Light Pollution
Created | Updated Mar 26, 2002
When you hear pollution you think of smoke, or rubbish etc, but light is also a form of pollution. The problem mainly affects astronomers, where light from cities blocks out many of
the stars in the night sky. It can prevent some of the very important work carried out by the wealth of amateur astronomers throughout Britain and the world, such as the subtle change in variable stars and binary systems.
It is not, however, only a problem to astronomers, but to the general public as well. How lovely it is just to be able to see the array of stars and the misty vastness of the Milky Way, but many children growing up in and around urban areas have never witnessed this spectacle.
The public also pay indirectly for the electricity that street lamps, the main contributors to this pollution, use. These lights are inefficient, as is obvious from the energy that is put into lighting the sky, and so we are wasting money on this continuously. Then there are the environmental consequences of this wastage in the pollutants produced by power stations. Whichever way it is looked at, there is a major problem.
There are a number of simple solutions that can be taken by local authorities but, of course, this will need an initial investment. For example: a simple metal cover could be attached to the offending lamps that reflects the light shone up back down, meaning that it is then easier for us to see on the ground; or a new lamp design that does this in itself. There are many possibilities that will make it more efficient, and so cut on power and pollution.
But people in power are not just going to implement these measures unless they are pushed, and that's where YOU come in. To show the Government that people are demanding changes, they need to see names, and the easiest way is to create a petition as I have done. By all means write individual letters to local or national governments, but signing the petition will be a massive help. Primarily, this petition is aimed at British citizens, due to my location, but if you would like to set one up for your own country that is excellent.
I will personally send (or deliver, if I happen to be in London) a complete petition to Tony Blair and the Environment Secretary, with a full letter explaining the issues and the slight problem with it having been an online petition.
Please visit the original journal entry HERE and follow the appropriate forum entries to comment or sign the petition.
Thank you very much for your support.
