Their darkest hour
Remember the California blackouts of a couple of years ago? There was reporting (don't know how credible) some city dwellers were outright scared by the Milky Way ghostly swath!!!
The human eye is a sensitive instrument capable of registering faint stars down to 6th magnitude under proper conditions. Proper conditions mean dark unpolluted skies (under new moon of course). Current urban light pollution is so bad that the norm is 3 as limiting magnitude. This stems from the fact the atmosphere contains dust and humidity - in urban areas much more so - that upon illumination from below, reflect and disperse the light creating a shiny haze. Except for the Moon, major planets, and some brilliant stars, the rest of the sky vault gets washed out. All major observatories in the world had to flee from metropolitan areas long ago, looking for a more hospitable place to nest.
And bad lighting is hazardous to your health too. For one, glare is a direct threat for drivers, badly illuminated roads make easy for you to miss low contrast obstacles, even pedestrians, until too late to avoid. Senior people take more time to adjust to low light levels, so they are vulnerable to accidents when leaving an exaggeratedly lighted parking lot. Senior people are also prone to cataracts, which makes them much more sensitive to glare. Our own bodies are subject to well-known circadian rhythms, which are strongly connected with lighting cycles. Even minute amounts of illumination stop secretion of melatonin, an important hormone involved in several physiological processes. A recent study hints differences of a 5 to 1 risk of breast cancer for developed vs. underdeveloped countries may be connected with unnatural light exposure levels.
Not to mention how wildlife is affected by artificial lights.
The International Dark Skies Association
At first blush, one may be tempted to regard IDA as one more of these well inspired bunch of mostly good people involved in environmentalist movements. And certainly it is formed by well-inspired good people worried about the environment. But what sets them apart is their chances to accomplish significant success in the long term, for the issues at stake do not necessarily involve the kind of you lose I win outcome so frequent elsewhere. As said, light pollution not only is a nuisance for professionals of the night sky, or simply wide-eyed stargazers, it is economic and security nonsense. Each time there has been
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