Britain to become world's largest 'dark sky park'

[PeteC]

.......... is the title of a story in the latest edition of Private Eye

Quote

Astronomers last night welcomed the news that the whole of the United Kingdom is soon to become a "dark sky park", freed from the scourge of "light pollution".

Plans for Britain to become the first country in the world to switch off all its lights, making it much easier "to see the night sky in all its unspoiled glory" were announced yesterday by the Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Davey.

"Our aim," he said, "is to close down all Britain's dirty fossil-fuel power stations by putting up taxes so high that they cannot afford to stay open. We will continue to build thousands of wind turbines, but of course these cannot be guaranteed to work when the wind isn't blowing, so we can look forward to long periods when there will be no light pollution at all."

Unquote

Let's hear it for Mr Davey

[crashtestdummy]

Haha a wonderful story that will never happen

[Chris]

Thanks for the illuminating yarn Pete

[knobby]

Thanks for the illuminating yarn Pete

Nothing like a bit of dark humour :-)

[cantab]

Nothing like a bit of dark humour :-)

Ba-dum-tsh

[faulksy]

it would be good though

[JamesF]

it would be good though

Unless you needed to charge your powertank

James

[faulksy]

Unless you needed to charge your powertank

James

then you could use solar energy

[Beulah]

Nah, all we need is for people to point their lights DOWN and dim them a little, and that would improve the skies no end. Refresher courses in how to use a torch.

I was walking around a town the other night after visiting and in the distance, saw a bright light dome over someone's home. As I was walking that way anyway, I was curious.

Turned out that the whole of their house & garden was covered in Christmas lights. How can people afford the electricity?!!

I'm paying around £150pcm for winter leccy (inc. heating) even in stingy mode!!

[crashtestdummy]

It's not really individual houses that cause the problems though,it's road and street lighting imho and as soon as councils decide to turn them off,people complain about security and they will always win because councils won't risk losing voters.

[JamesF]

I'm paying around £150pcm for winter leccy (inc. heating) even in stingy mode!!

We're paying a few tens more than that, but I'm home all the time (work from home) and that includes the "granny annexe"  I'm trying to cut down as much as possible, but telling the in-laws that they can't have their huge television on eight hours a day would not go down well

I fully expect electricity prices to double over the next ten years unless there's some radical change in the market.  In the same time period I can't see people's earnings going up by more than around 30%.  I think it's really going to start hurting over the next three or four years.

James

[Dave_D]

then you could use solar energy

or rig up a dynamo to an exercize bike get fit at the same time, so we can lug all this kit about 

[ronin]

People will revert to cosy fires and the smoke will block the sky out. :eek:

Can complain of chimneys then, not street lights. :grin:

[Thenewreaper]

Just been getting back into my astronomy after years away (sorry sounds like the start of a sci fi) and our local council have within the last 2 weeks switched all the street lights off in our town so the light pollution is now not a problem and the amount of shooting stars over head is a delight to see.

[JamesF]

Just been getting back into my astronomy after years away (sorry sounds like the start of a sci fi) and our local council have within the last 2 weeks switched all the street lights off in our town so the light pollution is now not a problem and the amount of shooting stars over head is a delight to see.

Were I in a position where streetlights had been a problem, I would be writing to the council to express your support for their energy-consciousness and environmental awareness in managing their budget.  There will be people who complain.  Vociferously.  They need to know that there is support (and have evidence of it) within the community too.

James

[bomberbaz]

When this happens costs of equipment kight go up due to incresed demand but if it gets that dark we shouldcbe able to make do with these badboys :-D

[redfox1971]

Main orange glow in my town is from the big wood yard who seem to need to have every angle covered with big floodlights shineing on heaps of woodchip,to well off and not worried about the bill it seems,don't think it's possible do anything about it though.

[Pig]

If only

[sbooder]

When this happens costs of equipment kight go up due to incresed demand but if it gets that dark we shouldcbe able to make do with these badboys :-D

Ooo, they look like rebranded Trinovids?

[scarp15]

Nothing like a bit of dark humour :-)

Or a nice piece of light entertainment.

[Lancashire Astroguy]

Main orange glow in my town is from the big wood yard who seem to need to have every angle covered with big floodlights shineing on heaps of woodchip,to well off and not worried about the bill it seems,don't think it's possible do anything about it though.

i think organisations and individuals who pollute the sky with ridiculous amounts of light should pay a "light pollution tax". 95% of the time it is completely unnecessary with floodlights and security lights sending most of their energy upwards or sideways instead of down. Retail parks and sports grounds are the worst culprits. Why can't they rig up the streetlights so that after midnight, two of every three lights is switched off, with the "on light" randomly alternating to deter criminals? This is the 21st century after all!

As someone who is interested both in Astronomy and what is left of our wild places in England, I am deeply concerned about plans to increase the population of this country to more than 70 million. This island is overcrowded and creaking at the seams - travelling on the M6 yesterday between Birmingham and Cheshire I was in congestion for about 40 miles, and yet this was a Sunday with hardly any trucks on the road! It seems the encroachment of urban Britain into my beloved rural England can't be stopped. I suspect in a few decades, you would have to travel to the north of Scotland to see a dark sky.