OK, excuse me a moment while I get down off my soapbox. I’m just saying that we — you, I and everyone else — have to do something because companies and governments are looking only to the present, whether it be for profit or re-election. We have to look to the future, and we have to shape it by cutting back on driving, wasting materials, and the other things that contribute to the problem. It’s a corny old cliche — but true — that if you aren’t part of the solution, you’re part of the problem.

So Sam, old pal, we may never get it to where it should be, but maybe we can get it heading in the right direction. To do that, we have to look in our own neighborhoods, our own backyards, and our own garages.

DISCLOSURE: I don’t want to seem a hypocrite, as I am not the greatest environmentalist who ever lived. But most of my efforts have been for many years, not just since the current “green” phase began in the US and elsewhere. I have tried to cut back on a lot of things. For one thing, we do not have an air conditioner, even though sometimes in the summer it gets close to 100 degrees F. We have a evaporative “swamp” cooler that uses much less electricity instead. In recent years I have cut back as much as possible in driving. And when a light rail line became available late last year, I started taking the train downtown when I had to go. I still drive on these days about a mile to the “Park-N-Ride,” but that is nowhere near the distance to downtown. And as far as possible I avoid any other unnecessary driving. But when I do drive, I drive a minivan (;^{ . That may seem incongruous or bad, but 1) it was basically given to me and I don’t want to trade it in to go to someone else who would drive it more or be scrapped and largely wasted; and 2) I don’t want to buy a new car (until I have to) until the car companies truly get serious about the environment and not just their own profit.

LS

Reducing the amount of light polluting the sky is relatively easy by installing shields to redirect the light, changing the source and so on, and of course proper planning in the first place. This is a main emphasis on the International Darksky Association.

I’ll go out on a limb here and say that I think much of the problem of light pollution can be traced to World War II and the Cold War. During WWII, people were often deprived of things, so in the period shortly thereafter there was a kind of backlash and everything was wasted, lighting and energy included. Since this coincided with a time of great growth and affluence, it became ingrained in our society. You know, we’ve got “money to burn,” so why not burn it? People still think that if they can afford it, the can afford to waste it, as evidenced in gas-guzzling cars. There is some arrogance involved here. Many people leave lights on, and waste gas and other forms of energy because they think it is their “right.” Since the 60s, millions of kids have grown up, in my opinion, with an inflated idea of their “rights” and “personal freedom” to do whatever that want, and too little emphasis on personal and societal responsibility. A common phrase among young people today — which I just despise — is “because I can,” implying, it seems, that they have the right to do whatever they want without consequence.

Of course there also was an element of safety — or perceived safety — involved in the increasing use of light in the 50s, 60s and beyond. The more light, the safer you were, they thought. While there is a grain of truth in that, I think people took it — and still take it– to an extreme.

But I think we need to re-emphasize the economics of this strongly. Those of us, like myself, whose parents lived through the Depression, may well remember constant nagging to “turn off the light when you leave the room.” That was because the electricity cost money, not for any environmental concern. Some people still say that to their kids today (thankfully) for whatever reason. But now with environmental concerns increasing the cost of energy, it should become a strong economic concern again.

It boils down to what will *we* do? Writing or calling city councils and other government officials, supporting environmental causes, teaching our children and talking to everyone we can are all good things. The key is to get people to realize that waste and pollution, even with light, is bad for the environment and bad for the wallet.

The singer-songwriter Carol King once said, “At night, the stars put on a show for free.” Alas, that’s not the case anymore, for excessive and misdirected lighting is drawing the curtains over this free nighttime attraction. A firsthand view of the star-studded heavens, I hasten to add, provides much more than mere entertainment. The night sky is humanity’s priceless heritage, and the age-old constellations are well worth preserving for posterity. We impoverish ourselves when we allow the night sky - the world’s oldest and most enduring astronomy book - to be removed from the public domain!

It’s sometimes said that we can have security or the stars - but not both. Nothing could be further from the truth. Good lighting not only preserves the grandeur of the night, but it provides safer and more efficient lighting as well.

Springfield Prison in Springfield, Vermont, provides one of the best examples of the highest-quality, lowest-impact lighting in the world. Springfield hosts the annual Stellaphane Convention - perhaps the largest gathering of amateur astronomers in the world. The outdoor lighting at nearby Springfield Prison doesn’t trespass on the stargazing, however, because the state-of-the-art lighting directs light to where it is needed and prevents it from spilling over to where it’s not.

I believe the night sky should be everyone’s birthright, and Springfield provides the shining example on how to recover this invaluable visual treasure. Let’s do what we can to give all present and future citizens in the international community a lifetime ticket of admission to the nighttime theater, a cultural and educational resource that elevates our thoughts and expands our vision.

Bruce McClure