re: links of the day

"Eyeball observers" know all too well the frustrations of the urban life: light pollution kills the dim fuzzies that lie at the heart of our passion. The image at right (source: Light Pollution Science and Technology Institute) illustrates the problem.

So how much light pollution do you suffer from? There are any number of useful sites on the web. Here's a link to the main page for the Light Pollution Science and Technology Institute:

http://www.rei.com/?cm_mmc=ps_google_reibrand-_-REI_Brand-_-REI-_-r.e.i.

And here's a link to the global map. Scroll down the page to find your continent. If you download the large maps (100 mb plus), you can pretty much see your own neighborhood. http://www.lightpollution.it/worldatlas/pages/fig1.htm

What can you do about the problem of ever increasing light pollution? How about joining the IDSA? http://www.darksky.org/ The IDSA site contains a wealth of information.

As it turns out, local groups (cities, like Flagstaff, AZ) and regional have made strides in fighting light pollution. Here's a link to the Flagstaff Dark Skies Coalition: http://www.flagstaffdarkskies.org/

FYI, the IDSA has a slide show that you can use for a presentation to the "poobahs" who run your city or county. http://www.darksky.org/resources/protecting-our-night-environment

Enough already. But check out the web on light pollution.

Cheers.