Daylight is a human right. And yet today, the vast rewards that daylighting contributes to our wellbeing are too often undervalued, or worse, unacknowledged. Of course, we have a right to daylight! Deprived of it, we suffer grim consequences. Given daylight, we flourish.
Beginning in September, we will raise the flag for daylighting to make this very argument: in the media, to sustainability officers, in Washington, and globally.
As with any fight worth fighting, we face obstacles. You know what they are. You’ve heard them all. But we come prepared with an armament of arguments: daylighting produces no carbon dioxide; daylight quickly pays for itself in productivity gains; daylight is healthy to life. And perhaps most relevant, people yearn for daylight.
Over the last few years we have gathered a collection of forceful endorsements for daylighting, from people attesting to the benefits they enjoy; from building occupants, homeowners, architects, facility managers, and engineers.
Now it is time we unleash those compelling testimonials, which collectively give voice to a powerful claim: people have a right to daylight!
And we will do so with all the tools available: a RightToDaylight website, #RightToDaylight social media, videos, reports and media gatherings. While we have assembled the artillery to battle for the Right To Daylight, we now need to band together and speak with a single passionate voice, exclaiming that Daylight is a Human Right.
What can you do? Architects and designers, show us your daylighting successes, that we may broadcast them loudly across the globe. Manufacturers, work with us to inspire others, to build consensus, and drive change. Building managers and homeowners, examine the hundreds of testimonials we’ve gathered of people who have made daylight their primary light source; be inspired by their resolve.
We are only a few, but we are engaged in a good fight, deserving of our determination. This is the time to step forward. Together, we can lead the way. Together, we will ignite a movement.