Don’t forget to turn out your lights tonight at 8:30 P.M. wherever you live to participate in Earth Hour 2009. And while you’re making a statement about the importance of conserving energy and protecting against global warming, grab your telescope or binoculars and do a little sky gazing.
And if you want to contribute to the Earth Hour event, you can upload photos and videos to share with others. Visit earthhour.org to find out how.
There’s a new push for legislation that would require skyscrapers in downtown San Francisco to turn out their non-emergency lights at night. Newly elected Supervisor David Chiu will be introducing the legislation today as a way to help save energy. I haven’t seen the legislation yet, but I think this is a great idea. Not only will it help save electricity, but it will help to darken the night sky around San Francisco. As I’ve posted about before, I believe bringing back the dark night sky will help us to experience a reconnection with nature and new-found awe and wonder with the universe.
In related news, don’t forget that Saturday, March 28, 2009 is Earth Hour. At 8:30 P.M. in your time zone, turn out your lights for one hour and gaze at the stars.
The Milky Way as seen from Arizona
The New York Times recently ran an article about projects in New York City designed to heighten people’s awareness and appreciation of the night sky. The night sky seems like something that we are all pretty familiar with. But, unfortunately, as we become an increasingly urbanized society, we grow far too removed from the wonder of the sky after dark. Just look at the religions of old—Mayan, Pagan, Egyptian, etc—and it is obvious that the night sky held a far more important position in life than in current times.
Unfortunately, most urban skies are whitewashed by light pollution, leaving us able to see only a few very bright stars, an occasional planet, and of course the moon. What we don’t see is arguably the most spectacular sight from Earth: the Milky Way. If you’ve ever been away from urban areas on a clear night, you will remember seeing the Milky Way. Last year I traveled with my family to Lake Powell in the southwest United States. At night, in the middle of the desert, the stars were breathtaking and the Milky Way dominated the sky.
According to Carl Sagan, for most of humanity’s existence on this planet the Milky Way was a common sight. Before urbanization, the earth was so dark at night that even in a moonless sky one could see one’s shadow cast by the light from the Milky Way. As we grow more populous and use more and more exterior lighting, we are really depriving ourselves of a connection with the starry universe. In a telling sign of just how far removed we have become from the night sky, in 1994, after the Northridge earthquake shut down the power to Los Angeles, the 911 centers received numerous calls from people concerned about a “giant silvery cloud” in the sky. That “cloud” of course was the Milky Way.
So, if you want to get back in touch with your universe, here are some things to consider:
Participate in Earth Hour on March 28, 2009 by turning out your lights for one hour and gazing at the stars;
Support a dark sky organization, like the International Dark-Sky Association, the Dark Sky Society, or any number of local dark sky groups;
Choose exterior illumination options that reduce light pollution;
Visit your local observatory (in the San Francisco Bay Area, visit the Chabot Space and Science Center).
I think this is pretty cool. Reuters is reporting that on March 29, cities around the world will be turning off their lights for one hour and interested citizens will be joining in. The effort, by Earth Hour, an Australian group, is an attempt to raise awareness of carbon emissions resulting from electricity use.
I certainly salute the attempt to raise awareness about the effects of global warming. But, as someone who is concerned about the serious side effects of light pollution (as well as someone who just likes gazing at the stars), I am really looking forward to the one hour of darkness (and hopefully lots of stars) on March 29!
