Is artificial light poisoning the planet?
I'm from the Netherlands, one of the most light-polluted areas on the planet and had my first proper dark night only in my 30s.It was in South Africa. We were driving with a roofed jeep on some plains in search of nocturnal wildlife. Then, the driver stopped and told us to get out. It was freezing and he prepared hot chocolate from the back of the car.He killed his search light and it got so dark that we could not see our own hands. And then we looked up.Holy shit. I'm not a melodramatic person but this was the first time in my life that I experienced living on a planet, connected to something far greater. I mean, I knew this to be the case, but I never experienced it. Because I normally live under the clouds and a yellow haze.I experienced it once more in Colombia where I could see the Milky Way with the naked eye.It's sad that an experience that should be a given has become so rare. I'm especially frustrated with all the lights that have no purpose. Nobody goes to admire the architecture of your church at 3AM at night. Nor do you have to decorate your backyard so excessively with obnoxious lights whilst you are sleeping.