Light pollution

Light pollution around Dublin

At this time of the year I am still holding out on morning runs. The dawn no longer wakes me so I have to rely on my body clock to wake me at around 06:00 on two weekdays. As it is way before dawn so I wear a hi-vis vest and carry a flashlight to ward of marauding vehicles of which there are a surprising number considering the time of day and that these are back roads. Were it not for traffic I would dispense with both the vest and flashlight for, sadly, it is never properly dark here.

We live near the 'd' of "Hollywood" on the map, which suggests we are free from light pollution, but far from it. This morning the sky towards Dublin was bright with street-light wastage, and most houses along the road have outside lamps blaring. Some are on sensors set so sensitive that they fire just from me running past on the road. Crazy! Our own driveway has three lamp-posts between the main house and the chalet and folk apparently cannot make it between the two without the lamps being lit. There was a legendary man who lived here would fell into a patch of blackcurrant bushes because he could not see the driveway in the dark - he lived to tell the tale but I think we installed the lamp-posts because of that sad incident.  But I find they blind me and destroy my night vision thus actually making it harder to see but you try telling that to the die-hard modernists.

As for seeing stars or the Milky Way - sure I can sometimes pick out the Plough or Orion but not much else. Perhaps there are no other stars now?

The same with inside lighting. Sure, if it is dark and I want to read, I turn the light on. But shortly after dawn or before dusk I prefer daylight to harsh man-made lighting. But you try telling that to the die-hard modernists here who, apparently, are blind unless they turn a light on. Even the children here are afflicted by this modern world view, and look on in puzzlement when I tell them that, no, I would prefer if the lights were turned off - it is not dark and I can see perfectly well, thank you.

Besides it is cheaper to turn the lights off. We live, with several other families, in a large manor house: before turning in for the night I can often walk around extinguishing ten or so unnecessary luminaries. Which can add easily up to 500W which, if left on all night, equates to four units  Four units may not sound much but up over time it adds up.  I'm glad I'm not paying for it - but hang on, I am!

But, once again, I am the exception. The vast majority apparently cannot function without constant man-made light and see no problem wasting the money we painstakingly earn in leaving unnecessary lamps burning.

I don't see many others running barefoot in the Autumn at 06:00 in the morning either.