Seeing the Dark in a New Light

by Glenn C. Koenig, Webmaster at Town Wide Mall

Maynard, MA - Energy is a controversial topic these days, but one thing I think we can all agree on is that sending energy into outer space, just to be wasted, isn't doing anyone any good.  The thing is, changing this is not necessarily that hard; we just have to set our minds to it.  This is truly a bipartisan effort.

Fortunately, there's an opportunity to find out why this is happening and what we can do about it, right here in Maynard.  Tomorrow evening (well, this evening, by the time you are likely to be reading this), you can step into the Maynard Public Library at 7:00 PM and see a free presentation to fill you in on the big picture. (I was going to say "to bring the whole issue to light," but I can just hear the groans now.)

Here are the details:
When:  Thursday, 6 Feb 2025
Time:  7:00 PM - 8:30 PM
Where: Maynard Public Library, 77 Nason Street.
Where, virtual: via Zoom; see link on the Library’s Calendar web page.
Who:  Kelly Beatty of Dark Sky Massachusetts
More info: Green Maynard's web page for this event.
Note, as the poster mentions, to participate via Zoom, you have to register ahead of time, on the Library's web page.

Here are the links for the web pages described above, in case you need to enter them by hand:
https://maynardpubliclibrary.assabetinteractive.com/calendar/dark-skies/
https://www.greenmaynard.org/post/dark-skies-initiative

Commentary

Darkness is often used as a metaphor for trepidation, danger, or ignorance.  The wilderness at night has historically been experienced as a dangerous place.  Our human eyes are better suited for daylight.  So historically, we came to fear the dark, understandably.  We use the words "I see," a reference to our visual sense, to mean "I understand."  Metaphors like this, referring to darkness and light, have flooded our language.  The Star Wars movie franchise introduced the term "The Dark Side" into everyday language to mean evil intent.  Alas.

But, for nocturnal wildlife, nighttime is a time of freedom and exploration. So, it all depends on your perspective.
As it turns out, the darkness of night serves many purposes.  Plants and animals in nature need the natural cycles of daylight and darkness to replenish nutrients after the day’s growth or activities.  Nocturnal animals need darkness either to access prey or to hide from or escape from predators.

Even we humans need the night for sleep, which research has well established as being necessary for good health.  Researchers in astronomy need the dark of night to better scan the heavens with their telescopes and instruments without the sun’s energy interfering.

After the discovery of electric current (1800), and the development of the carbon arc lamp just a few years later, we have had the power to create bright light any time of day or night.  After the development of the incandescent lamp (1879), the use of electric light has grown exponentially, all over the world.  Unfortunately, however, there can be too much of a good thing!

In the years since, by deploying electric light sources both indoors and outside we have had a great impact on the darkness of night.  The effect has been dramatic, disrupting the many aspects of night mentioned above.  For just one example, many people have lost sleep because of light shining into their windows from a neighbor’s house or a nearby parking lot that stays lit all night long.

Despite all this, it’s possible, indeed practical, to alleviate all this “light pollution” simply by considering how to properly control light when planning to install or replace light fixtures.  We don’t have to give up safety or other benefits of artificial light if we stop to consider light pollution ahead of time.  There are plenty of light fixtures and equipment to direct all light toward the ground (where we need it) and limit how much is radiated out into the sky and surroundings, where we don’t need it.  We stand to save significant amounts of energy, as we don’t need the power to produce all that wasted light.

I have often heard the term "America's Energy Needs" and how they are ever expanding, so we have to continue to exploit nature for the resources to generate ever more power.  But here we have a chance to work in harmony with nature, through conservation, without the need for more exploitation.  Any sacrifice we might have to make is small in comparison.  In general, it's a win-win.

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