Did you see the stars last night? We're not talking Oscars Here!

I know a lot of chatter today will be about the Oscars! Personally I've never been one to be star struck. The kind of stars I care about are of the astronomy kind like Sirius, Pollux and Castor.

For the first time ever, Clay County North Carolina is having to deal with a problem they never saw coming, light pollution. Having only one grocery store and one fast food restaurant for many years, excessive lights had never been a problem. Our skies were as dark as they could get and we enjoyed viewing the stars anywhere in town. Then much to my dismay our town thought allowing a McDonalds in our community was good thing. So good in fact they waved every sign ordinance in place to protect our community from the very thing I am talking about, turning our community into an eyesore of unregulated signage.

With the McDonalds came a huge gas station with blinding canopy lights that can be seen from miles away. My wife fought to keep this from happening but like most small towns, the locals were too afraid to speak up about what was happening to their community. People would verbally tell me that they agreed with my wife's letters to the paper but still no one would help in the fight. Since this has happened a brave few have spoken up about how serious light pollution can be and that our community needs to wake up now before the glow becomes so large that we, like many communities would no longer be able to see the stars. So far this uproar has seemed to fall on deaf ears.

The problem remains how do you create ordinances that don't take away private property rights but protects an area from thoughtless development? One such ordinance that is being passed by many North Carolina mountain communities is ridgetop laws. A well placed homesite should blend into the existing area. This is especially important with ridgetop homesite's, which can either be unobtrusive or eyesores. Some counties have adopted a local ridgetop ordinance. Contact your county planning department to verify if your county has one. North Carolina's "Ridgetop Law" restricts development of buildings 40 feet or greater in height on identified, protected ridges. Each county has maps identifying which ridgetops are protected. Counties that have their own ridge top ordinance regulate, rather than prohibit, building on ridge tops. These structures must receive prior approval from city or county officials.

The beauty of the stars over our Blue Ridge mountains is something we need to consider when introducing outdoor lighting into the environment. The spread of light pollution from our towns into the countryside is of growing concern not only to astronomers but to all of us who inherit this precious view. In the considerations for a mountain home you should check out the view of a prospective piece of property at night as well as daytime. If you have neighbors with security lights that glare into your homesite, you may wish to consider if this will bother you. A friendly inquiry to the neighbors may reveal that they would be willing to shield them or may not. If they are not willing to do so, then you may be out of luck. Most counties and towns have no lighting ordinance. Also, if the light is above you on the hillside there may be little that can be done short of turning it off. If you are fortunate enough to have a dark sky site you should plan to do your part to keep it that way for you and your neighbors. If you want outdoor lighting you should consider whether the security light from the utility company really is a good idea or not. In most rural areas of the Blue Ridge Mountains it is difficult for a vandal or thief to even figure out that your home is there, much less how to get to it. So why put up a beacon to attract them in the first place?

Recent federal research has shown no correlation between increased lighting and crime prevention. it is more perception than reality. If you want some lighting it is best to put in your own fixtures, with switches so that they can be turned off. Lighting that is controlled by motions sensors that only turn it on when it is needed are even better. The lights should be pointed down from the sky, toward the ground, and not point to your neighbors. If you or your neighbors do have a standard "dusk to dawn" light, supplied by the utility company, it can be fitted with a shield to direct the light so that none goes above its horizon a so called "full cut off" fix. There are aluminum "sky caps" that replace the plastic refractors and direct all the light you are paying for downward. They are manufactured by the Hubbell Electric Company and by GE Lighting Systems, and are attached by clips to the standard light fixture. The capped fixture actually puts more light on the ground at all distances from the pole than the uncapped lamp. If it looks dimmer directly, consider that this is good! When you see the bulb directly it causes your eye to shut down and you are left with reduced visual capability to see the lighted scene. Sadly, many people incorrectly associate such glare with good lighting- exactly opposite of what it is.

For more background on the subject of good, shy friendly lighting check out the web site for International Dark Sky Association or North Carolina IDA.

Finally, remember to go outside and enjoy what you have protected: the wonderful starry Blue Ridge Mountain skies!