April 13-20 is International Dark Sky Week and Greene County will be celebrating with an evening under the stars on April 18 from 8:00-10:00 pm at the Greene County Community Park to watch the annual Lyrid Meteor Shower and learn to identify Spring constellations. This guided dark-sky event will include meteor viewing, constellation identification, and a brief discussion on how light pollution affects night-sky visibility and why dark skies matter. 

Most of us are familiar with air pollution and water pollution, but did you know that light can also be a pollutant? 

Light pollution is similar to trash pollution.  When people throw trash on the ground instead of putting the trash in a trash can, they are creating trash pollution.  When people put light where it isn’t needed, they are creating light pollution. 

Not so long ago our ancestors experienced a night sky brimming with stars that has inspired science, religion, philosophy, art, and literature through the ages, including some of Shakespeare’s most famous sonnets.

Without the natural night sky, humankind would not have:

• Navigated the globe,
• Walked on the moon,
• Learned of our expanding universe, or
• Discovered that humans are made of stardust.

Van Gogh painted his famous “Starry Night” in 1889 in Saint Rémy, France. Today, the Milky Way can no longer be seen from Saint Rémy.  In fact, most people can’t see the Milky Way from where they live nor many of the 2500 stars visible to the naked eye that make up the 88 official constellations. In the United States and Europe, 99 percent of the public can’t experience a natural night.

Not only does light pollution interfere with our ability to see celestial bodies and astronomical events, light pollution has a detrimental environmental impact.

Research into the ecological consequences of artificial night lighting is revealing numerous connections between light pollution and species disruption.  Evidence suggests that artificial light at night has negative and deadly effects on many creatures, including amphibians, birds, mammals, insects, and plants that rely on natural patterns of light and dark.

Migrating birds, butterflies, and moths and the navigation of everything from sea turtles to dung beetles can be easily disoriented because of distracting lights that animals confuse with the stars and moon.  Some believe that declines in moth populations are linked to attraction to lights and subsequent death. 

The good news is that light pollution is reversable and each one of us can make a difference.

Dark Skies is a movement that is gaining traction

Dark Skies is a movement that is gaining traction among policymakers who recognize dark skies as a resource worth protecting.  In 1988 the nonprofit International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) was formed to advance the cause of protecting night skies, motivated primarily by the need to protect the integrity of astronomical observatories.

The “dark skies movement” has since expanded to encompass issues of environmental degradation, human health and safety, energy use and climate change, as well as community aesthetics. IDA now has more than sixty volunteer-staffed chapters worldwide including twenty representing five continents.

In June 2015 Staunton River State Park in Scottsburg became the first IDA-certified Dark Sky Park in Virginia. In 2018 James River State Park in Gladstone followed suit.  Natural Bridge and Sky Meadows state parks recently joined the ranks.  In addition to these four state parks recognized by IDA, Rappahannock County Park in Washington, Virginia, is also a designated International Dark Sky Park.

International Dark Sky Parks are parks with an exceptional or distinguished quality of starry nights and a protected nocturnal environment.

In 2016 Shenandoah National Park began a Night Sky Festival full of ranger programs and activities to celebrate our night skies.  Shenandoah does not get as dark as some of the Parks out in the west or northern United States, but its high elevation, combined with its relative remoteness from dense urban areas, make the Park a great place to enjoy stargazing on the east coast. 

The nocturnal creatures in Shenandoah National Park – owls, bats, and insects to name a few- benefit from the wide swath of forest that remains dark at night.

Around the world governments from national to municipal levels are enacting legislation and standards to curb the increase in light pollution— sometimes motivated by greenhouse gas reduction and energy savings goals. 

IDA estimates that at least 30 percent of all outdoor lighting in the U.S. alone is wasted, mostly by lights that aren’t shielded. That adds up to $3.3 billion and the release of 21 million tons of carbon dioxide per year. 15 million tons of carbon dioxide emitted each year is from residential outdoor lighting alone.

The Greene County Economic Development and Tourism Council has identified Dark Skies as an important resource in its strategic plan and is working with local policymakers to incorporate dark sky-friendly residential lighting standards into future new-construction zoning ordinances. 

“The broader goal is to support informed decision-making that balances conservation, economic vitality, public safety, and quality of life,” says Emily Byers of Blue Ridge Dark Sky who will be leading the guided dark-sky event on April 18.

There are now over 160,000 square kilometers of protected land and night skies in 22 countries on 6 continents, and the list grows every year as new places achieve certification.

Most lights fall into two categories: acceptable and unacceptable lights. 

Acceptable lights do not create glare.  Glare is what happens when a bright light shines directly into your eyes. When a light is so bright that it’s uncomfortable or distracting to look at, we say that light is creating glare.

Think about it. The lights in your house would create severe glare if you didn’t cover them with lampshades.  The same is true for outdoor lights.  Acceptable lights are shielded so that it only puts light where we want it.  Shielding and directing a light reduces glare and light pollution. 

Unacceptable lights use the wrong color of light.  Most light bulbs have blue light in them.  Blue light can confuse our Circadian Rhythm, a fancy name for our bodies use of the sun and darkness to balance sleeping and being awake.  It is important to get blue light from the sun during the day. It is just as important to keep the blue light away before going to bed.  Phones and other electronics produce blue light. 

An acceptable light has a purpose. Acceptable lights are there for a reason and only put light where we want it.  Unacceptable lights give off unwanted light, such as a light that is pointed upward. 

Thankfully, light pollution is an easy problem to solve!

Much of the Earth’s population is living under light-polluted skies.  When human-made lights put too much light where light isn’t needed or wanted, they are creating light pollution.

The good news is that light pollution is reversable and each one of us can make a difference.  A few simple steps taken at your own home can help bring the dark skies back.

• Install lighting only when and where it’s needed
• Use energy saving features such as timers and motion sensors on outdoor lights
• Shield your lighting so it only shines downward

An illustrated guide to acceptable vs. unacceptable types of light fixtures can be found here.

Register here for the Green County Dark Sky event on April 18.