Bright Lights, Big Cities

A few years ago, I had the chance to travel to Yosemite National Park. As the sun set, all my terrestrial fears of bears and frogs faded away as I looked up into the night. A river of stars flowed across the sky. For the first time in my life, I saw the Milky Way. I began to understand in a deep way why the stars have shaped and influenced every culture on earth since the dawn of humanity ... though I wonder if that will be true in the future. In most cities, there is far too much light produced to see anything except a few stars. Earlier this year, astronomer Ben Burres wrote a very clear and insightful piece about light pollution in cities and the unexpected consequences. Check it out:

Globe At Night: Measuring Light Pollution with Human Eyes
http://www.kqed.org/quest/blog/2009/01/16/globe-at-night-measuring-light-pollution-with-human-eyes/