MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • May 26, 2025
We need light at night to help us with nighttime activities. What we don’t need is irresponsible use of outdoor lighting at night, which has negative effects on human health, the environment and our pocketbooks. 70% of mammals are nocturnal and countless insects and pollinators that depend on the dark. When we carelessly throw light into areas where it doesn’t belong it disrupts the delicately adapted patterns of life for all living things. Light pollution, and inability to see dark skies, also robs us of our cultural heritage and our ability to conduct scientific research. Maine has the largest contiguous areas of dark skies east of the Mississippi River. We have two internationally recognized areas — The Maine Woods Dark Sky Park and the Katahdin Woods and Waters Dark Sky Sanctuary. However, light pollution continues to spread. I urge support for LD 1934, An Act to Promote Responsible Outdoor Lighting. ~ Robert A. Burgess, Dark Sky Maine and Southern Maine Astronomers, Brunswick