout the region, other towns are beginning to consider that new technology, and others, as a way to cut electrical costs.

Frederick Hurley, director of public works in Newtown, said he and others in the town plan to meet with Sylvania, a company that makes LED fixtures, to see if the technology might be used in town.

Hurley said Newtown now has a $100,000 federal grant to use for energy-efficiency projects and it might best be used to pay for LED conversions.

LED lights, besides being energy savers, take years to wear out, saving money and replacement time, Hurley said. He pointed out the state's traffic lights now use LED fixtures.

"When was the last time you saw anyone changing a traffic light?'' he asked.

Andrew Morosky the director of public works in Bethel, said his town has begun work with Alliance Energy Solutions of Oxford to find ways to reduce lighting costs in town through the use of induction lights, which are similar to florescent lights.

Morosky said under one proposal put forward by Alliance -- which works with Northeast Utilities -- the town could convert conventional fixtures to induction lights and pay for them through its regular NU bill. After about two or three years, when the town pays off the cost of conversion, it could see significant reductions in its lighting bill.

"That's running us $60,000 to $70,000 a year,'' Morosky said of the town's lighting.

Morosky said he, too, is waiting for LED technology to become mainstream.

"I keep looking for it,'' he said.

New Milford officials have met with NU representatives to discuss the installation of induction lights in the old-fashioned lamps in the center of town.

Michael Zarba, New Milford's director of public works, said the change might cut the cost of using those lights by as much as 50 percent.

In Danbury, however, Public Works director Antonio Iadarola said it could take the city as much as 18 months to conduct a full-scale study of the city's lighting to see if it could reduce the number of lights the city uses, the amount of energy those lights emit, and the amount of money the city pays for that light.

Iadarola said the city has to think of different issues than small towns when it comes to lights, including using well-lit streets and parks to prevent crimes.

"Danbury is not Ridgefield and Ridgefield is not Danbury,'' he said.

Marconi said his town is interested in moving into the LED future. Because the technology for producing LED streetlights is still new and changing rapidly, he said it might make sense for Ridgefield to wait until more towns try them and the cost of each fixture starts coming down.

For now, the town is looking at the simpler step of just turning off some lights.

"If you can find a way to save taxpayers money, to reduce light pollution (and) reduce our carbon footprint, then there's no negatives associated with it,'' he said.

"Why not ask ourselves, can we make do with half the light?'' Autuori said. "Could we make do with one-quarter?''

Contact Robert Miller

at bmiller@newstimes.com

or at 203-731-3345.