I grew up in Kenya when street lighting was a rarity even on the outskirts of the larger towns and cities. The glory of a dark sky on a clear night, especially if you're at a few thousand feet above sea level, is something to remember. These days street lighting is far more widespread, and the glory a lot harder to find.
Here in the UK there are very few truly dark sites, and in residential areas we have the added curse of (usually passive-IR controlled) floodlights on paths, driveways and gardens that are often installed so that half the light they produce goes straight into the sky. Back when 500W halogen fittings were common, folk at least sometimes made sure they weren't on for long, but with the modern breed of LEDs which chew only a few watts people aren't so concerned about their electricity bills.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2021-11-20 03:23 pm (UTC)Here in the UK there are very few truly dark sites, and in residential areas we have the added curse of (usually passive-IR controlled) floodlights on paths, driveways and gardens that are often installed so that half the light they produce goes straight into the sky. Back when 500W halogen fittings were common, folk at least sometimes made sure they weren't on for long, but with the modern breed of LEDs which chew only a few watts people aren't so concerned about their electricity bills.