Darkness is Important

I love the stars, am fascinated with NASA and watch every show on NOVA about the universe. One thing I really hate about living in New York is the fact that I can't see the night sky anymore. The black out of 2003 was terrible, but it did give us one of the coolest gifts ever - stars behind the Empire State Building. It made up for the oppressive heat (at least in hindsight).


Last May, my family visited Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah. When we got there, we went to the visitor center, and Jess saw a notice about Dark Ranger Kevin Poe's Live Events. We were instantly curious. We all thought it would be amazing to look at the night sky through a telescope. Ranger Poe said we would see Saturn (which we did - AMAZING!) We were excited about it - thinking it would be an astronomy show. We didn't realize that it would be a presentation about protecting the night sky.

During the presentation, Ranger Poe talked about the effects of the vanishing night sky; what it does to our health by affecting our melatonin. What it's doing to our wildlife by confusing migrating birds. If you're interested in any of these studies, you can visit The International Dark Sky Association's resource page.

Since this is an issue that I didn't realize even existed, I'm guessing some of you may be unaware too. I'm using my minute today to share these 4 print outs - 1. Wildlife, 2. Energy, 3. Safety, 4. Human Health.

Take a minute to read them over and let know what you think.
Thanks!
Alicia