For 25 years the International Dark-Sky Association has been fighting light pollution, the single greatest threat to our enjoyment of the night sky. Isn't it time that amateur astronomers worldwide gave their full support to the IDA?
Many of us remember a time when the night sky was dark pretty much everywhere. I was particularly lucky, coming of age in a rural California town above which the stars shone like diamonds on black velvet. I could just walk outside on a summer's night and — wham! — the Milky Way practically assaulted my eyes.
These days I'm on the other side of the country, but I can still see some of the Milky Way from my suburban home on a good night. I count myself among the more fortunate in that respect. But the situation isn't perfect. Over time the light pollution from Boston and from the ugly commercial sprawl of nearby Nashua, New Hampshire, have nibbled away at my stars.
I'll bet you've experienced the same loss, if not worse. Most of you can't see the Milky Way from your backyard anymore. You probably don't spend as much time looking for meteors because skyglow washes out all the faint ones. In fact, you probably don't observe much now at all because the night sky just doesn't beckon the way it used to.
It doesn't have to be this way, y'know.
In the late 1990s I began covering meetings of the International Dark-Sky Association for Sky & Telescope. The IDA got its start 25 years ago when David Crawford (a professional astronomer) and Tim Hunter (an amateur) joined forces in the astronomical mecca of Tucson, Arizona. The region was growing rapidly, and rampant outdoor lighting was threatening to compromise the pristine skies over neighboring Kitt Peak National Observatory.
Crawford and Hunter succeeded — today Tucson has tougher outdoor-lighting standards than any big city in the country, and Kitt Peak's night sky is still dark.
Meanwhile, the IDA's influence has grown steadily. Two years ago it created an award-winning video, Losing the Dark, that's been translated into 12 languages and downloaded for use by more than 800 planetariums worldwide. IDA's professional staff has competed for, won, and executed a turtle-habitat restoration project for the State of Florida. And lighting manufacturers are lining up to get an IDA Fixture Seal of Approval on their hardware.
Just last month, the fight against light pollution was featured in Men's Journal (1 million readers) and on CBS This Morning (3 million viewers).
All of this warms my heart. It means "light pollution" is something that most everyday people have heard about and many care about. It means that the subject has caught on with lighting professionals, environmentalists, human-health specialists, and urban planners. It means that there's hope, a chance, that over time the spread of light pollution will not only be slowed but even reversed.
Here's the problem, though: The IDA isn't getting enough support from the very individuals who stand to gain the most from its success: amateur and professional astronomers. Statistically, only about one of every 100 backyard stargazers is an IDA member. How sad.
Sure, most of you will nod knowingly, even sympathetically, whenever the subject of light pollution is brought up. That's a start, but how about showing some real support for the cause? You can join the IDA for a modest $35 per year. That's probably comparable to what you pay to belong to your local astronomy club. For the cost of a single high-end eyepiece, you could remain an IDA member for 10 years.
So what have I done about light pollution, you might ask in reply? A decade ago, when I stepped away from working on Sky & Telescope to become editor of its sibling publication, Night Sky, I made the decision to get seriously involved in the light-pollution fight. I taught myself the technicalities of illumination. I threw myself into creating outdoor-lighting ordinances at the local and state level. I got elected to the IDA's Board of Directors and, today, serve as its vice president. And I talk about our vanishing night sky to whomever will listen.
Those who frequent this website know that we S&T editors don't get on a soapbox very often. But this is one of those times. If just one in 10 of you were to join the IDA, its membership would double. So please do join or make a donation. It's a modest resolution to make for the coming year — and one that'll be easy to keep.
Comments
Anthony Barreiro
January 3, 2014 at 4:27 pm
Thanks Kelly for this timely reminder and exhortation. I'm proud to be a member of the International Dark Sky Association. Unlike other forms of pollution which can be very persistent and require years or decades to clean up, the solution to light pollution can be as simple as turning off a switch. My new year's resolution (even before I read your article) is to decrease the worsening light pollution in San Francisco and the Bay Area. Any readers in the SF Bay Area who are interested in organizing a local IDA chapter, please send me an email -- anthonybarreiro (at) yahoo (dot) com.
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Kevin Sweeney
January 4, 2014 at 11:14 am
Thank you for your article Kelly. A dark night sky is a disappearing resource that your National Parks are very interested preserving and protecting for future generations. For many visitors, the only time they experience a dark sky is when they peak out of their tent while visiting a park. Many need to be convinced that the Milky Way is not a cloud. To raise awareness of the conservation of our remaining dark skies, many National Parks hold festivals and astronomy programs to share this important resource. The International Dark Sky Association is involved in many. Here at Lassen, in the dark corner of northern California, our festival will be August 1-3, 2014. More information can be found here: http://www.nature.nps.gov/night/index.cfm
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