Already, some places are taking action. France has adopted a national policy that imposes curfews on outdoor lighting and drastically limits the amount of light that can be projected into the sky. Flagstaff, Ariz., regulates the direction of outdoor beams and limits the number of lights in a given place. And around the globe, some countries, especially those with regions less contaminated by city lights, are embracing “dark sky tourism,” which encompasses activities like stargazing walks or excursions to see the Northern Lights.
Ireland, which has dark sky parks and even, in Mayo, a dark sky festival, is positioning itself at the forefront of this kind of tourism. “If you think about the map of Europe, there’s nothing between us and Canada,” says Brian Espey, chairman of Dark Sky Ireland. “We have these little rims of dark sky areas that are protected, and that we can package as part of a destination, something that’s maybe associated with eco-tourism, but also just something that’s unique about the area.”
Eklöf himself has expanded his consultancy to include advising on how to reduce light pollution. Last summer, he worked with one Swedish municipality to devise a lighting system for forest trails that would be more animal friendly. They used red lights, he said, and found the same number of light-sensitive species before and after the lights went in. “It’s a good indication that this might be a way forward.”
In the meantime, he hopes his book, which culminates in an actual manifesto, will inspire readers to embrace the dark of night more fully. Some of Eklöf’s research focuses on the eyesight of bats. (Colloquialisms aside, they are not really blind.) That work has meant he’s spent many nights outdoors. “I myself like the darkness, and I like looking for bats in twilight,” he says. “It’s kind of relaxing.”
Relaxing, and occasionally thrilling. The other night, Eklöf took his teenage daughter outside to watch a comet streak across the heavens. “She’s 14, so she’s not really interested in anything,” he said with a laugh. “But that, she found fascinating. There is something about the sense of just being small underneath the night sky that fascinates all of us.”
