Editor:

The request for proposals for light shows in the San Francisco Botanical Garden and the Japanese Tea Garden, by the Gardens of Golden Gate Park, should not go forward.

We need electric light for human safety, comfort and health, but lighting up the night sky for amusement or displays should be kept to a minimum.  It’s especially important that artificial light be kept to a minimum in our urban parks. At night, our city parks can be oases of dark in the otherwise unrelenting glare of electric light that engulfs most of our City.  

In his book, “The End of Night,” Paul Bogard writes, “In ways we have long understood, in others we are just beginning to understand, night’s natural darkness has always been invaluable to our health and the health of the natural world, and every living creature suffers from its loss.”

Another naturalist wrote: “… light pollution has a negative influence on a variety of animals and plants in a variety of ways. It has been shown to disorient animals. Light pollution affects mating, alters predator-prey behavior, confuses migration and influences animal physiology. Effects have been observed over a full range of taxonomic groups, including birds, reptiles, mammals, amphibians, fishes, invertebrates, and plants.” – Connie Walker, “A Silent Cry for Dark Skies,” The Universe in the Classroom. 

California is the first U.S. state to have an official policy of conserving 30% of its lands and coastal waters by the year 2030. One goal of the plan is to do this in a way that provides better access to nature for communities, especially urban areas. Viewing stars under natural nighttime skies and trying to minimize the effects of artificial lighting at night on the plants and animals with whom humans share our urban areas are both vital parts of access to nature.

“While astronomers worldwide have been sounding the alarm about light pollution since the 1970s, ongoing scientific research has shown that artificial nighttime lighting is harmful to wildlife and human health. In Pittsburgh, that urban phenomenon is set to change thanks to a new ordinance that makes it the first major American city to adopt lighting standards addressing light pollution. The law requires all new construction and renovations of city-owned buildings (only) to comply with dark-sky lighting principles, including replacing all the city’s street lights with fixtures that feature timers and dimmers, so they are only on when needed; are shielded, so light is directed at a specific area and is no brighter than necessary ….” – Christina Griffith, thephiladelphiacitizen.org  Dec. 14, 2021.

We’re not stuck with light pollution. We can make changes.  It’s the environmentally responsible thing to do. San Francisco can work with the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA), which has worked with various cities to assist in the kinds of lighting technology that would minimize light pollution. 

The cities of Alameda and Emeryville have passed dark sky ordinances. We need our Board of Supervisors to follow their lead and find ways to help create darker skies for both the Botanical Gardens and for San Francisco.  It’s good for the planet.

David Romano