In our increasingly illuminated world and rapidly expanding urban centers, one of our greatest challenges is managing light and maintaining areas so that low light levels, even darkness, can be achieved in desired areas. In fact, the study “World Atlas of Artificial Night Sky Brightness” published in the open access journal Science Advances in June 2016 found that “80 percent of the world’s population lives under light-polluted skies. The United States and Europe have it the worst, with 99 percent of their denizens experiencing sky glow at night.”
Light pollution, defined as “the wasteful upward light from electrical sources that is scattered in the atmosphere and reflected back to Earth,” is just as serious as any other type of pollutant. One group that has been working to keep the balance between light and darkness in check is the International Dark Sky Association (IDA). Established in 1988 and made up of astronomers and environmentalists, it is “dedicated to protecting the night skies for present and future generations.”
The IDA acts as an “advocate for the protection of the night sky” and works with a variety of constituencies that have an interest in the illuminated landscape, everyone from members of the public to city planners, from policy makers to lighting designers and lighting manufacturers, from the National Park Service to environmental activists. To date, through its International Dark Sky Places conservation program launched in 2001, the IDA has certified more than 65 Dark Sky Places around the world, across six continents, totaling 58,000 square kilometers (21,200 square miles). A small percentage of the Earth, but a start to preserving the night sky, a critical component in how we think about the illuminated—and nonilluminated—world.
Explore all 30 Moments in Lighting from our 30th Anniversary Issue here.
