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Star light, star bright - Turn down those lights

The next time you and your children are outside during the evening, look up. Way up. Chances are, if you live in Greater Vancouver, you may see very few stars. It doesn’t have to be this way. On a clear night your children should be able to see thousands of twinkling lights.

What prevents our children from experiencing the magic and majesty of the night sky?

It’s called light pollution. Most of us know about air and water pollution thanks to educational programs that begin in pre-school. But when it comes to light pollution, we’re not nearly as well informed.

In our urban environment, light pollution is unnaturally bright, excessive light, poorly designed artificial light that spills from streetlights, parking lots and yards. It’s light that is wasteful and uses excessive amounts of electricity. Cumulatively it results in a glow that can be seen for miles.

Light pollution doesn’t just affect our children. Bright lights are extremely detrimental to animals that rely on dark skies to survive. These include bats, badgers and mice, insects such as moths, frogs and salamanders, fish and birds. They can become confused by bright lights and may be unable to feed themselves and even to reproduce.

It can be very dangerous for us. Just one example is the beneficial nature of bats. Each night bats eat thousands of mosquitoes and other insects – many more than chemicals can destroy. We need these bats to combat the spread of West Nile virus, transmitted by mosquitoes.

What can you do?

As a homeowner, you need artificial lights for security and to light walkways and paths.

Make sure you use modern designs that don’t waste energy and will let light be directed exactly where it is needed – and not to your neighbours’ yard or to nearly streams, ditches, shrubs and trees that could be home to wildlife.

Remember, turning lights down does not necessarily mean danger. In fact, police reports indicate more than 60 per cent of all crimes are committed in daylight.

Instead if we all use softer, energy efficient lights, the next time your children sing twinkle, twinkle, little star, they’ll be able to see them.

Congratulations to the City of Abbotsford for winning this year's Light Pollution Abatement Award from the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. The society presents the award to organizations that make outstanding progress towards reducing light pollution.