Dark Sky Advocates Speak Up. By Dean Fosdick, AP, May 27, 2008. "Light pollution may not rank up there with climate change as cause for alarm, but a vocal community of stargazers believes it to be an important lifestyle and energy issue that must and can be resolved... Two-thirds of American cities are places where people can't see the Milky Way from their backyards, says Chris Luginbuhl... with the U.S. Naval Observatory... in Flagstaff, Ariz... 'There are few places [across the U.S.] the size of a county that have unpolluted dark skies. Here in the West, there are only a couple of good areas... but they're hard to get to.' Light pollution also confuses nocturnal animals and migrating birds, scientists say... As important as darkness is to astronomers, it's even more important for the human spirit, the Navy's Luginbuhl says. 'Light pollution is like having thick air pollution that would only let you see a quarter of the way across the Grand Canyon, or it would be like driving to the Tetons and not being able to see the peaks. People wouldn't stand for that.'" [For more information, go to Midwest Citizens for Responsible Outdoor Lighting and the International Dark-Sky Association.]
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