SEDONA FIGHTS TO SAVE STARRY SKIES AND VANCOUVER OLYMPICS

Photos courtesy of NASA

Sattelite photos of US light pollution NOW compared to 1992! Why Sedona Residents are enlightening leaders about alternatives to erecting 76 light poles.

Sedona, Arizona, August 16, 2007 - Over two hundred Sedona citizens overflowed City Hall Chambers on August 15, to plead with Council members and the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) to preserve their renowned dark and starry skies. Led by Keep Sedona Beautiful, Inc.(KSB), Sedona residents enlightened their leaders “on alternatives to putting up 76 sodium light poles that would add to global warming and cancer, while turning this magnificent town into a Las Vegas strip,” according to Native American Olympic Team Foundation co-chair, Olympian Suzy “Chapstick” Chaffee.

With America being the biggest energy guzzler and global warmer, raising awareness that preserving the starry skies of communities, is another monumental way that Green Sedona is lighting the way toward reducing our gigantic carbon footprint, besides switching to natural cleaning products.

“We also considered the health impact, since a 250 watt bulb lit from dawn to dusk on 76 street lights, would emit 47 tons of CO2 per year, as well as a blanket of acid rain and chemicals like mercury, from Arizona coal used to electrify them,” said environmental scientist Matthew Turner, Green Sedona(.org) founder. “ADOT needs to catch up with greener states like New Mexico that converted to solar lighting over 10 years.”

Councilman Rob Adams was cheered for apologizing for not conducting more of a public process before approaching ADOT to find solutions to reduce accidents on the city’s two mile strip of highway 89A in West Sedona. Over a three year period, six pedestrians were hit at night, (most alcohol impaired), crossing the five-lane highway.

“The pedestrian fatalities took place in an identified stretch of road which warrants a traffic signal,” said Barbara Litrell, President of KSB, which has been praised by Governor Janet Napolitano for their innovations over 35 years. “76 street lights are overkill.”

“90% of Americans can’t see their magical star filled skies because they live in overly lit areas. Even dark sky cities like nearby Flagstaff need to work hard to reduce light pollution. Flagstaff’s Lowell Observatory is locating more of their telescopes out of town to avoid city’s light pollution,” said Bob Carabell, KSB Vice President and International Dark Skies Assoc member. (ida.org)

By night’s end, ADOT and the Council agreed to consider alternative solutions such as speed limit reduction from 40 to 30 mph, a traffic light, and solar lighting for crosswalks, sidewalks, and bikepaths.

“With American and world cities vying for Green Leadership, the lessons and awareness from this battle could ripple... If thousands more cities reduced their night lights, all our children would have a brighter future, including preserving snow sports and the Winter Olympics,” said Chaffee.

Native American Olympic Team Foundation(.org) is a Colorado non-profit 501C3 partnership of Olympians whose mission is to “create joyful unity through sports and education to heal Mother Earth for all our children.”

Contact: Suzy@nativevoices.org, tel: 928 282 0111