FreeLists / az-observing / [AZ-Observing] Re: I Wonder How This Will Impact Dark Skies?...

[George Barber <gbarber@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I think the dark-sky advocates, including myself, use some of the other
negative impacts of light pollution:

   Glare and reduced visibility
   Loss of night vision when leaving over-lit areas, like gas stations.  I
   have seen people leave the filling stations without turning on their
   headlights!
   Disruption of normal day-night cycles for animals, birds, and humans.
   This is detrimental to species like sea turtles.  It is not too good for
   us, either.
   Loss of a cultural resource.  Stories of the night sky abound in all
   cultures.  Do we really want to destroy this for our children?  National
   Parks, like the Grand Canyon, are beginning to place significant effort
   in retaining their night sky and encouraging their visitors to
   experience it.
   It is still a tremendous waste of finite energy resources.  Perhaps a
   few cities in America will use the new LED lights, but the rest of the
   growing world will not.

Here's my favorite:
It lessens the probability that we will be visited by extra-terrestrials.
Think about it.  It is very energy wasteful to beam light up into space.
The ETs would see the night side of our planet and conclude that we are a
wasteful species.  Waste is not a sign of an advanced intelligence, so they
will most likely head on to their next destination.

OK, that's your laugh.

The IDA, International Dark Sky Association, has good information on light
pollution.  Check out their website.



                                                                           
                                                                           
             Tom Polakis                                                   
             <tpolakis@xxxxxxx                                             
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             02/15/2007 02:01          This Will Impact Dark Skies?...     
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>> As a result, a 40% reduction in power has been recorded as well
>> as substantial increases in light output according to Progress Energy.

>less energy is a good thing - substantial increases in output could
>turn into a bad thing!


And the more efficient lighting further weakens the argument of dark-sky
advocates that turning lights off significantly reduces power consumption.
Frankly, the power-savings argument is already pretty weak.

Tom
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