A Virginia high school sophomore is trying to get Americans to do something that 30 years of energy conservation efforts have not -- turn off the outside lights they are not using.
Jennifer Barlow, a high school student in Midlothian, Va., is heading up National Dark Sky Week on April 1 to 8, from 10 p.m. to 12 a.m. in the Eastern and Mountain time zones and 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. in the Central, Pacific, and Hawaiian time zones.
"I realized that light pollution is a problem and decided to do something about it," Barlow told United Press International, adding she started out with a single dark sky night on April 12 of last year.
Support for Barlow's initial effort was strong enough she decided to try to expand it into a full week. So she sent e-mail to various astronomical societies for support. "It kind of took off from there," she said.
"One of the goals is to temporarily reduce light pollution and encourage us to use better lighting systems," Barlow said.
Elizabeth Alvarez, associate director of the International Dark-Sky Association in Tucson, Ariz., said the event is meant "to get people to look up and enjoy the stars ... turn off all unnecessary lights for a period and go outside and look up. We should reconnect with that part of the environment."
Light pollution is a growing problem. As cities expand, more lights are used to illuminate them.
"The beauty of our night skies has been inspirational to mankind for eons, and it is an important part of our heritage," said Robert Gent, president of the Astronomical League. "The time has come to recognize the ill effects of light pollution. Better quality lighting can reduce glare, save energy and protect the nighttime environment," he added.
The impact of night lighting can be profound and unexpected. Astronomers have complained for decades that their view of the cosmos is being reduced by earthbound ambient light.
It might have other, more personal effects as well. Neuroscientist George Brainard, of the Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia, said he has been pursuing research that "overexposure to light at night can disrupt the production of melatonin and disturb circadian rhythms in a way that raises the risk of breast cancer in women."
Breast cancer incidence is higher in modern societies, and a key feature of industrialization is increased electric light exposure at night. Brainard presented his findings at the American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting in Denver last month.
Nancy Clanton, president of Clanton and Associates, a Boulder, Colo., lighting engineering firm, told UPI, "I wish I was an astronomer," but added many of her night-lighting concerns run closer to home.
"What I've been disappointed with is outdoor lighting that is done very poorly, like floodlights to light an area, or way over-lighting a scene like a gas station or a car dealership," Clanton said. "This turns something from a good quality lighted environment to a nuisance to neighbors."
Clanton also said navigating at night is difficult for people over age 50 because their eyes scatter light more. Birds and nocturnal wildlife also are adversely affected by excessive electric lighting, she noted.
"I would love to be able to see the stars," Clanton said, "but the first step for communities is to address glare and light trespass issues, which are neighbor-to-neighbor issues."
