Bringing Dark Sky Zones to Fairfax

Written By Collin Cope /Originally published in Special to the Fairfax County TimesMay 6, 2022

Bringing Dark Sky Zones to Fairfax

As International Dark Sky Week has come to a close, activists and scientists continue the fight against light pollution

Courtesy Photo

Courtesy Photo

During the week of April 22 through April 30, The International Dark-Sky Association encouraged residents across the country to “Discover the Night” in order to raise awareness of the negatives of light pollution.

During this time, Fairfax residents were encouraged to participate in a dark hour on April 22, wherein individual residents would have a better chance at seeing the night sky while neighbors turned off their lights for the hour between 9 and 10 p.m.

Additionally, Governor Glenn Youngkin released a proclamation recognizing International Dark Skies week and focused on the importance of educating the public.

“Light pollution has scientifically-established economic and environmental consequences, which result in significant impacts amounting to roughly $3 billion per year of wasted energy in the United States and contributes to diminished energy security,” said Youngkin.

As Fairfax County houses an ever-growing population, residents are unequivocally impacted by the increase in light pollution this brings, though many may be unaware of this fact.

“There are plenty of people in the D.C. area who have grown up without ever seeing the milky way,” explained Peter Plavchan, astronomy professor and director of George Mason Observatories.

While some may be unfazed by this, other concerns related to light pollution include its impact on various plants and animals within the natural environment.

“I talk to people that hunt, I talk to people that fish and all this artificial light at night affects that. Additionally, [I am] concerned with how these lights affect the various birds and creatures in the park, as well as nocturnal pollinators,” explained Eileen Kragie, a local light pollution activist.

On top of this, burgeoning research suggests a link between the impact of blue light on the human circadian rhythm, as well as mental health according to Plavchan.

While it can be difficult to predict the long term effects of this pollution on our overall environment, Plavchan expressed that regions which are heavily polluted by light can create problems for astronomers like himself.

“[Astronomers] run away from the light pollution, so the world’s best telescopes are located as far away from large populations as possible or situated in ways such that such light pollution is always shielded by the clouds below us,” said Plavchan.

Despite George Mason University’s public observatory being the largest in the Mid-Atlantic, Plavchan laments that the heavy light pollution present on Mason’s campus makes it difficult to receive the educational benefit of their telescope.

“At GMU, state building codes require light 24/7 and we have a parking garage right next to the observatory with a lit-up roof 24/7,” said Plavchan. “We’ll be using the telescope at 3 or 4 in the morning and there’s no reason for those lights to be on at that particular hour. [Mason] could save a lot of money, just by turning off the lights when they’re not needed.”

Due to the apparent prevalence of light pollution in the region, local activists and astronomers are pushing for Dark Sky designations across the county, with particular emphasis on the campus of George Mason University and the Turner Farm in Great Falls.

While these efforts are ongoing, there are pre-existing regulations in the county aimed at reducing overall light pollution.

According to Tammy Schwab of Turner Farm, one county ordinance mandates that residents may only install new lights which shine downward, rather than towards the sky. Additionally, Plavchan emphasized that shielded lights which face downward, as well as motion-sensing LEDs for a home’s exterior, greatly improve one’s ability to reduce light pollution.

However, while these changes would be relatively easy to implement, an important caveat is that enforcement is uncommon.“The codes are enforced by complaint, so most people don’t even know they exist,” said Kragie.

While the interest in reducing light pollution is far from over, the governor’s words, as well as recent efforts to bring attention to the importance of night sky visibility are very encouraging for those on the forefront.

“We’re excited that the governor has issued this proclamation,” said Plavchan. “We’re excited that Fairfax City held their first annual dark hour earlier last month. And we definitely want to support the lighting regulation of Turner Farm’s observatory and we’d like to see a similar one put in place for George Mason University.”