h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

If you have any messages about this issue that you would like delivered with the petition please write below. Make sure you also sign the pettition.

Nick

This isn't a life-or-death issue. It's more of a quality of life issue and a wasting of natural resources issue.

Some would argue that man's irrational fear of the dark has created this problem, but the fact is, poor planning and design are the culprits.

There is no need to illuminate the entire night sky with overhead lights on street corners and in parking lots. It would be much more effective to direct that light downwards, saving money in the process as the light is being used more efficiently.

In 25 years, when light pollution has robbed a generation of the wonder of the night sky, do we want to look around ourselves and say we had the power to stop the problem but did nothing because of apathy?

The governing bodies of the world have it within their power to demand that light pollution cease. Listen to a child as he or she looks through a telescope at Saturn for the first time and you'll understand the heart of the matter. This is a gift for our children and our children's children.

It is possible to undo the damage we've already done and prevent further light pollution from occurring. In 25 years, the children who grew up under artificially-coloured orange skies will not know that they are missing anything and will be unable to understand this issue.

Please act now to end light pollution! It's a small thing to do, but will leave a great legacy.

- Jim Hazen (aka Jimi X)

I completely agree with you.
Enough is enough. Light pollution in the UK is now utterly appalling.
The Government have not a leg to stand on, no excuse, they have been told again and again and again by people like CfDS and CPRE about the problem. Why do they still drag their feet and ask questions like, "Well how can we measure light pollution"? Just go outside and see for yourself, that the stars have gone!
Why can't there be a national league table of how many stars can be seen in each town compared to a site having no light pollution and then get rid of the old street lights, put in full cut off , ban 500 watt security lights and then see how things improve.

Light pollution is not an issue only for humans who wish to see the night sky (though that is important). It also has a large negative impact on the lives of nocturnal animals. Near where I live the authorities want to put up a bypass with massive roundabouts (well lit, of course) right beside a conservation area. The thing is that I've been told that they haven't actually got planning permission yet, but to read the local paper you'd think it's all done and dusted. In other words, they're trying to put us off complaining by pretending that there's no point.

(The town does have traffic problems and could probably do with a bypass, but not there. I'm a bit skeptical about that sort of thing anyway: the more roads there are the more traffic there is on them.)

TRiG.