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•  We usually think of pollution as a harmful waste substance that threatens the air and water.
•  But some people have become concerned about another kind of pollution.
•  It can be everywhere, depending on the time of day.
•  And it is not thought of as a substance.
•  It is light.
•  The idea of light pollution has developed with the increase of lights in cities.
•  In many areas, this light makes it difficult or impossible to observe stars and planets in the night sky.
•  In 1988, the International Dark-Sky Association formed.
•  This organization wants to reduce light pollution in the night sky.
•  It also urges the effective use of electric lighting.
•  There are a number of reasons why light pollution is important.
•  One has become clear at the Mount Wilson Observatory near Los Angeles, California.
•  Mount Wilson Observatory was home to the largest telescopes in the world during the first half of the 1900's.
•  During that period, Los Angeles grew to become one of America's biggest cities.
•  Today, light from Los Angeles makes the night sky above Mount Wilson very bright.
•  It is no longer an important research center because of light pollution.
•  Light pollution threatens to reduce the scientific value of research telescopes in other important observatories.
•  They include Lick Observatory near San Jose, California and Yerkes Observatory near Chicago, Illinois.
•  Light pollution is the result of wasted energy.
•  Bright light that shines into the sky is not being used to provide light where it is needed on Earth.
•  Poorly designed lighting causes a great deal of light pollution.
•  Lights that are brighter than necessary also cause light pollution.
•  Recently, two Italian astronomers and an American environmental scientist created a world map of the night sky.
•  The map shows that North America, Western Europe and Japan have the greatest amount of light pollution.
•  Most people in America are surprised to find out that they are able to see our own galaxy, The Milky Way, with their own eyes.
•  But about three-fourths of Americans cannot see the Milky Way because of man-made light.
•  Objects in the night sky are resources that provide everyone with wonder.
•  But light pollution threatens to prevent those wonderful sights from being seen.