One thing I love to do when I am in a rural area at night is just stand with my head pointed upward. I am sure it looks silly, but I am so taken aback by the beauty of the heavens. Sadly, this is not a sight many city folk can enjoy. It is one of the major drawbacks of city (or even "town") life, and a reason why I am so desperate to be in the country as much as I can.
Light pollution is not just an aesthetic problem. It is dangerous--continuous light not only interferes with our sleep cycle, but it is a serious problem for animals as well (have you ever heard a lone bird singing out your window at 3 in the morning?). Every year, migrating birds find themselves lost amid the bright lights of a city that refuses to sleep--they fly in circles, confused, until they literally fall to their death from total exhaustion. Continuous light interferes with mating cycles of many animals as well. It is costly, wasteful, and detrimental to those we share our planet with.
On Saturday March 28th, the world will take a small step in the right direction (many communities have already done this, earning the label "dark sky community" for their rules governing darkness all year long). From 8:30pm until 9:30pm, local time, people all over the world will be turning out the lights so that our planet may have a break. I hope you will join us and turn your lights out, too. Light a candle...read a book...meditate...or even just go to bed--a good night sleep never hurt, and like darkness itself, many of us get too little of it.
Enjoy the night!
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