Every day needs a night. For over 4 billion years the Earth has made a full revolution within 24 hours. Life on Earth evolved under this night-day rhythm. This rhythm is encoded in the DNA of living things. Artificial light at night (ALAN), a fairly recent phenomenon, is a menace within the natural world. Scientific studies have found ALAN to be harmful to many plants and animals, including man, and it robs us of the night sky heritage we’ve had for about 300,000 years since we evolved into homo sapiens. Art, religion, and literature have been inspired by a starry sky. Through astronomy, the gateway science, we have learned that we are made of stardust. Our connection to a star-filled sky is as deeply rooted into our humanity as it is in our DNA.

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What is lost if dark skies no longer exist? IDA Oregon welcomes you to this website so that you may find your own answer to that existential question. By working together to solve light pollution, we can ensure that a natural night sky is available for all future generations.