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> I don't understand why so many people seem to be OK with losing our ability to see the stars Honest question: why shouldn't they be okay with it? I was a Bo

> I don't understand why so many people seem to be OK with losing our ability to see the stars Honest question: why shouldn't they be okay with it? I was a Boy Scout and I saw the stars at night during camp outs. I've seen the night's sky from the middle of the New Mexico desert. It was very pretty, but I've seen it. It's not that I don't have a sense of wonder. Heck, I'm a post-doctoral researcher in physics and I've been trying to teach myself cosmology as a hobby. Yet, from my perspective, being able to see the stars every night like being able to see Niagara Falls every night. It's something that you should certainly do once and I don't begrudge those who want it part of their daily life, but I don't think that it needs to be the default option. You seem to disagree, so I'm wondering what it is that I'm missing.

cgriswald 12y ago
Well, seeing the stars everywhere at night is the default and our activities are preventing it. So I don't think it's quite the same as seeing Niagara Falls. Light pollution is a solved problem and solving it has other potential benefits (like better sleep at night). But no one cares. Why don't they care? I don't know. For me, the inability to see the stars at night is like not being able to see the sun during the day. It's like every night is cloudy.
ChrisGranger 12y ago
Well, not everyone is going to have the same level of awe or interest for any given phenomenon, obviously. It just strikes me as kind of sad that so many people today live their lives without even realizing what'd be visible directly overhead if only it wasn't so obscured by light pollution. At least you do realize, and have seen it. I think it's unfair to kids in particular that they're missing out on this. (I realize there are worse "accident of birth" things to worry about, like safety and shelter and having enough to eat, but I'm trying to stay on-topic.) I don't know... not being able to see the stars strikes me as one or two steps away from living underground, or never looking up.
JoeAltmaier 12y ago
Because Niagara Falls is thousands of miles away, fixed in size and in one place. The sky is everywhere and infinite. That we can't see the sky is a far more singular deal.
prawn 12y ago
It's grounding and humbling. I look up at the stars every single time I'm outside at night, even just walking from the car in the driveway to the front door. The scale and history is unfathomable. I never get sick of it. I think about past generations from thousands of years ago and how at that time they would be lying around a fire and what they would've been thinking. That opportunity to look up and see stars should be a natural night state for us and our children.

cgriswald 12y ago

Well, seeing the stars everywhere at night is the default and our activities are preventing it. So I don't think it's quite the same as seeing Niagara Falls. Light pollution is a solved problem and solving it has other potential benefits (like better sleep at night). But no one cares. Why don't they care? I don't know. For me, the inability to see the stars at night is like not being able to see the sun during the day. It's like every night is cloudy.

ChrisGranger 12y ago

Well, not everyone is going to have the same level of awe or interest for any given phenomenon, obviously. It just strikes me as kind of sad that so many people today live their lives without even realizing what'd be visible directly overhead if only it wasn't so obscured by light pollution. At least you do realize, and have seen it. I think it's unfair to kids in particular that they're missing out on this. (I realize there are worse "accident of birth" things to worry about, like safety and shelter and having enough to eat, but I'm trying to stay on-topic.) I don't know... not being able to see the stars strikes me as one or two steps away from living underground, or never looking up.

JoeAltmaier 12y ago

Because Niagara Falls is thousands of miles away, fixed in size and in one place. The sky is everywhere and infinite. That we can't see the sky is a far more singular deal.

prawn 12y ago

It's grounding and humbling. I look up at the stars every single time I'm outside at night, even just walking from the car in the driveway to the front door. The scale and history is unfathomable. I never get sick of it. I think about past generations from thousands of years ago and how at that time they would be lying around a fire and what they would've been thinking. That opportunity to look up and see stars should be a natural night state for us and our children.