Darkness is being stripped at a rate unprecedented in human history – the spectacle of the Milky Way in the night sky is now invisible to 80% of the world’s population (and 99% of the population of the US). There have been some efforts to reduce light pollution: in December 2021, for example, New York City passed landmark lights-out laws, while Germany, France and Spain have reduced illumination on municipal buildings. But this goes nowhere near to repairing the damage artificial light is causing.
This matters because the dark matters. Not only does darkness offer unique physical and mental benefits to humans, it is vital to plants, mammals, birds, reptiles and insects – and not just the ones that are active at night. The trouble is, the dark scares us.
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