Photo courtesy H. Raab on Flickr

Let us embrace the darkness.

Not the political dark ages being pushed on us by today’s regressive right-wing forces, but nature’s own pure darkness of night. Unfortunately, we Homo Sapiens have largely blacked out nature’s billions of beacons in the night sky, which have both dazzled and guided Earth’s creatures for eons.

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Ironically, the tool used to wash out natural light… is light! In all cities and most towns, the glare of artificial lighting has pulled an impervious curtain across our sky. Especially garish (and entirely useless) is the lighting of corporate skyscrapers throughout the night with blinding spotlights that keep us from seeing the genuinely majestic view beyond.

I was lucky as a child to spend summer evenings on my Aunt Eula’s farm, entranced as darkness fell and the celestial show began. But today, most children don’t even know it’s there. Indeed, 80 percent of Americans never see the stream of the Milky Way galaxy that is our home – much less seeing the spectacular cosmic beams shining from trillions of miles beyond.

This doesn’t mean we should just stumble around in the dark. Of course we need light, but try a little common sense. One, stop spotlighting buildings. Two, don’t point outdoor lighting up at the sky– shine it down on our streets, parking lots, stadiums, and porches where the illumination is actually needed. Three, remember that there’s an off switch. And even small steps can make a big difference. After all, all we’re giving up is bad lighting.

This is Jim Hightower saying… We can have the light we need and still let nature’s sky be the star. The good news is that towns, cities, and even countries have begun adopting such sensible lighting policies. To help do this where you live, go to DarkSky International: darksky.org.

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