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Please leave some comments at this site, either via Facebook or directly on the blog at the bottom:

Another site for comments

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My disdain for humanity grows deeper every day.

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My disdain for humanity grows deeper every day.

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What a few do, should not reflect on all.

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It should not reflect thus, but in this case, it is merited - at least on most. Consider that the vast majority of people seem to gladly tolerate or actively encourage excessive lighting of all kinds, regardless of environmental impact. In my experience, it is not a matter of educating them, since they are not really capable of being educated; as they operate primarily from the position of naked self-interest, anything that obstructs them from getting their way is attacked, either overtly or by way of rationalization.

This is why this "art" display is, barring government intervention, going to proceed as scheduled... it is because the vast majority see absolutely nothing wrong with it.

It is also why the light pollution issue, at least at the macro level, is not amenable to a sociological solution... only stern authoritarianism or a general collapse of civilization will remove or reduce it from populated areas.

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My disdain for humanity grows deeper every day.

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What a few do, should not reflect on all.

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It should not reflect thus, but in this case, it is merited - at least on most. Consider that the vast majority of people seem to gladly tolerate or actively encourage excessive lighting of all kinds, regardless of environmental impact. In my experience, it is not a matter of educating them, since they are not really capable of being educated; as they operate primarily from the position of naked self-interest, anything that obstructs them from getting their way is attacked, either overtly or by way of rationalization.

This is why this "art" display is, barring government intervention, going to proceed as scheduled... it is because the vast majority see absolutely nothing wrong with it.

It is also why the light pollution issue, at least at the macro level, is not amenable to a sociological solution... only stern authoritarianism or a general collapse of civilization will remove or reduce it from populated areas.

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Now that you've indicted the vast majority of society...

Your profile here on CN lists your hobbies as "Personal edification and enlightenment" and yet you seem to be willing to condemn out of hand those with whom you disagree and indeed, seem willing to use iron-handed measures to accomplish your wishes. All this despite the fact that, arguably, your views (and my views) are in the minority.

I'm not defending this project. Nor am I condoning the excessive use of light for the varieties of purposes for which it is used. I would like nothing more than to go back to the days when we could walk out of our houses, look up and behold the full magnificence of the night skies. Perhaps someday, man will come full circle and that will come to pass. But, alas, that day is not today.

It needs to be pointed out - and understood - that light is culturally perceived as good by most of humanity.

To wit: "'Tis better to light a single candle than to curse the darkness".

Throughout history, light has represented goodness while darkness has been perceived as evil. For good or ill, to a certain extent, the urge to light up our world has been culturally ingrained in us. Early man huddled around his campfire. Man celebrated the lighting of his streets with gas lamps, and later with "electric lights". Darkness has always been perceived as something to be pushed back and as soon as man had the tools to do so, he did precisely that.

Science is now beginning to understand that this may not be the wisest course. That excessive light may cause problems of which we were unaware. But, the fact remains that, for the majority of society, dark is not good - light is good.

Right now, we who wish to turn off the lights are in the minority. It's up to us to work with the rest of society to help them become enlightened (there's that word again). Condemning them - however right we may be - will not solve the problem and in fact will likely be counterproductive in our quest. Almost certainly, referring to people as being incapable of being educated, is going to delay, rather than further our goals.

We have a challenge here. One that will require outreach, understanding, patience, and above all persistance, to accomplish our goals. Condemnation and brute force will not serve us well.

Post Extras:

Quote:

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Quote:

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Quote:

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My disdain for humanity grows deeper every day.

---

What a few do, should not reflect on all.

---

It should not reflect thus, but in this case, it is merited - at least on most. Consider that the vast majority of people seem to gladly tolerate or actively encourage excessive lighting of all kinds, regardless of environmental impact. In my experience, it is not a matter of educating them, since they are not really capable of being educated; as they operate primarily from the position of naked self-interest, anything that obstructs them from getting their way is attacked, either overtly or by way of rationalization.

This is why this "art" display is, barring government intervention, going to proceed as scheduled... it is because the vast majority see absolutely nothing wrong with it.

It is also why the light pollution issue, at least at the macro level, is not amenable to a sociological solution... only stern authoritarianism or a general collapse of civilization will remove or reduce it from populated areas.

---

Now that you've indicted the vast majority of society...

Your profile here on CN lists your hobbies as "Personal edification and enlightenment" and yet you seem to be willing to condemn out of hand those with whom you disagree and indeed, seem willing to use iron-handed measures to accomplish your wishes. All this despite the fact that, arguably, your views (and my views) are in the minority.

I'm not defending this project. Nor am I condoning the excessive use of light for the varieties of purposes for which it is used. I would like nothing more than to go back to the days when we could walk out of our houses, look up and behold the full magnificence of the night skies. Perhaps someday, man will come full circle and that will come to pass. But, alas, that day is not today.

It needs to be pointed out - and understood - that light is culturally perceived as good by most of humanity.

To wit: "'Tis better to light a single candle than to curse the darkness".

Throughout history, light has represented goodness while darkness has been perceived as evil. For good or ill, to a certain extent, the urge to light up our world has been culturally ingrained in us. Early man huddled around his campfire. Man celebrated the lighting of his streets with gas lamps, and later with "electric lights". Darkness has always been perceived as something to be pushed back and as soon as man had the tools to do so, he did precisely that.

Science is now beginning to understand that this may not be the wisest course. That excessive light may cause problems of which we were unaware. But, the fact remains that, for the majority of society, dark is not good - light is good.

Right now, we who wish to turn off the lights are in the minority. It's up to us to work with the rest of society to help them become enlightened (there's that word again). Condemning them - however right we may be - will not solve the problem and in fact will likely be counterproductive in our quest. Almost certainly, referring to people as being incapable of being educated, is going to delay, rather than further our goals.

We have a challenge here. One that will require outreach, understanding, patience, and above all persistance, to accomplish our goals. Condemnation and brute force will not serve us well.

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Ken, a very excellent post.

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Now that you've indicted the vast majority of society...

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Your profile here on CN lists your hobbies as "Personal edification and enlightenment" and yet you seem to be willing to condemn out of hand those with whom you disagree and indeed, seem willing to use iron-handed measures to accomplish your wishes. All this despite the fact that, arguably, your views (and my views) are in the minority.

---

Quote:

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I'm not defending this project. Nor am I condoning the excessive use of light for the varieties of purposes for which it is used. I would like nothing more than to go back to the days when we could walk out of our houses, look up and behold the full magnificence of the night skies. Perhaps someday, man will come full circle and that will come to pass. But, alas, that day is not today.

---

Quote:

---

It needs to be pointed out - and understood - that light is culturally perceived as good by most of humanity.

To wit: "'Tis better to light a single candle than to curse the darkness".

---

Quote:

---

Throughout history, light has represented goodness while darkness has been perceived as evil. For good or ill, to a certain extent, the urge to light up our world has been culturally ingrained in us. Early man huddled around his campfire. Man celebrated the lighting of his streets with gas lamps, and later with "electric lights". Darkness has always been perceived as something to be pushed back and as soon as man had the tools to do so, he did precisely that.

Science is now beginning to understand that this may not be the wisest course. That excessive light may cause problems of which we were unaware. But, the fact remains that, for the majority of society, dark is not good - light is good.

---

Quote:

---

Right now, we who wish to turn off the lights are in the minority. It's up to us to work with the rest of society to help them become enlightened (there's that word again). Condemning them - however right we may be - will not solve the problem and in fact will likely be counterproductive in our quest. Almost certainly, referring to people as being incapable of being educated, is going to delay, rather than further our goals.

---

Quote:

---

We have a challenge here. One that will require outreach, understanding, patience, and above all persistance, to accomplish our goals. Condemnation and brute force will not serve us well.

---

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