LocalNews The Milky Way lights up the night sky over the La Plata Mountains./ Photo by Bettymaya Foott
The fight for a starry night Combating light pollution in Durango, Silverton and beyond by Elizabeth Barrett Animas High School intern
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emember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet,” advised the brilliant physicist Stephen Hawking, encouraging us to be curious and find sources of inspiration. The night sky has long served as a source of myth and mystery for the human species, something everyone, from rich to poor, could share and revel in. But in recent times, with electric lighting spreading across the planet, the stars are becoming a rarer sight. Eighty percent of Americans see only murky darkness when they look up at the stars – for them, the Milky Way is obscured by light pollution. This affects us, and the species around us, in many more ways than we can imagine. But more and more, cities and towns across the country are doing something about this loss of the night sky. Silverton recently passed a resolution for the town to switch to lower-Kelvin lighting in order to decrease light pollution. Durango has had a dark sky ordinance in place for nearly two decades. But what do regulations like this mean for the community? How successful have they been? We consulted some local experts to find out. Protecting the nocturnal world Bettymaya Foott, director of engagement for the International Dark-Sky Association, stressed that light pollution does more than ruin a pretty view of the stars. “Think about adding artificial light to a habitat as the equivalent of bulldozing a rainforest,” she said, reminding us that every species is impacted by it in some way. Many birds, for instance, use stars, moonlight and other “celestial cues” to migrate overnight, said Foott. When they see a brighter, closer artificial light, they are drawn to it instead, leading them to lose their sense of direction. In their confused state, they are vulnerable to predators and other dangers that they wouldn’t normally
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The night sky of the San Juans is reflected in Molas Lake. Silverton recently passed a dark sky ordinance to protect such views./ Photo by Bettymaya Foott have to face. The same goes for moths, which use the moon as a guide in nature. While the moon is a reliable beacon that moves in a predictable manner, our lights are
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not – moths can circle street lights for hours, thinking they are flying in a straight line. On the coast, light pollution also confuses creatures like sea turtles, an already endangered species, which follow the sun and moon when nesting and hatching. Bright, artificial lights and human presence can scare mother sea turtles away from nesting spots. After hatching, baby sea turtles usually follow the reflection of moonlight on the ocean. Now, they instead can be lured by city lights inland, toward countless dangers. Too much artificial light at night is also doing us humans more harm than good. According to an article by the Dark-Sky Association, circadian cycles are disrupted by too much light, especially blue light, which at night tricks our bodies into thinking it’s daytime. This leads to insomnia and a decrease in melatonin production, causing a whole host of additional problems and increasing the risk of everything from anxiety and depression to cancer. Blue light isn’t just coming from screens, either. Lit-up advertising and overly bright public lighting also emit it. But, thankfully, combating light pollution is a cause almost everyone can get behind. “We all love to see the stars … this is a non-partisan issue,” she said. Plus, she added, this is the easiest type of pollution to fix: it can be removed – literally – at the speed of light. The benefits of dark skies go beyond the physical, to economic ones as well. Astrotourism has proven to financially benefit communities, especially those certified as Dark Sky Places. Unlike some tourists, visiting stargazers are guaranteed to spend the night, generating more income for local restaurants and hotels. A 2019 Missouri State study on astrotourism predicted that dark-sky tourists on the Colorado Plateau will spend $5.8 billion in the next 10 years, raising wages and creating thousands of new job opportunities. Especially for small, nature-oriented towns, dark skies can make for a brighter future.
