Light Pollution- Naturally

Picture credit to science.org Article- The new world atlas of artificial night sky brightness

Kevin Brown, Ag Team Lead, BCCD
​Last week’s article was on noise pollution.  Even though it typically may not be thought of as “pollution”, it certainly can be.  We have become so accustomed to noise, that it just seems “normal” now.  However, take a stroll through a state or national park, or go find anywhere where you can get away from this, and you can really find a lot of inner peace just by sitting there and listening to nothing (or at least nothing except Mother Nature’s sounds).  There are actually people making money by taking you out into the wilderness, setting you on a rock, and telling you they will be back in 2 hours.  Sit there.  Soak it all in.  Stare at the ground.  Listen to the world around you.  (I admit, I published that article because I was pressed for time and didn’t have any real good subjects in mind, so I found that one and sent it on its way.  However, I did get a comment or two back so it resonated with some.)  

---

So, the next natural submission MUST be light pollution, right?  I did not have an approved article to just reprint from someone else on this one, so I have to give it my best shot.  The first memory of hearing about this being an issue is when some “summer cabin” neighbors of ours came up for the week and brought a bunch of “fresh-air” kids with them.  Now imagine being from the heart of downtown (pick your big city) and showing up here on a dirt road in the middle of nowhere.  There is not a house that can be seen from the cabin in any direction.  There is wildlife everywhere.  Turkeys gobbling, peepers “peeping”, frogs and birds and whatever else Mother Nature can throw at you, and you know what their biggest take-home point was?  “I never knew there were so many stars in the sky.”  Now I was speechless.  Really?  That is your biggest revelation?  Well, apparently so.  When you have that many lights on in the city, you don’t get to see any of them.
It may be news to us, especially for those of us really living in the country, but apparently this is an issue.  Light pollution affects us, wildlife, sea turtles, bird migration, and the like (check out DarkSky.org). There is a push now to start getting people to do a lot more “turning off the lights”.  We love to talk about all other kinds of pollution, but light and noise are seldom brought up.  Some say that light pollution has been more detrimental to nocturnal animals than anything else we have done.  That is saying something considering how invasive we have been with houses and shopping centers and roads and the list goes on.  Light and noise pollution.  Who would have thunk it?

​The Bradford County Conservation District is committed to helping people manage resources wisely.  You can visit the Bradford County Conservation District at 200 Lake Rd in Wysox across from the Wysox Fire Hall. Contact us at (570) 485-3144 or visit our web page at www.bccdpa.com.