Save the Night | Be the Solution, Stop Light Pollution
Save the Night | Be the Solution, Stop Light Pollution
https://issuu.com/yi-online/docs/web_nantucket_home_iss4_2023 (starting on p. 5)
https://www.ack.net/stories/darkness-manifesto-an-ode-to-the-night-sky,32602
"Even with the naked eye, the night sky on Nantucket in clear weather is remarkably full of stars and other celestial bodies. Also visible, from everywhere, all the time, is the dull glow of artificial light from town, and increasingly well-lit subdivisions that are being built. To protect the island’s night skies, voters at the 2023 Town Meeting adopted new regulations proposed by Nantucket Lights, a grass-roots organization dedicated to that purpose. With the recent public discussion in mind, when I came across “The Darkness Manifesto” among the new releases at the Atheneum, it piqued my interest."
"It can be difficult to know where you can start to help with [light pollution], but luckily Nantucket already has a group fighting to protect our island’s dark night skies. Nantucket Lights is a nonprofit group of Nantucket locals and regular visitors who advocate for the prevention of light pollution, energy waste and environmental disruption that results from poor outdoor lighting. Nantucket’s chapter of the National Honor Society fully supports this organization and stands by their mission."
https://nantucketinquirer-ma.newsmemory.com/?publink=03d3097b7_134aad0
“Those of us who grew up on the island take our dark skies for granted. But seasonal residents and visitors from the mainland, where light pollution is common, know what a special gift we have with an evening environment that’s pretty darn good for stargazing. Some people can also see the threats to our dark skies with all the new building going on, especially the construction of these huge houses and compounds with pools and spas that are lit up all night long, whether the properties are occupied or not.
One of those people cognizant of what we stand to lose is Gail Walker, who with her husband, the author John Lancaster, has been coming to the island every summer for almost 40 years. Off-season they live in Washington, D.C.
Walker is the sponsor of Article 76, which will be considered by voters at Town Meeting on Saturday, May 6 and addresses regulations for outdoor lighting. It is well worth our consideration. In the face of the rampant building and development, we need to be vigilant and aware of unintended consequences and work hard to keep what we can of what has always been special about Nantucket.”
"Even on Nantucket, 30 miles off the coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, light pollution has increased by more than 20% over the past 10 years, according to an April, 2022 study by Nantucket Lights, a group of islanders that formed to preserve the island’s view of an unobscured night sky."
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