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Our View
Take a stand
An audience of more than 50 persons showed up at
the Washington Fire Hall last Sunday night for a
program on the planet Mars, even though the cloudy night precluded the promised viewing of the red planet through telescopes. Those who gathered for the program sponsored by the Rappahannock League for Environmental Protection heard and saw a fascinating presentation by amateur astronomist Francois-Marie Patomi of Castleton.
Patomi noted that Rappahannock County is one of the very best places on the East Coast to view the stars and planets, thanks to our dark skies and very low level of ground light. In most of urban America, it's impossible to see any but the brightest stars because of air pollution and the bright blanket of light that permeates large cities and suburbs. In Rappahannock, on a good, clear night, we can see the Milky Way and many of the lesser lights of heaven—a pleasure denied to most people in this country.
Rappahannock's dark skies and lack of ground-light pollution are just another example of the marvelous environment in which we live. Our children and grandchildren have an opportunity to learn the wonders of the universe just by looking up. Most American children don't have that chance.
Can we keep it that way? Along with urban sprawl comes accompanying ' light sprawl." As we drive along major thoroughfares in urban America our eyes are bombarded with high levels of commercial lighting— gas stations, fast-food restaurants, shops and businesses are all competing for our attention with glaring signs and displays. The resulting brilliant blanket of light obscures the view of the heavens.
In November 2001, the county Planning Commission took one good step toward maintaining Rappahannock's dark skies by passing a lighting ordinance that would have regulated newly installed commercial lighting.
Contrary to what opponents claimed, the lighting ordinance would not have applied to homes or farms; its passage would not regulate residential lighting, such as yard lights. It would have set standards for commercial lighting, designed to minimize glare. Stores, restaurants, gas stations and other businesses would be required to meet the standards in the ordinance.
Despite the Planning Commission recommendation that the Board of Supervisors pass the ordinance, the supervisors have taken no action. They tabled the recommendation in the spring of 2002. For the past year and a half, it has remained in this limbo, neither dead or alive.
Rather than ducking the issue, the Board of Supervisors should make a decision. Vote the proposed lighting ordinance up or down. If members of the board have objections to the proposal, they should state them. They could amend the ordinance if they wish. They could pass it or kill it or send it back to the Planning Commission for refinement. At a minimum, they owe the people of the county a decision of some kind. We elect a Board of Supervisors to make decisions, not to duck them.
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