Story and photos by Amy Eddings
Bryan Boulanger remembers when he saw, really saw, the night sky.
It was October 2007. Boulanger was camping with two friends in the Guadalupe Mountains in Texas, where he had just started teaching civil engineering at Texas A&M University. He was 31 years old.
“We slept on the ground, and the night sky was amazing,” he said. “It was so fantastic, it was hard to fall asleep.”
During that wide-awake moment, he realized that he rarely saw the starscape that so bedazzled him that night. He’s not alone, especially in the developed world. About 80 percent of the world’s population can’t see the Milky Way, according to a new study.
“The night sky is a resource that’s vanishing,” he said. “I started to see light pollution as a civil engineering problem.”
Motivated by that moment and his love of the outdoors, Boulanger, now 40 and a professor at Ohio Northern University in Ada, is leading a team of students in a project to help Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming reduce its light pollution.
But there’s plenty of light pollution to combat here, too. Anyone driving toward Ada on State Route 81 on a football Friday night can see the village’s sky glow from miles away.
What is light pollution?
Light pollution is the adverse effect of artificial light. That includes light trespass (light falling where it is not wanted or needed), skyglow (Los Angeles’ skyglow can be seen from an aircraft 200 miles away), glare (excessive brightness that can hurt your eyes) and clutter (excessive groupings of light sources).
“Light pollution derives from light that’s not being used for the appropriate task, that’s just been put out there mindlessly,” said J. Scott Feierabend, executive director of the International Dark-Sky Association.
The best examples of inappropriate are mercury vapor street lights and security lights in which the entire bulb is exposed, allowing the light to go up, down and sideways. Feierabend called these lights “glare bombs.” Such inefficient and unnecessary light is not only a waste of energy; Feierabend said research is showing it’s harmful to humans and wildlife.
“Sea turtles, born on the coast, like in Florida, are a great example,” he said. “These hatchlings are hardwired to head toward the moon and stars, but they become disoriented by all the near-shore lighting and have been found migrating towards the condos and hotels.”
Dark Sky Places
One of the ways IDA advocates for less light pollution is through its Dark Sky Places conservation program. Communities must reduce their light pollution and educate the public about the importance of dark skies in order to be designated a Dark Sky Community, Park, Sanctuary, Reserve or Development of Distinction.
Most of the 10 Dark Sky Communities are west of the Mississippi River, but one is surprisingly close to Ada: Beverly Shores, Indiana. The little town of 619 sits on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan and is surrounded by the Indiana Dunes National Park.
“Air pollution, water pollution, is a tough fight,” said resident Alan Bell, who, with his wife, spearheaded the Dark Sky application effort. “But light pollution is something you can do something about.”
Yellowstone
ONU professor Bryan Boulanger’s project in Yellowstone National Park is designed to help it become an IDA-certified Dark Sky Place. Yellowstone landscape architect Lynn Chan, who’s spearheading the application, said she first became aware of the need for new lighting 20 years ago.
“We had lighting that was not appropriate to our historic district, that was really glaring and way too bright,” she said.
The application requires an inventory of all 5,000 of the light fixtures throughout the 3,500-acre park.
“I got Old Faithful done and I thought, there’s no way I could do this,” she said.
When Boulanger approached park officials, seeking a civil engineering project for his students, he was told to talk to Chan, who immediately thought of the light inventory.
“He’s been awesome,” Chan said of Boulanger. “He’s done all the logistics and the technology behind it all. I just made sure he had all the support from the park and management.”
“Yellowstone has always had a place in my heart,” said Boulanger. “It represents what’s left of wilderness in the Lower 48 states. I thought maybe they’d have problems that needed work on from a civil engineer.”
Student experience
Boulanger took 10 students on two data-gathering camping trips to Yellowstone, most recently in August. Using a smart phone app that Boulanger helped design, students documented the location and type of every exterior light in the park, whether it was working, and what kind and strength of light the fixture emitted. This required working at night.
“It was cold,” said 19-year-old sophomore Payton Green. “You had to bring two sets of clothes, because it’s so hot during the day.”
Max Roberts, 20, a sophomore, said the project has him seeing light pollution everywhere.
“Everywhere I go, I’m analyzing light fixtures,” he said.
Unfortunately, they didn’t get a good view of the Milky Way. The night skies were cloudy throughout their August trip. But they finished the inventory, doing over the course of several weeks what would have taken Lynn Chan several years.
PHOTOS
• ONU civil engineering Prof. Bryan Boulanger, left, and several of his Yellowstone Park lighting project: Max Roberts, Ray Stahl, Payton Green.
• Glare is visible from lights at Yellowstone National Park's eastern entrance. Photo courtesy of Bryan Boulanger.
