October 4–17, 2021
MOUNT WASHINGTON — “For millions of years, there has been a night shift at work pollinating flowering plants and fruit trees … If you look at the diversity and the sheer numbers of moths out there, the other pollinators pale in comparison. So, you’re talking about a massive group of animals that probably contribute not just to fruit crops or crops in general … but to pollination overall, they may just be the most important pollinators as a group… The unsung heroes of pollination.” —Excerpts from Into the night: Shedding light on nocturnal pollinators
Darkness at night is under siege by an excess of poorly conceived and carelessly deployed artificial light, resulting in polluting the sky with a veil of wasted light. Light pollution threatens pollination of our food crops and wild landscapes, bird migration, night vision, human health, and our view of the universe. Doing away with darkness has long been a societal mission and has become a destructive habit. Light pollution is increasing at 2x rate of population growth and 83 percent of the global population lives under a light-polluted sky. We are all part of the problem and, more importantly, we are all part of the solution.
“Not more light, better light” are the watchwords of the International Dark Sky Association Massachusetts Chapter, IDA-MA. In a significant effort to reverse the trend, IDA-MA is shepherding a bill — An Act to Improve Outdoor Lighting, Conserve Energy, and Increase Dark-Sky Visibility through the Massachusetts legislature. Identical bills are filed in the Senate as S.2147 and House as H.3306. A hearing on the bill was held last Wednesday, Sept. 29, before the Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy. Testifying in favor were Sen. Cynthia Creem (co-filer), Rep. Sean Garballey (co-filer), and Rep. Sally Kerans (co-sponsor), as well as five officers and members of IDA-MA.
Now is the time for all readers to learn more about the bill and to act in support of this initiative. Massachusetts is the only New England state that has not passed statewide regulations on light pollution.Passing a bill requires persistence on the local, regional, and state levels. In our area, we have taken the first step: citizens have succeeded in informing and recruiting both Senator Adam Hinds and Representative Smitty Pignatelli as co-sponsors of the bill, An Act to Improve Outdoor Lighting, Conserve Energy, and Increase Dark-Sky Visibility. This bill now has 31 co-sponsors and favorable responses from a wide spectrum of organizations. Ongoing encouragement is necessary to strengthen support for S.2147 and H.3306. Contact your representatives and the Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy by email, telephone, and postal mail. Sign the petition on the IDA-MA website. All of these actions are effective!
Berkshire, Hampshire, Franklin, and Hamden county residents can contact Sen. Adam G. Hinds, an early co-sponsor of Senate bill S.2147. Fourth Berkshire District residents can congratulate Rep. Smitty Pignatelli on signing on as co-sponsor of H.3306.
Here in far western Massachusetts, we have a particular responsibility to protect our skies from the statewide and local light pollution addressed in An Act to Improve Outdoor Lighting, Conserve Energy, and Increase Dark-Sky Visibility.
