A Conversation About the Dark: Protecting the McKenzie Valley's night sky

I recently spoke with local DarkSky advocate Sha Spady about why a natural night sky matters:

The conversation focused on “dark skies,” what that actually means?

Sha Spady: Many of us remember the dark skies of our youth, laying on our backs in the grass, staring up at the Milky Way or Big Dipper, wondering if spaceships were going to land or if wild animals were going to come creeping out of the darkness and get us. Now, an estimated 80% of Americans live in areas where artificial lighting has become so pervasive and invasive the Milky Way is no longer visible.

So darkness itself is becoming something that needs to be protected?

Yes. You can almost think about it the way we think about an endangered species. People began realizing that we were rapidly losing dark skies.

That concern led to the creation of the International Dark-Sky Association, now DarkSky International. It has been working on ways to improve lighting practices and protect places where people can still experience natural darkness.

Part of that is preserving locations where people can actually see a dark sky. That can create tourism opportunities for people to travel to places and experience something they can’t experience at home.

Is this primarily about being able to see the stars?

No. That’s certainly part of it, but there are other reasons.

One very practical issue is light trespass. Somebody puts up a bright outdoor light and it doesn’t just illuminate their property. It shines horizontally, across the property line and maybe directly into somebody else’s bedroom.

Blue light at night can interfere with the body’s production of melatonin, which is important to sleep. That’s one reason we’re told to turn off our electronic devices before going to bed.

What does a good outdoor light look like?

One of the most important things is that it is fully shielded so light goes down onto the place you’re trying to illuminate. It doesn’t go horizontally into your neighbor’s property, and it doesn’t go upward into the sky.

Does protecting dark skies mean making communities darker or less safe?

No. That’s an important misconception.

This isn’t about eliminating lighting. It’s about better lighting.

If you need to illuminate a sidewalk, illuminate the sidewalk. If you need light over a doorway, put light over the doorway. If you need lighting in a parking area, direct the light into the parking area.

You don’t need to illuminate your neighbor’s house, the surrounding forest and the sky at the same time.

Why should the McKenzie Valley be thinking about this now?

Because we still have something that many other places have already lost.

People who live in heavily developed areas may have never stood outside under a truly dark sky. They may have never seen the Milky Way clearly.

Here, we still have places where you can experience that.

There is value in recognizing what we have while we still have it — and thinking about relatively simple things we can do to protect it.

Darkness isn’t nothing.

It’s part of the environment.