Here's a novel idea - let's turn off the lights!

For some time, I've thought it would be an interesting experiment to turn off our urban and city lighting, so that we could see the night sky without having to travel miles out of town.

Of course, it would never work now .. there's too much street and traffic lighting needed to keep us safe on the roads, etc.

Perhaps, if we could prevail on our architects and designers to minimise the amount of light we point into the night sky, we might see a bit more of the sky.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/201...


In Hong Kong we try to do one hour without lights.  Doesn't really work.

https://earthhour.wwf.org.hk/e...


Night lighting has become a safety issue. A group with which I am affiliated is advocating for more/better lighting at night to make it safer for older residents to venture out after dark. Perimeter lighting has been found to be a crime deterrent in more densely populated areas.  Nice as it seems, I don't see turning off the lights as being practical in  my part of the world.


joan_crystal said:

 Nice as it seems, I don't see turning off the lights as being practical in  my part of the world.

True, but if we persuade our architects and designers to minimise the amount of up-lighting, surely that would be a start.


dave said:

In Hong Kong we try to do one hour without lights.  Doesn't really work.

https://earthhour.wwf.org.hk/e...

Yes, we do the same here in Melbourne (Australia).


sounds like a crime fest waiting to happen!


conandrob240 said:

sounds like a crime fest waiting to happen!

Not necessarily.

Proper, well-designed lighting will still give good light in the areas its needed and minimise the light wasted llluminating the sky or other areas where it is not needed.

http://www.darksky.org/light-p...


+1 to turning off the lights. Every year there are more lights. In recent years there are nasty very bright blue-white lights. The night isn't really dark anymore. I moved to South Orange partly for the gas lit streets.

But I doubt we'll find many like-minded people. Most people seem to only want more and more light at night.



marksierra said:

For some time, I've thought it would be an interesting experiment to turn off our urban and city lighting, so that we could see the night sky without having to travel miles out of town.


What a wonderful idea.  Despite the fact that we lived in the city, my father regularly pointed out the constellations to us.  I still look for the big and little dipper with Polaris, the North (Slave) star.  After I had resigned myself to not having a shot at sighting the Hale-Bopp comet when it passed close by in 1997, I saw it quite by accident one night when I was dumping the trash.  It was the most beautiful thing; a veil of glittering diamonds.  


One of the treats for my children when they visit their grandparents in rural Oregon is seeing the night sky. Many less fortunate children in our communities will never have this opportunity to share in a wonder of nature that has been enjoyed by every generation of humanity since time began.

Surely, we can find ways to be safe without blotting out the majesty of the world around us. 



GoSlugs
said:

Surely, we can find ways to be safe without blotting out the majesty of the world around us. 

I know I'm repeating myself, but what 'we' need to do is to convince architects and designers to light buildings and other structures from the top down, rather than from the bottom up.  



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