Light in the metro area: Too bright? Too wasteful?

Image by Ken Hawkins/TheDigitel The stars at Hunting Island as seen when looking back towards civilization.

There's an article in today's Post and Courier about the five-fold brightness increase of Charleston's night sky and how folks are working to reduce the amount of light that escapes from common light sources.

But before you groan, know that the argument is only a little about seeing the stars at night (which, if you've never driven out to a rural beach at night, you really ought to). We can also save some cash when our city spends money lighting up just the street and not lighting the universe, too.

Nearly $3 million is spent yearly to power and maintain Charleston and North Charleston's street lights.

So, dear energy-saving hippies: Go on. You've got my attention.

The article is, well, really long, but there's some good points in it. It's well worth at leas skimming. Here's the link.

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