Amateur astronomers, more than most, realize that artificial skyglow is slowly robbing
us of the beauty of the night sky. But licking light pollution has not been easy.
For two decades the
International Dark-Sky Association has waged a campaign to raise
awareness about Public Enemy #1, astronomically speaking. There have been some modest,
hard-won successes over the years. For example, lighting specialists and their companies
have
finally tooled up to make a variety
of night-sky-friendly fixtures available to contractors and the general public.
Also, hundreds of towns and a few states have enacted laws that require well-shielded
lighting for new developments.
Yet drawing widespread attention to light pollution, especially at the state and
federal level, has been difficult. As you might expect,
Sky & Telescope
has always supported the IDA's efforts, but coverage was spotty elsewhere in the
news media.
My, how things have changed!
Over the summer, IDA teams presented the case against light pollution to both House
and Senate staffers in Washington, and a bipartisan coalition of 11 House members
sent a letter to the Environmental Protection
Agency's administrator requesting action on the situation.
And the past year has seen a veritable explosion of light-pollution stories. The
salvo began last year with a
feature article in The New Yorker, followed by an editorial in the Boston Globe.
National Geographic Society
The pace picked up over this past summer: an in-depth story in
July 25th's Wall Street Journal, a prominent op-ed piece in September
23rd's Boston Globe, and an October 7th editorial
in the New York Times.
And, finally, the pièce de résistance: the cover story
of National Geographic's November 2008 issue. The article is grippingly titled
"The End of Night" — to which I might add: "Light Pollution — It's Not Just About
Astronomers Any More."
But astronomers are still key allies in this fight, and now it's your turn to help:
participate in the
Great Worldwide Star Count from now
through November 3rd — and become a member of the IDA.
Posted by Kelly Beatty, October 21, 2008