Letters to the Editor
Protect night sky

As the city works towards the improvement of Roberts Point, one suggestion I would like to make is for the city to work toward protecting the night sky.

As a child in the 50's, we would vacation in Port Aransas every summer, and I still remember sitting outside our tourist court staring at the stars. Shielding the street lighting in Roberts Point Park would cut down drastically on light pollution. In fact, putting shields on all city street lighting would make our night sky reappear. I have noticed a few new street lights have been installed that are shielded, and they make a tremendous positive difference. A good example of shielded street lighting is on Dolphin Lane. One city fixture is shielded and one is not.

A great resource for protecting the night sky is the website for the International Dark Sky Association (www.darksky.org ). They have on their Web site simple guidelines for lighting ordinances for small communities that might be beneficial to Port Aransas.

Some of the immediate benefits of cutting down on light pollution would be an increase in visibility at night, increased safety and security, energy savings for the city, benefits to nocturnal wildlife and a more positive nighttime ambience.

There is nothing more awe inspiring then the Texas night sky, and together, we can work toward its reappearing in Port Aransas.

Albert Hausser San Antonio and Port Aransas