A group fighting to keep Hill Country stars bright at night by eradicating “light pollution” meets at 6 p.m. today at Beefy’s on the Green, 12910 US-281, Spring Branch.
Friends of the Night Sky formed in 2018 after Comal County commissioners passed a Night Sky resolution encouraging residents, businesses and developers to start paying attention to the lights shining skyward at night.
The county’s resolution called for using available technologies for efficient, non-intrusive lighting.
Today’s meeting will focus on Spring Branch’s Dark Sky ordinance and potential dark-sky-related items on New Braunfels and other area city-council agendas.
The group’s mission is to promote and encourage municipalities, unincorporated areas, neighborhoods and businesses within Comal County to adopt, apply, observe and enforce outdoor lighting ordinances and resolutions that preserve the night sky.
Southside resident and Friends of Night Sky President Larry Wells, who lives in Hancock Oaks, says his group’s motto is ‘one light at a time.’
Board members include Michelle Molina, Eric Erickson, Steven Ellery, Betty Buckley and Jennifer Carson Associates.
On its website, Friends of the Night Sky warns that Canyon Lake is in the crosshairs of the I-35 corridor, caught between Austin and San Antonio.
“We can still see the stars for now, but the day is coming when that no longer may be the case…Development is inevitable, but development with an eye on the heavens can give us all good lives enriched even further by being able to look up and see the stars.”
Hill Country Alliance said the undesirable effects of light pollution — glare, light trespass, light clutter and sky glow — make the region less attractive to visitors who play an important role in the local economy.
The group also tries to make billboards dark-sky compliant, adding their lights also are detrimental to wildlife and bug life.
