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(meteorobs) Night Skies in the National Parks
Below is a note I clipped from a NPS mail list
which I thought some might find of interest......
-Mark
> NIGHT SKY AND THE NPS: The night sky has been
identified as an
> important resource in many of
the national parks. During this past
> decade,
many parks have focused on interpreting and preserving
the
> dark night sky. While parks have retrofitted
their lighting systems to
> reduce light
pollution, the parks are vulnerable to light
sources
> outside of the parks. To preserve the
dark skies of our parks,
> statewide ordinances
are needed. The night sky is among 11 endangered
>
places in New Mexico that were recently designated by the New
Mexico
> Heritage Preservation Alliance.
Hopefully, the designation of the New
> Mexico
night sky as an endangered place will increase public
awareness
> and help achieve statewide protection.
The night sky nomination was
> prepared by Jerry
Rogers, Superintendent of the Intermountain
Support
> Office, Santa Fe and Joe Sovick,
Recreation and Partnerships. The
> nomination
reads as follows.
>
> "From the pleistocene to the present, the
night sky has been an
> important element in
cultural heritage. The combination of what
>
appeared to be eternal order in certain night sky patterns with
such
> changeable things as lunar phases,
planetary movements, seasonal
> angles of
declination, and annual meteor showers was one of the
early
> great stimuli to curiosity. The discovery
of predictable order among
> the inconstant was
important in the development of belief systems
and
> their attendant cultural values--influencing
even the idea of what it
> means to be human. It
remains so today. Mammoth hunters at Clovis and
>
Folsom, ancestral Puebloans at Chaco and Pecos, Vasquez de Coronado
in
> his explorations, Oate and De Vargas in
their conquests, cowboys on
> nightherd duty, and
office workers resting from their daily toils
all
> have lived under, admired, and wondered
about the same night
> sky--virtually unchanged in
human history. A pristine night sky almost
>
universally stimulates thought. Some are humbled in
their
> insignificance before the visible
universe, and some are exhilarated
> by a sense of
identification therewith.
>
> Some measure
and test the movement of our earthly platform within
the
> solar system, the solar system within the
galaxy, and the galaxy
> within the universe until
human understanding is exhausted and
> calculation
at its limit. Some speculate about life elsewhere,
and
> some contemplate that the flesh, blood, and
bones of our very
> bodies--even the energy
powering our thoughts--are of the light and
>
substance we see coming down from the spangles
above.
>
> Without conscious action it will
be much more difficult for future
> generations to
have the same experiences, or even to imagine them.
As
> urban areas expand and change without
consideration of the night sky
> continues, places
where it can be experienced grow fewer and more
>
difficult to reach. We risk losing a beauty that has been the
backdrop
> to and motivator of human action since
time immemorial.
>
> Surprisingly, it costs
society more to pollute the sky with light than
>
to keep it dark. Most upwardly directed light is wasted. We pay
once
> in the electric bill for the light that
goes where it is not needed,
> again in
environmental degradation from emissions in generating
the
> electricity, and again in the loss of the
night sky that is masked by
> wasted light. The
most common security lights are mercury vapor
>
lights, which, although the least expensive to purchase, are among
the
> most expensive to operate. About 30% of
their light goes into the sky
> at angles that
perform no service but do contribute to light
>
pollution.
>
> There is no evil figure, no
profiteering corporation, nor irresistible
> force
behind the problem. Today's utility companies
are
> environmentally conscious and interested in
conserving, not wasting,
> energy resources. What
is most lacking is public recognition of the
>
problem, broad understanding that light pollution is not
inevitable,
> and the will to do something about
it. Fortunately costs are minimal
> in preventing
light pollution, especially for new developments.
Costs
> of incorporating outdoor lighting systems
friendly to the night sky
> are not prohibitive.
Sometimes they are not costs at all.
>
>
Several years ago, when the National Park Service realized that
its
> own mercury vapor lights near the visitor
center at Chaco Culture
> National Historical Park
were a form of pollution and removed the
> lights,
the park experienced a 30% reduction in the electric bill.
At
> Chaco we learned that shielded floodlights
directed downward, and
> properly directed motion
sensors
> were effective in meeting visitor and
security needs while serving as
> significant
energy savers and pollution preventers.
>
>
It is not too late! New Mexico is fortunate that unimpaired
remnants
> of the clear night sky remain. Some
progressive New Mexico communities
> have or are
developing ordinances to help preserve this
exceptional
> visual, natural, and cultural
resource. Some private developments are
> writing
protective provisions into covenants on the deeds of
the
> houses they build. The New Mexico Heritage
Preservation Alliance can
> demonstrate its
interest in EVERYONE'S heritage, show support for
one
> of the most ancient and universal cultural
values, and make a
> significant difference in
citizen awareness and in public and private
>
action by listing the night sky among the most threatened
heritage
> resources in 1998.
>
> SOURCE: Recreation and Partnerships, Santa
Fe
>
>
>
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