Peter Lord of the Island Astronomy Institute is the high priest of the Dark Skies effort. He has worked hard to educate people on Mount Desert Island about the need to protect some of the most pristine nighttime vistas available on the eastern seaboard. Lights that are unshielded, misplaced, overly bright, or unnecessary also can adversely affect the natural cycles of many plants and animals.

For the Dark Skies Initiative to be successful, there are many cultural traditions that need to be set aside. Maine has long been a place where one seldom questions any methods used by neighbors to “hold back the night.”

Perhaps owing to some vestige of a frontier atmosphere and the relative distance between residences (and a longer response time for law enforcement), folks in less populated rural areas often feel more comfortable and secure with bright lights shining outdoors all night. That practice, while perhaps more acceptable in the 1940s, remains today even though Maine generally is a safe place, even after dark. As one comedian likes to joke: Maine is the kind of place where you automatically install security lights on your house and garage, then leave both unlocked.

Still, a glaring, white, mercury vapor streetlight positioned directly over the driveway or door to a garage, shining all night long is a fairly common sight.

But people are beginning to understand those ugly streetlights waste energy and disturb the environment, shining into neighbors’ homes and ruining views of the night sky for others.

People are beginning to realize there are other options than outdoor lights coming on at dusk and remaining on til dawn. Timers and motion sensors are useful tools to assure that lights are there when needed, and off the rest of the time.

The Dark Skies Initiative will help reassure those who rightfully argue that government mandates concerning light fixtures homeowners cannot use on private property is a major intrusion on individual property rights.

As the importance of dark skies has become apparent, more and more organizations and institutions on MDI already have taken action voluntarily. New construction at College of the Atlantic and at The Jackson Laboratory has employed fixtures that have shields to prevent polluting the skies above with light. Replacement of garish streetlights that waste energy illuminating the night sky should be a priority in all our towns. In Southwest Harbor, an ordinance has been approved calling for no more than 0.1 foot candles of light from a fixture visible at a neighbor’s property line. One foot candle is the amount of light on an object one foot from a candle. Officials questioned at town meeting admitted that the 0.1 standard “isn’t a lot of light” but they couldn’t make it zero.

Older lights are grandfathered. But enforcement conflicts are bound to occur because Southwest Harbor’s ordinance draws no distinction between outlying areas and downtown, and does not separate residential and commercial zones. As Southwest Harbor learns to live with their ordinance, officials undoubtedly will encounter many unintended consequences that will need to be addressed.

In years past, a night glance at the northwestern horizon from nearly anywhere on Mount Desert Island showed plenty of stars and, occasionally, the northern lights. Looking in that same direction today, an omnipresent orange glow is apparent: light pollution from the rapidly expanding shopping centers and new developments in Ellsworth.

No place inhabited by humans will ever be totally dark at night, but there is much more that can be done. Little by little, natural darkness will be restored.