Light Pollution and the Beauty of Rural Night Skies

We’ll be launching a summer marketing campaign next week with one major focus on our beautiful night skies here in Valley County.  I think our dark vistas are a tremendous asset that we often take for granted out here in rural America, but something that has very real consequences for city folk who don’t get enough dark.

A few months back National Geographic ran a great story on the physiological implications that light pollution has on our bodies as well as the negative impact our cities are now having on wildlife.  You can read the report on the toll that light pollution is taking on wildlife here and the full report on the socio-economic impact of the urban orange glow here.

I find the beauty of the night both awe-inspiring and terrifying (in a good way).  Stargazing never gets old to me.  As a reminder of the difference in night skies in rural versus urban areas, behold the photo below (thanks to Flickr user jpstanley):