Save Our Sky

For those sky-watchers who worry about the environment, having the world go green is not enough. The preferred color is a dark green. Although light pollution doesn't generally cause as much alarm as other issues such as the changing climate, there is an outspoken community of stargazers that feel this is an important problem that must be worked on and eventually solved.

Our Milky Way is home to hundreds of millions of stars, fewer and fewer of which are observable due to increasing light pollution; not only does light pollution interfere with our experiencing the wonder of our own galaxy, but it also wastes energy. Only one-third of the cities in the United States are dark enough at night for people to see the Milky Way while standing in their backyards.

Watchers of the night sky generally prefer to use the Milky Way as a measuring tool. If you consult an atlas and look at the eastern portion of the US, you will find areas the size of a small country with dark unpolluted skies. It's difficult to find a place where you can truly feel and see the darkness, here in the West, even if you're willing to travel long distances to get there.

Security lighting is not only necessary at night, since the majority of property crimes are happening during the daylight hours. (in the home or business) may not be as important as people think. With Light pollution becoming as serious a threat to us as any other pollution emission, there really needs to be more action taken than just the twenty-seven States that currently have laws on the books about energy lights or lights that are pointing towards our night time sky.

The pollution that is caused by home owners will need to be reduced. (from turning down security lighting to accurately putting window coverings into place)

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