The Arizona Republic ran a frightening article over the weekend about light pollution and the greater Phoenix area. The basic premise? In ten years, there will only be a few places in America where you will be able to see the Milky Way in the night sky and Tucson won’t be one of them:
That’s why Tucson, among other Arizona cities, implemented dark-skies-friendly lighting codes decades ago. Tucson hasn’t gotten brighter in 30 years even though the population has increased 59 percent since 1980, said Katy Garmany, an associate scientist at the National Optical Astronomy Observatory outside Tucson, which just completed a study of Tucson’s skyglow.
But scientists at the National Observatory on Kitt Peak estimate that if the Valley continues to brighten, they’ve got about 10 years left, said Garmany.
Then astronomers will have to travel to Hawaii or Chile to do certain research, such as trying to spot planets outside our solar system.
“It keeps getting brighter and brighter,” Garmany said. “It’s just really hard to do the cutting-edge stuff, and you have to go … where it’s darker. (Scientists) have ways of eliminating extra scattered light in the sky, but there’s only so much they can do.”
This article appears in Sep 11-17, 2014.
So my questions are as follows:
1. Can we sue Phoenix for that eventual “lost” revenue, eventually?
2. Can we scrap the Dark Skies Initiative and start lighting stuff up? Maybe we can become Phoenix and have jobs/companies magically appear overnight?
Never mind that our dark skies are adding to pedestrian/bicyclist fatalities. You tend to hit what you can’t see.
I don’t believe that Tucson has not gotten lighter. I moved into my house 20 years ago and could see the Milky Way at night. Now it is hardly visible. I wonder if it has anything to do with the two very well lit Walmart parking lots that have been built within one mile of each other (a Neighborhood Market and Super Walmart)? Having high velocity lights on tall poles spreads too much light and allows it to escape upward. Having shorter poles – 8 to 10 feet – closer together prevents light from escaping upward and lights the parking lot better. Kudos to Lowes, which is right next to Walmart, because they turn off their lights at 11 p.m.
IT is too freaking dark down here..thats why there is so much crime
Tucson has definitely gotten brighter over the years. I live in Oracle, and see the glow from Tucson over Sanmaniego Ridge. 20 years ago, the Milky Way was a stunning visionary experience. Now, on a good night, you can still see it, but it’s not the jaw-dropping eye candy it once was.
I lived in Tucson since 1972 and our skies were one more grea thing to watch .. It has changed over the years and I can truly see the deifference when visiting rocky Point or Baja etc etc .. Not much sky watching in tucson these days .. I heard that Tucson started to install Non Sky polluting Street lamps. As for complaining bicycle riders – equip your bikes with better ligthing and besides how ew ride bikes at night . Duh…………….
Tucson needs to clean up its act first. Lots of poor lighting in this city, too much going up and not down where it is useful.
Previous comment about the Walmarts is spot on. I’d add the automobile sales lots, the random mercury vapor “security” lighting throwing photons out and up instead of down. Take a drive any evening and look closely. It’s everywhere.
Finally, it astounds me how many people ride their bicycles at night without any kind of lighting whatsoever. Do you have a death wish of some sort?
It’s funny you find a way to complain about a Walmart parking lot,….but nothing is said about city parks burning lights until 11 PM or TUSD high school football fields being lit for evening after evening with nobody there.
Just remember when things get tough, Walmart has food. Will you be welcome there?