"I will love the light for it shows me the way, yet I will endure the darkness for it shows me the stars."
Og Mandino

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Hundreds of millions of lights are poorly designed. They send light up, down, and all around instead of where the light should be directed (toward the ground).

The image to the right shows what our part of the planet looks like from space at night. I don't know about your energy bill, but mine's high enough without lighting the entire cosmos! The glare from these lights often blinds or confuses drivers at night. In addition, the wasted electricity used to operate these lights contributes to global warming.

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All that light ruins the night sky

Termed 'light pollution', all those lights wash out the night sky ruining the beauty of the cosmos for all. It's particularly bad in larger cities. One avid astrophotographer who lives in Hong Kong refers to his city as 'a city without stars'.

Business and residence owners often claim that non-polluting lights compromise advertising and/or security. However, unless aliens are teleporting down from outer space to your business or home (doubtful, except at some coffee shops), it's doubtful that all that light shining upward is doing much good.

Light pollution control advocates don't suggest turning all of your outdoor lighting off. We just want you to aim your lights in an appropriate direction and to use fixtures that prevent light from going up into the sky.

How bad is it where YOU live?

During late February and early March, 2008, you can rate the pollution in your neighborhood, and contribute to a growing set of light pollution data by participating in the GLOBE At Night project. Click here for details.

Dark Sky

Glare from a poorly-designed street light. Does this really make you safer?

Light-Polluted Sky

Glare from a car lot. The brilliant lights nearly blind you, but can you see the cars?