Bring stars back to your back yard with The International Dark-Sky Association

So, we've told you all about bringing birds and buterflies to your back yard. Here's another source of natural, back yard entertainment: stars. We're so into the cosmos that we'll even consider bringing them to the bath with us via projection device. But, the International Dark-Sky Association and its affiliates are making an effort to bring back the real things - artificial nighttime lights in urban areas completely erase the Milky Way and other stars from sight -  by spreading awareness about light pollution and the protection of the night sky.

Light pollution - defined as excessive, artificial light where it is not needed or wanted -  was mainly a concern for researchers in obervatories, but now communities all over the United States are following Flagstaff, Arizona's lead and joining in an effort to save energy and money, too. Flagstaff, however, stands out with its extensive lighting ordinances, which places restrictions on wasteful commercial and business lighting. So dimming the lights not only brings stars back to sight, but the effort saves entire communities lots of energy and money. Talk about win-win.

For more on stars, night vision, and light pollution, check out Stars in Your Back Yard. If you want in, saving energy, money, and stars could start with changing your exterior lighting fixtures to IDA-approved models.