The Dark-Sky Movement

Buzz Log ^ | January 31, 2011 | Mike Krumboltz

[americanophile]

Stargazers now have their Graceland. The Channel Island of Sark, located 80 miles south of England, has been designated as the world's first dark-sky island.

Dark-sky communities are places with very little to no light pollution. As a result, the stars are far easier to see and more fun to look at. According to a buzzy article from SPACE.com, Sark is just 4.5 square miles and has "no public street lighting, no paved roads, and no cars." In other words, save for the occasional flashlight or matchstick, there aren't a lot of things to interfere with the nighttime display, which includes "meteors streaking overhead and countless stars on display."

The International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) makes the call on whether or not a community deserves to join their movement. And plenty would like to. The Burlington Free Press explains that dark-sky legislation "has been embraced by about 300 countries, cities, and towns." At first this might sound like something only nature enthusiasts would really care about, that's not so. The United States military is also getting behind the legislation. Too much light can interfere with drills at military bases.

And while they don't exactly get a say in the matter, it's worth noting that creatures big and small would likely also be in favor of more dark-sky rules. Again, according to the Burlington Free Press, there is evidence that "nighttime lights disturb animals and ecosystems."

[1rudeboy]

I've some points on this thread. I review them here because you are painfully stupid.

1. I observed Chicago screw things up for no reason*,
2. In the 1980's, the technology to "cut" the light from an HID fixture was already there, and
3. further technological advancement and lower costs (thanks to the capitalism you fear so much) make solving** this problem simple.

I really have no time for your reductio ad absurdum antics today. Go play with your retarded friends.

____
*all Chicago had to do was purchase lights with shades that direct the light downward, instead of globes that send it in every direction
**not retrofitting, just replacement when the original fixtures get old

[hoosierham]

Ignorant people that paint everything they don't personally like as anti-American and Stalinist are part of the problem.

You are part of the problem.

Didn't your mother ever read the story of The Boy Who Cried Wolf?