Bright Lights, Little City - are we burning up the night sky?
by Tao Oliveto, Wilmington, NC
It starts to creep in sometimes…that “get away” feeling. The Cancerian in me loves my “hearth and home” as well as the many diverse aspects my “small-town” life has to offer, but when you feel the pull, you usually should pay attention. So, here we are in Wilmington, NC, a two+ hour drive from home. Although we’ll find some beach time today with the dogs, we city folk mostly enjoy the allure of historic downtown areas, especially if they sit on some waterway, and there’s an almost waterfront Inn here that is friendly and quiet.
After the usual walkabouts and sunset meal, we fell into that blissful, “I’m on vacation” sleep. Until 2:30am, when my sweet but somewhat nervous Border Collie decided she needed to go out. So, with a sweater over my pjs, i strolled through the mostly quiet neighborhood, taking advantage of a spontaneous experience under the stars. But, wait, where were the stars? Where was the dark? Instead of a unique nighttime experience, I felt more like I was on a movie set, assaulted by the bright lights everywhere. My “Inn” was lit up every few feet, the street lights obliterated the moon, and the convenience store across the street looked like a carnival.
From the Sherzer Observatory web site: “As much as 25% of electricity consumption (by far the #1 source of air pollution ) in the United States goes towards lighting. We could save conservatively $2 BILLION a year and millions of tons of coal with more efficient use. Taking away a natural night, “confuses birds and other animals…who depend on the cover of darkness for their very survival. As we increasingly become a 24-hour society, even we humans are taxing our “body clock”, one that requires nighttime.” Go here for more info. and visit this link to see our a birds eye view of our lit-up life.
Maybe I’ve become spoiled by my light-free co-housing community in Carrboro, but this seemed somehow ominous, as if we have become a society so frightened of our dark side that we attempt to push it away at all costs.
Lights at night seem to scream, stay awake!, but I think it has had the opposite affect…
April 6th, 2009 at 6:17 pm
don’t know much about electricity and stars, but, i do know about romance, and getting away. and i am happy that you got away and got to enjoy each other. i will take my time, thinking about what you said about lights and stars, i never thought about it much….and now i will. thanks for getting me to think.
April 7th, 2009 at 7:42 am
Hi. Trace.
Yes, I see this effect here in Greensboro. Where I live, right at downtown, we are immersed street lights, and light on in the tall-ish buildings of downtown, right out my back window. The sky is obliterated. We go 10 miles north to in-laws house, and the stars are revealed. Some say the lights are necessary for “security.” And I guess all the janitorial people are hard at work at night. Still the night photos are startling.
Would love to visit your living situation this summer. Make a date.
peace and hugs, Roger Hartsell
April 7th, 2009 at 10:21 am
Thanks for the comments, Roger. Check out the links in the post for answers to more effective and less wasteful security lighting for public and private areas. There are alternatives when it comes to safety…just like there are alternatives to most of our wasteful ways - we just have to be willing to break the status quo and change in old habits for new ones!
I’ll take all the visitors I can get this Summer. More soon!
Tao