The sky is dying. Illogical decisions by city councils and developers continue to slowly destroy our ability to see the night sky. Where my observatory is, about an hour outside of Minneapolis, you can still see the Milky Way but I think those days may be coming to an end. The cities of Chaska, Carver and Cologne (all in Minnesota) are chopping down trees, bulldozing hills and putting up big bright lights.

 

Now I understand the need for cities to grow. What I don’t understand is why we make an either/or choice when it comes to that growth. Why can’t we grow and still take steps to preserve our environment as we do? These developers can’t leave a single tree on their new developments. In one sad bit of irony we watched them bulldoze a stand of huge, old oak trees to put up a big sign that says “The Preserve”, the name of their development.

 

The same is true of light pollution. Cities and developers needlessly illuminate upward. It is possible to deploy lighting which is safe, economical and friendly to the night-sky environment. It’s not particularly hard or expensive, you just have to care enough to do it.

 

I think city councils in every city in this nation should demand two things of developers:

 

 

Both are no-brainers and voters should demand them from their city councils.