Good Night Stars
Now that Christmas is upon us, it seems the wattage of light is everywhere going through the stratosphere. White, green, red, blue. No matter where you look there seems to be light streaming out everywhere. All in the name of spectacle.
But if you want a truly awe-inspiring spectacle, turn off the lights and take a few minutes to look at the incredible pagent that is our universe at night. Billions of ice powder crystalline points of light, each a star, planet. asteroid, comet or galaxy. Each with a story, a history, a myth that stretches back to the earliest human times.
If you live in the city and almost 80% of us do, chances are there is almost nothing left of the night sky for you to look at. It is obliterated by our artificial light, light for advertising, lights for lights sake. And as a result we have lost the precious jewel studded night sky.
Our first inklings of science came from the night sky. We learned about cycles, circles, orbits, time and mathematics from the night sky. The arts, philosophy, religion and thought were all stimulated by the night sky. The night sky played a huge role in the development of the sciences and our understanding of the nature of the universe. Today scarcely one in a hundred people could point out a planet from a star or know the incredible mythology that has played itself out in the heavens.
And not only do Christmas lights diminish the subtle beauty of the night stars, they also consume energy, energy from electricity. It is in the creation of electricity that yet another cost plays and pays itself out in the form greenhouse gases. Most of electricity come from fossil fuels being consumed. It has a burden of the environment, one that it can scarcely hold anymore. If that energy were needed for heating, cooking or for safety, it would understandable and maybe justifiable. But today, with the climate change issue hot on all burners, it is hard to imagine a reason for adding yet more of drain to the grid.
So maybe it is time to tone it down. Celebrate yes, enjoy the season. But turn down the lights. Look at the marvel of the night sky that our ancestors did and revel in its exquisite nature, subtlety and beauty. We have lost so much with our own crass motivations. Its too much of a good thing.
We are blinded everywhere with light. Its come to the point where we see less with the lights on than with them turned off.