奥拉AURA

我和西内在这方面想法一样。当你架起望远镜去观察外部世界时，发现有人正打开着院子里的灯，影响了你的视野，你是极其恼火的。当你在黑暗的路上开车时，有人打开顶灯读点东西，这也可能是非常危险的。
I’m with Sine on this one. There’s nothing more aggravating than setting up a telescope to see what’s what out there only for somebody to turn on the yard light and obliterate the view. And it can be downright dangerous when you’re driving down a dark road and somebody turns on the dome light to do a little reading.

一个人的决定是一回事。但是把它们乘以整个人口，就会产生问题。
Individual decisions are one thing. Multiply them by the whole population and you end up with issues.

几十年前，图森曾经是一个安静的小镇，有着水晶般清澈的空气，应该是一个十分理想的架设高端望远镜的地方。但是随着时代的发展和进步，视线变得越来越差，因为上夜班已经成为地球生命的永恒行为了，天文学界不断呼吁，率先提出了反对意见。因此，图森市的政客们最先指出这些问题就不足为奇了，正如他们在2008年7月30日写给环境保护署的信中所摘录的那样:
Tucson, at one time a small sleepy town in the crystal clear dry air of a few decades ago seemed like an ideal place to set up some serious telescopes. As growth and progress has muddied the view, outcries from the astronomical community have turned out to be only the first wave of objections to what may have seemed like the swell idea to make the night shift a permanent feature of life on earth. It’s not surprising, then, that Tucson based politicians are among the first to point to such issues, as in the following excerpt from their July 30, 2008 letter to EPA:

"我们写这封信是为了讨论日益恶化的光污染问题。事实证明，光污染对夜间活动的野生动物产生了不利影响，造成了大量和广泛的电力浪费，并严重降低了我们夜空的能见度。”今天，估计有99%的美国人因为光污染而无法看星星。强大的、设计不良的街道照明和保安照明产生的眩光会降低夜间的能见度，并影响道路安全。人工照明已经被证明会影响许多夜间野生动物的交配、迁徙和捕食行为，从而影响整个生态系统。或许最严重的是，现在的证据表明，人类的眼睛对夜间光线照射比以前认为的要敏感得多，几个研究团队正在探索它对褪黑激素抑制、昼夜节律和人类健康的影响。
"We are writing to discuss the worsening problem of light pollution, which has proven adverse effects on nocturnal wildlife, creates a substantial and widespread waste of electricity, and seriously degrades the visibility of our night skies. Today light pollution hinders viewing the stars for an estimated 99% of Americans. Glare from powerful, poorly designed street and security lighting reduces nighttime visibility and hinders safety on the road. Artificial lighting has been shown to impinge on the mating, migration, and predation behaviors of many nocturnal species of wildlife, thereby affecting entire ecosystems. Perhaps most seriously, evidence now shows that human eyes are far more sensitive than previously thought to light-at-night exposure, and several research teams are exploring its influence on melatonin suppression, circadian rhythms, and human health.

幸运的是，光污染的扩散是可逆的，有直接的解决方案。我们可以做很多事情，比如使用屏蔽良好的照明装置，使其光束只对准需要的地方，减少过度的照明水平，或者就是在不需要的时候关灯等等。负责任的、设计良好的户外照明眩光控制，提高夜间能见度和安全性，保护生物多样性，并使生活更健康。此外，消除无用的射向天空的光线每年将节省数十亿美元的能源浪费，并减少大气排放。
Fortunately, the spread of light pollution is reversible, with straightforward solutions. Much can be done by using well-shielded lighting fixtures that aim their beams only where needed, by reducing excessive illumination levels, or simply by shutting off lights when not needed. Responsible, well-designed outdoor lighting controls glare, improves nighttime visibility and safety, protects biodiversity, and enables healthier lives. Moreover, eliminating light directed uselessly into the sky will save billions of dollars in wasted energy annually and reduce atmospheric emissions.

位于图森市的国际黑暗天空协会提供了关于夜晚变白天的影响的研究报告。它还提供照明装置，以减少影响和节省资金。喜欢自己动手的人只要在任何射向户外的光线上放一个雨篷或遮阳物，就能很大程度上改善夜间视野了。
The International Dark-Sky Association based in Tucson offers reports on studies into the effects of turning night into day. It also presents lighting fixtures to both lessen the impact and save money. Do-it-yourselfers can do a lot to improve the night view simply by putting a canopy or shade over any light shining into the outdoors.

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