Burren Perfumery
Keep the Burren in the Dark
An orange light is dawning in Burren. The only problem is that it’s dawning around sunset and staying on all night.
When I first moved to the Burren from Dublin, one of the things I most enjoyed were the incredible night skies. Unless you’ve experienced the two, it’s kind of hard to describe the difference between a night sky near a big city or town, and the night sky somewhere really dark. On a moonless night in the Burren the sky is full of stars. I have no idea what an objective measure might be, but my impression is that there might be a hundred times as many stars visible. You realise that there are stars between the stars and as you look longer, stars between the stars between the stars.
I often go into the mountains to sit and watch meteor showers (the predictable displays of falling stars that occur as the Earth’s orbit intersects with a stream of cometary debris). Such nights can be spectacular, but on any reasonable clear night I can go outside in the Burren and if I wait long enough, say 10 or 20 minutes, I will see falling stars. What’s strange is that I have often talked to people who have never seen a falling star, and who had no idea that they occur all the time, and that one only has to wait and watch long enough in a sufficiently dark place to see them.
But it’s not so surprising if you live in or near a city. Light pollution, which could be loosely defined as light that doesn’t serve the purpose it was intended for, brightens our night skies and dramatically reduces the number of visible stars. Light pollution includes the light from street lights streaming in the windows of your apartment and making it hard to sleep; intrusive, glaring advertising that you don’t need and would rather not have to endure; and also necessary lighting, like street, footpath and roadway lighting, that has spilled over to where it is not needed.
When a street light lights the sky as well as the street, it creates light pollution, and it also means that energy is being wasted. I think that much of the orange glow that hovers in the skies above Irish cities and towns is caused by the use of large low pressure sodium lights in drop lens fixtures that allow light to spill out and up. Sodium light is often used for street lighting, as it is energy efficient, yielding 80-200 lumens per watt (compared to 8-25 lumen per watt that a conventional incandescent bulb yields). However if a large proportion of that light is not being directed to where it is needed, then it is inefficient, just as it would be inefficient to turn your heating system on in your home while leaving all the doors and windows open. It doesn’t really matter how efficient your system is, if you’re heating the garden and the neighbourhood as well as your house!
Modern lens and fitting designs are being used in cities that are trying to reduce light pollution (and save energy and money at the same time). These ensure that light falls where it is needed and only there. There are also regions of the world that are declared as ‘dark sky preserves’. In these areas, and in protected regions around observatories, light pollution is deliberately controlled to keep the skies dark.
The Burren is definitely not as dark as it used to be. Even on clear, moonless nights the skyline above the hills
around the Perfumery is punctuated with orange glows: Gort, Corofin, Lisdoonvarna, Ballyvaghan, Kinvara and even
Galway all contribute. In addition to asking whether we can reduce light pollution
(and energy consumption) through
better technology, I think we could also ask: how much lighting do we need and for how long? The handful of streetlights
in our tiny village of Carron burn from twilight until dawn. However nobody walks around Carron in the middle of the night.
A very few people might drive through, but they have their own headlights. From midnight to 6am – do these streetlights
serve any purpose other than to muddle moths and befuddle badgers?
So we’re thinking of starting a campaign to make the Burren a Dark Sky Preserve.
If you think this is a good idea and would like us to petition our county council, please let us know, using the form below. I will publish the responses on our site and if we get sufficient interest, we will pass your comments on to the local council and see what can be done.
Ralph Doyle
Your comments
I'm an amateur astronomer. I live in Dublin and must deal with light pollution all the time. I would hope The Burren would never have even 10% of the problems we have in Dublin. There are cost effective ways to minimise light pollution. I hope the custodians of The Burren deal with this issue before it becomes an issue. This is not unique to The Burren and Clare County Council. Every council on the island of Ireland must take the matter seriously.
Seamus Bonner
Hi Best wishes with the campaign. Our children will thank us for it. Clear Skies, Dave Grennan Astronomy & Space Magazine, Astronomy ireland.
Dave Grennan
I have traveled each year to Ireland since 1995 and I'm still in love with everything about it. My husband and I will be returning this fall to walk as much as we can, see all that time and weather allow and connect with everthing that renews us, especially the people. The Burren is one of those places, and yes, let us be mindful,careful and kind to this beautiful country.
joanne wolfe
I've visited the burren a couple of times and it is an amazing landscape, lets not ruin some it's charm by bathing it in oragne light...Please!
Graeme Baldwin
Great idea, fully support it.
mike considine
Keep the Burren dark!!
Art Vespignani
Though not a resident of your amazing country and Burren region, my most enjoyable memory of my visit was the time I spent in the Burren. Please keep this place dark.
Jodi Rajchel
Although I am a citizen of the U.S. and not Ireland, I have made many trips over there and always go to the Burren. That is one of the places I always refer my traveling friends to. Among the many reasons for this is the beautiful, almost other worldly quality of the area. Keeping the night skies dark is part of the incredible magic of being there, and everyone I've ever sent comes back with unforgetable memories. Please don't pollute it in any way. Thanks, Sue Tyler, San Diego, California
Susan Tyler
Please keep the Burren dark and beautiful! -Josef
Josef Tornick
Ralph-I live in Minnesota, U.S.A. I was over in Australia in 1993. We went to the Outback and stayed in a little town called Coonabarbaran, just over the Blue Mountains from Sydney. They had to turn all outside lights out by 9pm,and close their curtains if they had inside lights on. This was the first I had ever heard of light pollution. I have never seen stars so bright! Good luck with your campaign!
Mary Ellen McGinnis
I think that "dark sky" is a marvelous idea. I live in the country, though in the USA, and am well aware of the the problem of mis-directed light. You have given me an idea to bring to my City Council. Unfortunately, most of our cities are too anxious to grow. In Ireland, as in most of Europe, what land is currently farmland, must stay farmland, never to be annexed into cities for residential development. How fortunate you are! I heartily encourage you to preserve and enjoy your beautiful night skies. When I visited Ireland in June 2000, I so enjoyed the "half dark" sky!
Carolyn Watson
Keep the burren dark!!
Andrea Parodi
Burren is magic and dark is a part of it's charm!
Chiara Comandé
Dear Mr. Doyle and Friends, I absolutely agree with your comments regarding the needed preservation of the night sky. I am American and detest light pollution. Most of my countrymen wouldn't agree with me, sad to say. My wife, a close friend and I plan to visit the Burren region this July. The darkness of our own skies, 15KM south of Cincinnati,Ohio, influenced our decision to move where we are now.
Jeff Hutton
I would be in favor of making the Burren a dark sky preserve. I wish it could happen in many places throughout Ireland and even in my own neighborhood because modernization has its problems. There is a neighbor on my little street who keeps his outdoor light on all night and I don't like it because it disturbs the serenity of the night as it glares through my windows that face his house. I have been to Ireland 8 times and just love returning. Each time, I see less and less of the rugged Ireland I love. I hope you are successful in this venture. Thank you for the opportunity to speak out for you. Sincerely, Shirley Cahill Cortland, New York
shirley cahill
An excellent idea.
Lee Coppack
I think the Burren needs all protection it can get. I know it, from my repeated visits, to be a magical place. The landscape, the people, the quietness and, indeed, the beautiful night skies all conspire to make the Burren a place unlike any other I know. When I get there, everything that normally chases me up through my working life switches off immediately. The Burren nights especially need to be protected. So please, yes, go ahead with the campaign and create the Dark Sky Preserve that will allow to continue enjoying this unique part of ireland to the max. Erwin -currently in Brussels-
Erwin van 't Land
I visited the Burren nearly 10 years ago and fell in love with the beauty, the wildness and solitude of the area. I was never there at night unforunately, but I moved to Tasmania from Sydney and completely understand and empathise with Ralph's comments. There is a noticable difference in the Tasmanian night sky to that of Sydney's even though Hobart suffers some light pollution; go out into a country area however and there is nothing like a totally dark sky. The stars are unbelievable and to think that so many people never have the fortune or opportunity of experiencing this wonderful sight. Do whatever it takes to keep the Burren dark. Eileen Levett.
Eileen Levett
I lived for many years in Flagstaff, Arizona, a small mountain town close to the Grand Canyon. Several years ago, Flagstaff was named one of the first Dark Sky Preserves in the U.S.A.. Street lights are kept to a minimum with low illumination. At an elevation of 7,000 feet above sea level, Flagstaff is an outstanding place to watch meteor showers, planets and falling stars. The Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff is where the planet Pluto was first discovered. There is no comparison to a beautiful setting untainted by artificial and energy-consuming lights. Having visited the Burren Perfumery many times, I equate the area in Carron with my beloved Flagstaff. Having seen firsthand what an enormous benefit it is to have a Dark Sky Preserve, I urge the passage of this motion for the equally beautiful area of Carron. Good luck!
Beth Trepper
Once we lose a wonderful natural site, it is no easy task to bring it back, if such a thing is even possible. Ireland is gradually losing so much of its identity to modernization. Maintaining the Burren as a Dark Sky Preserve will allow the nation to hold to on to one of the few remaining Irish wonders for all of us.
Cecelia Rice
My husband and I were fortunate enough to come across the Burren Perfumery on our honeymoon. Through them we learned about the many unique and wonderful qualities of the Burren. Please do not let this magnificent and unusual place be negatively effected by light pollution. I would like to take my newborn son to Ireland someday and would be deeply saddened if the Burren was not the same for him then as it was for me five years ago. Thank you Kirsten Rourke
Kirsten Rourke
I took a bicycle trip through Ireland in 2005. I had heard of the Burren before I arrive and persuaded my group to detour from our route to spend time in the Burren and at the Burren Perfumery. It was wonderful. I have since told other travelers not to miss it. If for no other reason than preserving the region for purposes of tourism, please consider keeping this area a dark sky preserve. It truly is a treasure.
Judy Mauzaka
Oh when will people listen? Hopefully not before it is too late. The night sky is truly magical, especially adorned with the natural beauty of the skies, as you have so clearly indicated. But the true darkness of night doesn't just hide things or give the stars the chance to show off, it also protects many things - and on a very simple but possibly boring point, is darkness is actually necessary for our biorhythms and basic metabolism to recharge our 'internal batteries". There is so much talk about saving energy, but so little actual action! Let's start here and now with the Burren and lead the way! Good luck.
Eunice Hawkins
I've only visited this wonderful area, but it will remain with me forever. Please, let's do what we can to maintain it's uniqueness.
Michael Baird
This petition should be extended to all rural areas in Ireland. I grew up in the country in South Tipperary and remember dark skies. Now with sprawling development and houses sprouting up everywhere (including housing developments as part of rural development schemes) this is sadly no longer the case. What's particularly annoying and unecessary is seeing privately owned houses with yellow lighting outside adding to light pollution and wasteful use of energy. I hope this campaign is just the beginning that will spread throughout Ireland. Good luck!
Eithne Carrigan
I am in agreement with the issue of 'Dark Skies'. I live in North Carolina, in the U.S. and have visited Ireland many times and one of the most glorious sights in Ireland was the dark sky filled as described above with more stars than I thought possible. I would hate to see that disappear. I am familiar with 'light pollution'. I live in the countryside here and when our small village incorporated we issued a dark skies policy for the very same reason, otherwise there would have been lots of telescopes being sold on ebay. We are still fighting the issue with people who don't understand the purpose of Dark Skies, as many want to have their property illuminated to "keep away the robbers". Well, the light just helps the robbers to see where they are going and what you have to steal! Get a good dog. There are many who need good homes and they are much more efficient than lights. Peacocks help too, noticing every tiny noise. An Irish-American who loves the land. DB
Diane Button
:
Mary McCarthy
The Burren is such a wonderful place, please keep keep the streetlights off.
carole adams
I think it's an excellent idea to take the Dark Sky idea up with the local council, and if there's to be a petition I'd like to sign it. Like most visitors who love the Burren I go for the flowers and the hills and the unique Burren environment; streetlights I can get closer to home! I've looked across at all the lights on the Galway coast at night and been so glad I was on the Clare side of the bay. It's memories of Mullaghmore against the night sky, and of looking out and seeing Aran appear out of the sea at first light, that make me want to go back to the Burren, not the quality of the streetlights in Killinaboy or Doolin! Most of the villages around where I live have had streetlights schemes installed in the last 10 years, but there's never enough money to do these things properly, so instead of uniform levels of light they've ended up with alternating pools of light and darkness; in my experience driving through them at night this makes it far more difficult to spot pedestrians than it used to be before when it was uniformly dark. Not only are they expensive and wasteful, but they don't make vilages safer.
Martin Costello
What a great idea! I live in the states, so can't be part of your poll, but have lived in the mountains here so know about those skies. I live on the prairie, now and over the last 6 years have watched more people move into the area and can no longer see as many stars as I used to. The lights are on all night too for some of my neighbors. What a great idea to try to introduce here as well. Thanks and good luck!
Beverly Schreck
:
Patricia Salzillo
We are from Kentucky and we visited the Burren on our honeymoon. We were amazed by the stark beauty of the landscape. I think the idea of a Dark Sky Preserve is wonderful. Our home is out in the country, away from any cities. The difference between a truly dark sky and an artificially lit sky is unbelievable. I think the idea of a Dark Sky Preserve is fascinating. It would give people who are not exposed to a truly dark sky a chance to experience one.
Jennifer Kirkland
Night lighting is a safety issue, motion detectors can eliminate many lights from constant use and only turn them on when needed.
Debbie Gallant
yes, try to keep the burren dark !!!
Armorelle Barlow
I think this is an excellent idea, I live in west Cork, which is also increasingly lit by unnecessary lights, if this goes on soon none of us will see the stars, not to mention the problems for nocurnal animals.
Catherine Cook
We have moved to the Burren from Dublin too and darkness and the sleep it promotes is wonderful!
Gwen Ryan
The Burren is a special place and there area not enoughh areas anymore that still hold that wild feeling. Let's stopp all pollution now before the damage is final
Trudie Jacobs