Thank you Jim for addressing this issue when we are all focused on the draconian events impacting our lives. But keeping the night dark also has a big impact on us and our surroundings in surprising ways. And it IS something we can actually improve. Dark Sky International is a superb resource for all things related to this.
Indeed thanks Jim for this - and it is so tragic that we have mostly lost the ability to see this Gift - the astonishing volume of stars and galaxies - the vastness of the universe....we desperately need to restore this as a birthright....I NEVER am able anymore to see anythng but a couple planets....No wonder we are so alienated from Nature and our souls are Lost, when at night, the stars are not visible, and when all day long, we are slaves to our (too often satanic) SCREENS....Here is what Ralph Waldo Emerson said: "If the stars should appear one night in a thousand years, how would men believe and adore; and preserve for many generations the remembrance of the City of God which had been shown! But every night come out these envoys of beauty, and light the universe with their admonishing smile." When I looked up this quote just now, and asked about the use of the word 'admonishing' - whoever wrote the commentary, said that Ralph used that word to suggest that the stars gently but firmly remind us of our place in the universe and the vastness beyond our everyday concerns, prompting reverence and a sense of the sublime. Thanks again, Jim Hightower for this - and all the other comments. - Jim O'Reilly
I've been to two Dark Skies parks here in the US - one in the Pennsylvania Wilds at Cherry Hill State park and the other at a state park outside Appomattox VA (where the end of the Civil War officially occurred when the Confederates signed the agreement ending the war. It's an amazing experience and really worth the time and effort to get to one. Yes, as a boy I saw skies like that in New York's Adirondack Mountains, but it had been a good 50 years since I really experineced the full impact of the nighttime sky.
I feel so blessed to live in a neighborhood with no street lights. Without light pollution, I am blessed every night with a spectacular view of the night sky. I also live in the woods, so I have no drapes on my windows, and when the moon is full, it lights up my whole house. Best show in town!
As an ornithologist (retired), light pollution, especially in urban area, is a major source of harm to migrant birds, in both spring and fall. Some number of North American cities have adopted Lights Out initiatives to reduce mortality from window strikes, which are significant. But reducing lighting on rural areas can also be helpful. In my sparsely populated area of Appalachian Ohio, my first act upon moving to this property 20 years ago was to disable the security light. Little problem enjoying the Milky Way here.
I almost wept reading Jim's commentary: I grew up in the country & we saw the Milky Way every night all summer, as well as the tiniest light of fireflies! (all we had to sit on was some concrete steps, but it is among my best memories of my growing-up years.) A Democrat Senator in our state Legislator presented a bill to have just one night (or one week?) of dark skies -- but even in our rural state it did not pass. THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HAS SENT IN BEAUTIFUL AND ENCOURAGING SENTIMENTS. I am encouraging to keep trying to draw attention to this need. BTY: the last time I saw bright stars was at the Observatory deep in the heart of rural Texas! The song is right!!
Thank you, thank you! There is a 5million megawatt streetlight at the foot of my drive, and my neighbor's house (empty now that he is dead) burns two floodlights on his drive AND mine all night. To get even a glimpse of the many spectacular celestial events that have occurred just this year, I have had to gimp with my walker to the end of the street to find enough darkness to see. And don't get me started on the wasted energy in those 24/7 illuminated office buildings.
"Needing the Night,"is the title of an article in National Wildlife Magazine, Summer 2023 issue. A remarkable diversity of animal and insect species need the night's dark to do their life's work each night. Others among us also remember or somehow know that polination ocurs in the dark, much to our surprise. And we do enjoy our heaven's best on clear nights while they are doing their work. Night darks are vital and often great fun. Thanks, Jim.
Wait! There are actually stars in the heavens above?? Oh, yeah, now I remember. Saw them once upon a time when I visited a tiny town in the middle of Alberta, Canada...
Stray light is an issue all year but even worse during daylight savings time when I can barely make out Orion even though it's high in the sky when I take the dog out around 8:30 pm. Neighbors who have bright outside lights that they keep on all night are an extra pain; I understand that they are fearful of "predators" but motion activated lights are easy to install and come on only when a stray cat wanders by.
Thank you for reminding me about the need to reduce light pollution. I live on an island in Puget Sound and in recent years extreme bright lighting has appeared at gas stations, grocery parking lots, etc.
As a community we need to work on solutions that balance safety with environmental concerns like light pollution.
It’s been a few years since those living near the center of town have been able to enjoy the beauty of the night skies.
Efforts to bring back the beauty of the night sky are a wonderful thing. We are losing our connection to nature, with sad and terrible consequences. Too many of us have lost empathy with other species, and we are being ushered into an impoverished indoor environment where our minds are entranced by material comforts and screens.
The majesty of the night sky is something that should be possible for all to experience, if for city dwellers it would likely involve a journey for a full dark sky experience. Even cities can lower the lights, especially during bird migrations. I go to Idaho to visit my daughter, and there is a dark sky area there, truly magnificent.
Having been born in N.Y.C., New York l never saw the stars until we went to Mom's Oklahoma family farm when l was 5 yes old. Made me want to be a farmer and have a horse in 4H for my education and not sit indoors all the time. When l went to the top of the World Trade Center the lights glaring out as far as l could see looked like a shiny cancer on the land. The megalopolis requires electricity, water, food and money for survival and is destroying our life supporting habitat for more human overpopulation. The present government is encouraging people to electrical over- indulgence, the sin of greed
We believe that too many people have been conditioned to fear the dark, as if crime only happened at night. Some of the most heinous crimes are committed in full daylight. Darkness is necessary for our health and comfort. We need to do what we can to protect our small planet from abuse that is not necessary. Good advice, Jim! And if anyone wants to check out just how awesome our night sky is, try to catch NOVA on PBS - they have a series on the universe and the planets that is sure to change your whole way of thinking about our place in it!
Thank you Jim for bringing up this important issue that gets so little attention. Not only do bright skies block the celestial wonders, it also disrupts the life of nocturnal animals and insects. This can have negative impacts on such critical functions like plant pollination. I suggest people speak up at local council and supervisor's meeting to make people aware of the problem and suggest to enact solutions that are enumerated on the Dark Sky International's website.
Thank you Jim for addressing this issue when we are all focused on the draconian events impacting our lives. But keeping the night dark also has a big impact on us and our surroundings in surprising ways. And it IS something we can actually improve. Dark Sky International is a superb resource for all things related to this.
Indeed thanks Jim for this - and it is so tragic that we have mostly lost the ability to see this Gift - the astonishing volume of stars and galaxies - the vastness of the universe....we desperately need to restore this as a birthright....I NEVER am able anymore to see anythng but a couple planets....No wonder we are so alienated from Nature and our souls are Lost, when at night, the stars are not visible, and when all day long, we are slaves to our (too often satanic) SCREENS....Here is what Ralph Waldo Emerson said: "If the stars should appear one night in a thousand years, how would men believe and adore; and preserve for many generations the remembrance of the City of God which had been shown! But every night come out these envoys of beauty, and light the universe with their admonishing smile." When I looked up this quote just now, and asked about the use of the word 'admonishing' - whoever wrote the commentary, said that Ralph used that word to suggest that the stars gently but firmly remind us of our place in the universe and the vastness beyond our everyday concerns, prompting reverence and a sense of the sublime. Thanks again, Jim Hightower for this - and all the other comments. - Jim O'Reilly
I COMPLETELY agree with you!
I've been to two Dark Skies parks here in the US - one in the Pennsylvania Wilds at Cherry Hill State park and the other at a state park outside Appomattox VA (where the end of the Civil War officially occurred when the Confederates signed the agreement ending the war. It's an amazing experience and really worth the time and effort to get to one. Yes, as a boy I saw skies like that in New York's Adirondack Mountains, but it had been a good 50 years since I really experineced the full impact of the nighttime sky.
I feel so blessed to live in a neighborhood with no street lights. Without light pollution, I am blessed every night with a spectacular view of the night sky. I also live in the woods, so I have no drapes on my windows, and when the moon is full, it lights up my whole house. Best show in town!
As an ornithologist (retired), light pollution, especially in urban area, is a major source of harm to migrant birds, in both spring and fall. Some number of North American cities have adopted Lights Out initiatives to reduce mortality from window strikes, which are significant. But reducing lighting on rural areas can also be helpful. In my sparsely populated area of Appalachian Ohio, my first act upon moving to this property 20 years ago was to disable the security light. Little problem enjoying the Milky Way here.
I almost wept reading Jim's commentary: I grew up in the country & we saw the Milky Way every night all summer, as well as the tiniest light of fireflies! (all we had to sit on was some concrete steps, but it is among my best memories of my growing-up years.) A Democrat Senator in our state Legislator presented a bill to have just one night (or one week?) of dark skies -- but even in our rural state it did not pass. THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HAS SENT IN BEAUTIFUL AND ENCOURAGING SENTIMENTS. I am encouraging to keep trying to draw attention to this need. BTY: the last time I saw bright stars was at the Observatory deep in the heart of rural Texas! The song is right!!
Thank you, thank you! There is a 5million megawatt streetlight at the foot of my drive, and my neighbor's house (empty now that he is dead) burns two floodlights on his drive AND mine all night. To get even a glimpse of the many spectacular celestial events that have occurred just this year, I have had to gimp with my walker to the end of the street to find enough darkness to see. And don't get me started on the wasted energy in those 24/7 illuminated office buildings.
"Needing the Night,"is the title of an article in National Wildlife Magazine, Summer 2023 issue. A remarkable diversity of animal and insect species need the night's dark to do their life's work each night. Others among us also remember or somehow know that polination ocurs in the dark, much to our surprise. And we do enjoy our heaven's best on clear nights while they are doing their work. Night darks are vital and often great fun. Thanks, Jim.
Wait! There are actually stars in the heavens above?? Oh, yeah, now I remember. Saw them once upon a time when I visited a tiny town in the middle of Alberta, Canada...
Stray light is an issue all year but even worse during daylight savings time when I can barely make out Orion even though it's high in the sky when I take the dog out around 8:30 pm. Neighbors who have bright outside lights that they keep on all night are an extra pain; I understand that they are fearful of "predators" but motion activated lights are easy to install and come on only when a stray cat wanders by.
Thank you for reminding me about the need to reduce light pollution. I live on an island in Puget Sound and in recent years extreme bright lighting has appeared at gas stations, grocery parking lots, etc.
As a community we need to work on solutions that balance safety with environmental concerns like light pollution.
It’s been a few years since those living near the center of town have been able to enjoy the beauty of the night skies.
Efforts to bring back the beauty of the night sky are a wonderful thing. We are losing our connection to nature, with sad and terrible consequences. Too many of us have lost empathy with other species, and we are being ushered into an impoverished indoor environment where our minds are entranced by material comforts and screens.
The majesty of the night sky is something that should be possible for all to experience, if for city dwellers it would likely involve a journey for a full dark sky experience. Even cities can lower the lights, especially during bird migrations. I go to Idaho to visit my daughter, and there is a dark sky area there, truly magnificent.
Having been born in N.Y.C., New York l never saw the stars until we went to Mom's Oklahoma family farm when l was 5 yes old. Made me want to be a farmer and have a horse in 4H for my education and not sit indoors all the time. When l went to the top of the World Trade Center the lights glaring out as far as l could see looked like a shiny cancer on the land. The megalopolis requires electricity, water, food and money for survival and is destroying our life supporting habitat for more human overpopulation. The present government is encouraging people to electrical over- indulgence, the sin of greed
We believe that too many people have been conditioned to fear the dark, as if crime only happened at night. Some of the most heinous crimes are committed in full daylight. Darkness is necessary for our health and comfort. We need to do what we can to protect our small planet from abuse that is not necessary. Good advice, Jim! And if anyone wants to check out just how awesome our night sky is, try to catch NOVA on PBS - they have a series on the universe and the planets that is sure to change your whole way of thinking about our place in it!
Thank you Jim for bringing up this important issue that gets so little attention. Not only do bright skies block the celestial wonders, it also disrupts the life of nocturnal animals and insects. This can have negative impacts on such critical functions like plant pollination. I suggest people speak up at local council and supervisor's meeting to make people aware of the problem and suggest to enact solutions that are enumerated on the Dark Sky International's website.
Wise words ... more of this, more of this