All of us are changing this planet: land use is driven by urbanization and residential development, we harvest hundreds of millions of acres crops and forests, fisheries are depleted, and the climate is changing. Such effects are global, surprisingly complicated and often have no easy solutions. We’ve obliterated the night sky from virtually all population centers and pushed star gazing to rural and undeveloped areas. For any star party, the most important question is not “How far?” but “How dark are the skies?”

In cities, ordinances and state laws mandating cutoff lighting seems to be effective, slowing deterioration or offering some slight improvement. But time is of the essence: our population is projected to reach 400,000,000 by 2043: that’s just 37 years from now and includes the next generation of Delmarva Star Gazers!

Light pollution is wasted energy, but that argument seems to have gained little traction when balanced against commerce and public safety. Energy is very cheap in this country, and we use more in total and more per person than just about anyone anywhere. Wasting light doesn’t yet hurt enough. 

Another tack is to argue for the greater good. Ask someone if they’ve heard of the Milky Way, then ask them if they’ve ever seen it. Offer to show it to them along with other celestial treasures: we need to get widespread public support behind us. Otherwise, amateur astronomy risks becoming geographically marginalized and exclusively virtual. As great an asset as the Internet has been, it is not a replacement for a tack-sharp glimpse of Jupiter’s cloud belts or "discovering" a much sought-after faint galaxy seemingly halfway across the universe.

The biggest threat I see to the dark skies we have now is unbridled development. Government agencies and councils do not possess the backbone to resist growth. On the positive side, much of the new commercial development uses cutoff lighting and is not nearly as detrimental as it could be. But it’s a numbers game: people have houses with porch lights, neighborhoods are illuminated by street lights, and those communities need shopping centers, fast food restaurants and car lots. All require nighttime lighting. None of which is good for a dark sky.

This population rollover comes just before the midterm elections, when Americans will determine the way forward for our country on many important issues. It comes down to what you want in your state, community and backyard. If you feel enjoyment of the night sky, quality of life and the environment are critical, the ballot box is your opportunity to be heard. Need motivation? "All politics is local," and so it seems is light pollution: see just how easy it is to find your home town on this night image among those other 300,000,000 Americans.

Moondark is written by Doug Miller, published at the Moondark web site, and printed in the Delmarva Star Gazers' Star Gazer News. This document was last revised on 29 October 2006. Text and images copyright © 2006 by Douglas C. Miller, All Rights Reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any form without prior permission.