Ninety-nine percent of Americans live under light-polluted skies ?Have you ever seen the Milky Way"? That?s how my conversation begins with astronomy enthusiast Mark Laurin, a long-time resident of Colorado and consultant to a new development that embraces stargazing.
According to the latest research, for most people the answer is no: Around 99 percent of people living in the United States and Europe live under light-polluted skies, unable to experience true darkness or see the Milky Way.
Communities across the globe are looking to change this. According to the Tucson-based International Dark-Sky Association, at least 15 towns and cities?many of them in the United States?have agreed to adhere to a list of guidelines that aim to preserve the night sky. In some areas, it has been a way to encourage astrotourism, a nascent industry introducing amateur stargazers to the wonders of the universe. In other places?like a new development in the Colorado Rocky Mountains?adhering to dark-sky standards promotes environmental conservation and allows the natural landscape to take center stage, even at night.
The premise of dark-sky communities is relatively simple. As Laurin explains, towns, homeowners, and developers should ?use the right amount of light, in the right place, at the right time.? This doesn?t mean towns shrouded in darkness without stop lights. Instead, communities enforce quality outdoor lighting ordinances, educate their populace on how to promote dark ski...