The United States has a lot of illumination, and as the home to the inventor of the electric light, that makes plenty of sense. It’s too bright to see the stars in most highly populated areas. It’s not just the astronomers who are complaining, although surely the migrating birds and sea turtles would complain if they could. Bright light is a stressor and has been shown to cause cannibalism in fowl.
It’s ironic because the streetlights are there for "safety" — in other words to keep people from killing themselves and each other. But what does it mean to have turned out the stars?
As much as 25% of electricity consumption (by far the #1 source of air pollution) in the United States goes towards lighting. We could save conservatively $2 BILLION a year and millions of tons of coal with more efficient use. A typical 100-Watt incandescent bulb could consume 750 pounds of coal and emit 2000 pounds of CO2 in one year – just one bulb! Choose energy efficient, downward directed, full cut-off, lighting fixtures in key locations only where needed. And please don’t aim them UP. Our Vanishing Night
Surely that makes sense. If the lights are bright and visible from orbit using spacecraft launched thirty years ago, then obviously there’s a lot of power being pumped into space.
My favorite lights
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