Keep it Dark in the Park
Dark skies aren’t just beautiful; natural darkness at night is both environmentally and sociologically important.
Artificial light can come from street and traffic lights, parking lots, outdoor signs, and even homes with a spotlight on a driveway, chicken coop, or barn—and can be detrimental to birds, mammals, insects, and all kinds of wildlife and humans.
Dark skies are diminishing throughout the United States as development spreads from cities into suburban and rural areas. Traditional development designs bring artificial light to formerly dark spaces.
Why should you care?
Unnatural nighttime lighting can have serious negative impacts on your health. Research suggests that artificial nighttime lighting can affect sleep cycles, increasing obesity, the rate of certain types of cancers, and mental health disorders.
In addition to human health, nighttime lighting disrupts migratory patterns for birds and insects like the Monarch butterfly. Many insects migrate and feed at night, providing ecological services such as pollination and mitigating negative impacts from other insects.
Many animals, from frogs and wolves, are also nocturnal, and artificial light can disrupt natural nighttime behaviors in these animals. On top of that, many predators use light to their advantage for hunting, and the additional light at night can open up species to unnatural rates of predation, causing cascading ecological impacts.
Viewing stars and planets is much easier when there is little artificial light present. The Adirondacks benefit from tourism that brings city dwellers here so they can see deep into the galaxy without the aid of a telescope. Amateur astronomers find they can see much farther here than in urban settings. The Adirondack Sky Center and Observatory depends on dark skies for its astronomy research and education efforts.
Be a Voice for Dark Skies
Sign our Petition
If you sign the Adirondack Council’s petition, you will get notified when the bill starts to make progress in the legislature. You can also opt out of email updates and still send in the action alert.
Urge your municipality to work on a dark skies law
Action is taking place at the local level in the Adirondacks. For example, the village board of Lake Placid formed a committee to work on a dark skies law. Schroon Lake and Raquette Lake are also working on local action. So, depending on where you live, this could be a great way to show support for dark skies and help lower the municipal electric bills.
Take action at home
Start to live by the idea that having bright lights on all night is not good for you, your neighbors, or wildlife. If you have spotlights at home, try to switch them over to motion sensors. You can also try to shield your lights, as the law would require, but do it now on your own terms. Share your passion for dark skies—and the action you’ve taken—with your neighbors, family, and friends about the importance of dark skies.
