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How 'light pollution' has turned looking at a night sky into an incredibly rare luxury

It used to be something that everyone saw any evening when they walked out their door.

astronomy, light pollution, environment, community, mental health

Photo by Warren Wong on Unsplash

When the light is getting in the way of the night.

Wow. I never thought about how rare this is before, but many people literally can go their whole lives without experiencing the vastness of space and their own smallness.

It used to be something that everyone saw any evening when they walked out their door.

It used to be that when you looked up at the night sky, you would see deep into the farthest reaches of space and time, but now...

Nope.

Not anymore. We're lighting up our cities like never before.

Over 99% of Americans in the continental U.S. live in areas that are considered light polluted.

Most of them have no idea what the night sky is even supposed to look like.

Looking up at the night sky helps us remember how tiny we are. The sight of the Milky Way stretching out into the deep distance has inspired philosophy, science, and poetry for literally all of human history. Until really recently.

Luckily, something as simple as flipping a switch can instantly end light pollution. Even using different kinds of lights can help.

Here's how Los Angeles decreased its light pollution by switching to LEDs.

Are you scared of total darkness?

This article originally appeared on 02.12.15

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The Carbon Savings Account™ is the key to a greener and wealthier future

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Implementing simple energy- and water-efficiency upgrades in US households would save nearly $200B per year in residential utility bills.

Unfortunately, these upgrades are often unaffordable or inaccessible for the average US home.

Growing up in West Virginia, my community was largely part of the 1/3 of Americans who can’t afford their energy bills, let alone the efficient home tech upgrades that would make these bills affordable.

This is why Kaitlin Highstreet and I founded Scope Zero, where we created the Carbon Savings Account™, or CSA. The CSA is similar to a health savings account, where employers and employees both contribute funds to the account. With the CSA, the employees use the money for home technology and personal transportation upgrades that reduce their utility bills, fuel spend, and carbon footprint.

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Samantha has trouble every time she gets a new work email.

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A recent viral video on TikTok is a unique twist on the current discussion surrounding names. Samantha Hart has a name that doesn’t seem like it would draw any negative attention in professional circles. However, her parents didn’t consider email conventions when they named her back in the late ‘90s when email was new.

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He is not shy about expressing his exhaustion.

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This 4-year-old's reaction is all of us after a long day

There's one thing you can say about little kids that's pretty consistent no matter who the kid is, and it's that they're brutally honest. Whether you have something stuck in your teeth or you've gained weight, a small child will inform you - loudly, and usually in front of others. But one preschooler's moment of honesty is going viral for how relatable it is.

An exhausted and cranky 4-year-old named Jude has had enough. The little boy had just gotten home from school when he must've been asked something before the camera started rolling because his response was a #same moment.

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Club goer's experience has people wondering what Gen Z is doing with their hands while dancing

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Some people are natural-born comedians. When and how a sense of humor develops is a fun psychological puzzle, but it's clear to anyone who's been around lots of children that some kids tap into their funny bone very early.

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