I walk in the dark often. When I first moved to our neck of the woods, there were about 40% less homes than there are now. Now all the fields have been dozed, woods cut down and homes are there. That's okay, I get it. My home was once a giant blackberry bramble patch. But what makes the biggest difference, aside from traffic, is that many folks keep too many outside lights on.
I used to be able to see the stars at night here, but no longer. Light pollution has spoiled it for those of us who feed off the night sky, but it also spoils it for animals. I walk past homes whose porch lights are blaring into the wooded park across the street--a park filled with deer, coyotes, owls and other sundry forestland creatures.
Those critters get mightily confused and blinded by Fred and Lorraine Ferguson's glaring porch lights. And I ask myself, and Fred and Lorraine---for whom are those lights kindled?
The way I see it, your porch light does not need to be on all night. Unless Johnny is marching home from the war or Fred is out getting tanked with hookers and you don't expect him home until 3 A.M., your porch light does not need to be on.
You're wasting energy and stealing the stars, man.
Grrrr,
Dani
P.S. For a less-angry and more informative lesson on light pollution, you can visit The International Dark Sky Organization or Starry Night Lights.
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