Dark sky tourism

It's fun to travel in search of a view of the stars - Night Sky Tourist.

But why not bring the joy of the night sky closer to home, boost the local economy, and feel better, too? The Lake District estimate a return of ￡1.93 for every ￡1 spent on dark-sky friendly lighting -?Importance of Dark Skies to Tourism.

Stats about the impact of low-level light pollution are enough to keep us awake at night:

• Increase risk of pre-term birth- Light Pollution, Sleep Deprivation, and Infant Health at Birth.
• Increase risk of diabetes -?Personal light exposure patterns and incidence of type 2 diabetes: analysis of 13 million hours of light sensor data and 670,000 person-years of prospective observation.
• Reduce quality of sleep for teens -?Association of Outdoor Artificial Light at Night With Mental Disorders and Sleep Patterns Among US Adolescents.
• Increase use of sleep medication for adults -?Outdoor Artificial Nighttime Light and Use of Hypnotic Medications in Older Adults: A Population-Based Cohort Study.
• Increase risk of Parkinson’s disease?- Bright light exposure reduces TH-positive dopamine neurons: Implications of light pollution in Parkinson's disease epidemiology.?

If you want to see the stars in your street, in the UK at least, you can lobby your local authority on the basis that light pollution is a?Statutory Nuisance, defined as?

• Unreasonably and substantially interfere with the use or enjoyment of a home or other premises
• Injure health or be likely to injure health

-?Artificial light nuisances: how councils deal with complaints.?

Iain Macrae suggests rethinking the negative connotations of the 'red light' district as red street lamps could deliver the light levels we need, reduce sky glow and cut energy use too -The night-time blues: the impact of white LEDs on light pollution.

Short of mounting an official protest, what can us ordinary folk do?

• Choose Dark Sky-Approved lights -?The DarkSky Approved program.
• Dim the lights indoors after dark
• Light the centre, not the edges of the room
• Draw curtains to reduce the spread of light outside

Perhaps your neighbourhood could become a Dark Sky Tourist Destination too!