Over Half of the 149 Class 1 Federal Areas Analyzed Have Moderate to Severe Light Pollution Problems
The study shows over half of our Federal Class 1 Areas analyzed have moderate to severe light pollution problems. In addition, over 25% are listed in the severe category and have lost the ability to see half of the visible stars.
Kansas City, MO, June 22, 2007 --(PR.com)-- MCROL, Midwest Citizens for Responsible Outdoor Lighting, operated by Robert Wagner of Kansas City, Missouri has posted the results of light pollution’s effects Federal Class 1 Areas. The study shows over half of our Federal Class 1 Areas analyzed have moderate to severe light pollution problems. In addition, over 25% are listed in the severe category and have lost the ability to see half of the visible stars.
Federal Class 1 Areas are protected by the Clean Air Act and require the EPA "to establish rules to remedy any existing visibility impairment and prevent any future impairment in Class 1 federal areas resulting from manmade air pollution."
With light pollution increasing at a rate of 5%-10% annually, it is expected that the current problem is far more severe. The National Park Service has mentioned, “Two–thirds of Americans cannot see the Milky Way from their backyard, and 99% of the population live in an area that scientists consider light polluted. The rate at which light pollution is increasing will leave almost no dark skies in the contiguous US by 2025.”
This study combined a 1997 light pollution overlay with Google Earth to create visual maps of each site. The light pollution overlay was furnished by: P. Cinzano, F. Falchi (University of Padova), C. D. Elvidge (NOAA National Geophysical Data Center, Boulder). Copyright Royal Astronomical Society. Reproduced from the Monthly Notices of the RAS by permission of Blackwell Science.
For more information visit:
http://www.trianglealumni.org/mcrol/class1.html
http://www.trianglealumni.org/mcrol/
http://www.lightpollution.it/worldatlas/pages/fig1.htm
http://www2.nature.nps.gov/air/lightscapes/
http://www.epa.gov/ttncaaa1/t1/reports/riaes.pdf
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Federal Class 1 Areas are protected by the Clean Air Act and require the EPA "to establish rules to remedy any existing visibility impairment and prevent any future impairment in Class 1 federal areas resulting from manmade air pollution."
With light pollution increasing at a rate of 5%-10% annually, it is expected that the current problem is far more severe. The National Park Service has mentioned, “Two–thirds of Americans cannot see the Milky Way from their backyard, and 99% of the population live in an area that scientists consider light polluted. The rate at which light pollution is increasing will leave almost no dark skies in the contiguous US by 2025.”
This study combined a 1997 light pollution overlay with Google Earth to create visual maps of each site. The light pollution overlay was furnished by: P. Cinzano, F. Falchi (University of Padova), C. D. Elvidge (NOAA National Geophysical Data Center, Boulder). Copyright Royal Astronomical Society. Reproduced from the Monthly Notices of the RAS by permission of Blackwell Science.
For more information visit:
http://www.trianglealumni.org/mcrol/class1.html
http://www.trianglealumni.org/mcrol/
http://www.lightpollution.it/worldatlas/pages/fig1.htm
http://www2.nature.nps.gov/air/lightscapes/
http://www.epa.gov/ttncaaa1/t1/reports/riaes.pdf
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Contact
Midwest Citizens for Responsible Outdoor Lighting
Robert Wagner
913.244.7608
www.trianglealumni.org/mcrol/
Robert Wagner
913.244.7608
www.trianglealumni.org/mcrol/
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