Saving our skies
Iam lucky enough to live in Rappahannock where on a clear night you are sure to see millions of stars. In other towns and cities, even Warrenton and Front Royal that are so close to us, people are not so lucky; you can’t see the stars due to light pollution. Some of the causes of light pollution could be headlights in cars and street lamps and other night time lighting. Most night lighting is excessive and unnecessary. It's really a shame because I love seeing the stars at night and they are absolutely lovely to look at. The fact that other Americans do not know the joy that the stars bring is a sorrowful thought. I think communities should limit light pollution because it’s important for young people to learn how to preserve parts of the environment.
We do not need a light post every ve feet, especially in neighborhoods where people might be trying to enjoy the night sky. A solution to this would be to take down the lights that are unneeded. Even the ood lights that some people have on the sides of their houses could cause light pollution, and I understand that people like them for safety reasons but if they knew the e ects of the lights maybe they would consider taking them down. A di erent solution to this problem would be to purchase shields to cover the light bulbs. I remember a while back I went to a Dark Skies program, an educational program people of all ages could attend at the Rappahannock County Park. They were talking about purchasing shields to redirect the light into places it’s needed instead of being re ected or redirected into the sky. This solution also creates less of a con ict because there could potentially be people opposed to the idea of taking down some lighting. The shields allow them to keep the lights and not have them polluting the sky with a lot of light.
Informing the public by sending out pamphlets could be a cool way to bring attention to this issue. These pamphlets could include interesting facts and pictures to get people excited about the stars they could potentially be seeing. A way to get people to look at the pamphlets could be to have bright eye-catching pictures and words on the front, and maybe include a dramatic statement somewhere like, “Light Pollution is Ruining our Skies.” Things like this would make people more likely to look at and read the pamphlet. Another way to inform the public could be to invite other schools to see the Dark Skies program, which could also be a way to get the youth more involved.
It’s important for communities to embrace the stars so that young people like me can appreciate their beauty. Rappahannock County is a good example of how communities can incorporate Dark Skies into education.