September - Let There Be Night
This picture taken from my home in Godfrey, Illinois, came to mind as I listened to a webinar about light pollution. The speaker didn't hold back, warning of the danger to life - all life - as we light up the planet. I appreciated his putting this critical issue into context, since it is a contributor to the ongoing biodiversity crisis. Context In 1962 Rachel Carson wrote Silent Spring, warning us of the danger of widespread pesticide use, an unquestioned practice at the time. Following her lead, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was established, and in 1972 it banned the use of DDT due to overuse and harmful impact on the planet. The environmental movement began, and our consciousness was raised. In 2009 Doug Tallamy also broke new ground with his book Bringing Nature Home: How You Can Sustain Wildlife with Native Plants, which made the connection between biodiversity loss and our gardens. Imagine! Until then it was unthought of that the kind of flowers we chose had an effect on biodiversity. We weren't aware that insects need the plants they evolved with rather those brought into an area from elsewhere. Now groups like Grow Native! are proliferating, and even some highway medians are being planted with natives. Another step forward on the road to recovery as our consciousness was raised again. In 2020 Tallamy continued waking us up. In Nature's Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation That Starts in Your Yard, he challenged America's love of turf grass, pointing out that it provides no ecological benefits. He encouraged reducing lawn size by half and planting it with native flowers, shrubs, and trees if we want to stop the collapse of biodiversity. A doable effort to stem the crisis, and our consciousness continued to expand. Light Pollution After setting this context, in the webinar "Dark Sky as a Natural Resource", Dr. Vayujeet Gokhale illuminated participants with a call to realize the harm of extreme light pollution in this country. Just as with pesticides, non-native plants, and turf grass, our overlooked lighting up the night skies is contributing to the biodiversity crisis. Artificial light negatively impacts insects as well as turtles, seabirds, shorebirds, and ecosystems in general. It also has a detrimental impact on human health. Among other informative and challenging messages, Dr. Gokhale offered five principles for outdoor lighting:
Gokhale's overall rule of thumb: efficiency versus over-consumption! Motivation For a more poetic motivational voice, savor a thought from John Burroughs, naturalist and essayist: If I had my life to live over again and had my choice of celestial abodes, I am sure I should take this planet... This great rolling sphere with its sky, its stars, its sunrises and sunsets, and with its outlook into infinity — what could be more desirable? What more satisfying? Garlanded by the seasons... thrilling with life, with a heart of fire and a garment of azure seas, and fruitful continents — one might ransack the heavens in vain for a better or a more picturesque abode. Protecting our dark skies by reducing light pollution will do much to ensure our "outlook into infinity" as well as an Earth "thrilling with life", "azure seas", and "fruitful continents". Please share this information and consider joining Dark Sky International. (9/2024) |
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