November 1, 2001: Cosmologists speculate that 1014 years from now (a mind-boggling stretch) the stars in our relentlessly expanding Universe could run out of fuel and fade from view. The night sky, once the TV set of ancient peoples, will become dull and boring: a blank tableau with no stars or nebulae. Sounds like an astronomer's nightmare!
Fortunately, the stars themselves won't go out for a very long time. But researchers say the night sky is already fading....
What: An advisory committee on outdoor lighting practices and problems, with representatives from Washington County, Iron County, City of St. George, Cedar City, Hurricane, LaVerkin, Virgin, Rockville, Springdale, & Washington. Additional representatives from Mesquite, NV and northeastern Arizona, and from Zion and Bryce National Parks. The Committee to be chaired by two representatives from the SouthWest Science Foundation.
Need: Outdoor lighting defines the nature of the nighttime environment in terms of public safety, aesthetics, and the visibility of natural dark skies. The planned construction of the SouthWest Science Center in Virgin, Utah, emphasizes the need for legislative controls to be in place to improve our nighttime sky environment. The chosen location of the Science Center, which is to include one of the largest public observatories in the country, is marginally acceptable at the present time in terms of night sky light pollution. Sky glow from St. George and Mesquite in one direction, and Cedar City in another, is already detrimental to the purposes of the observatory. Lighting ordinances must be enacted in order to:
As a result of these ordinances, our nighttime outdoor environment will present a more congenial face to visitors and citizens than most populated areas can claim. For more that 20 years, the National Park Service has had lighting restrictions within National Parks. The close proximity of the Science Center to Zion National Park means that by enacting sensible ordinances for the observatory, the Park will benefit immensely. It is the stated policy of the Park that the night sky must be preserved in a natural condition, for the benefit of animals as well as visitors.
Recently, the national press has begun to publicize the disappearance of natural dark skies from most of the nation’s municipalities, the enormous energy costs of wasteful, inefficient lighting, and the benefits of improved outdoor lighting. For example, full shielding of fixtures minimizes trespass and glare, mandatory high efficiency light sources reduce energy waste, and area-lighting restrictions control tendencies toward excessive illumination levels. All of these efforts are fully consistent with internationally recognized recommendations by professional illumination engineers (e.g., IESNA – The Illuminating Engineering Society of North America).
Purpose: The purpose of the Committee is to promote and provide:
Better public awareness of light pollution and its remedies. Information about which kinds of lighting fixtures are the best and which kinds to avoid. A means of communication between commercial interests, citizens, and government about lighting issues. A shared base of technical information about good lighting. Progress towards solving major light pollution problems. An inventory of unresolved outdoor lighting problems and issues. A local action plan for elimination of obsolete mercury vapor lighting.
Promotion of our communities as a visitor-friendly region with clear, dark skies.
Tasks: While we envision that tasks will evolve over time to address the needs listed above, there are three general areas where a citizen effort may be profitably employed.
Contents:
Notes:
See www.darksky.org for extensive details and other examples of ordinances. Or contact:
The International Dark Sky Association(520) 293-3198
The Tucson ordinance can be used as a model. However, individual needs and differences in each of our communities will have to be identified in order to be appropriate for Southern Utah and adjoining areas.