Idaho Falls

When it comes to writing about the city lights of Idaho Falls, where else would you start but with the temple on the falls? Sure it's pretty, but Notre Dame on the Seine it's not. Our Broadway shines, but it's hardly the Great White Way. No, the real interesting lights are those springing up in the hills to the east of town. Lights take the edge off the darkness of night and for the most part are usually a welcome sight. The problem is, nights are no longer as dark as they used to be and no one is all that sure what the cumulative effects of artificial light will be on either man or beast, whether it is inside or outdoors. There was a time when wild animals and humans followed the natural cycle of dark- ness and light. Sure, there were a few early human show-offs who figured out how to make fire and stayed up into the wee hours of the night, but for the most part once it got dark you called it a day and went to bed. The hut you slept in was pitch black, save for the natural light of the moon and stars. There were no LED alarm clocks constantly broadcasting the time. People snoozed in un-illuminated slumber, their subconscious unmolested by the effects of the unceasing green blinking lights of cell phone chargers and computers. Sure, our eyes may be shut, but what if the continu- Outdoors by gregg losinski every evening the sky east of Idaho Falls pulsates on and off as the red warning lights of the wind turbines cycle on and off to warn night flying aircraft. Ironically, these lights designed to warn airplanes have been found in some cases to have the exact opposite effect on night-flying birds, actually drawing them to their deaths. Similar problems have also been found with bats too. White lights have been shown to work better to warn airborne wildlife, but humans tend to find the lights too harsh, so guess who loses? In the first book of the Bible, God sepa- rated the darkness from the light. With the exception of the celestial lights, the dark- ness was meant to be unbroken, a respite from the toils of the day. The daylight caused growth in plants and was the time for man and beasts to be active, the dark- ness allowed for respiration and regenera- tion. Those were the conditions the world was designed to operate under, but our advances in technology have allowed us to blur the lines between night and day. Idaho Falls is nowhere in the same class as cities like New York that never sleep, but it might not hurt us to turn off a few more lights at night. We could not only be saving some kilowatts, but helping out ourselves and some critters as well. ous blinking is somehow messing with the circadian rhythms of our bodies by osmosis? In today's hurry-up world as we run to work out at Apple Athletics in the middle of the night, how many of us take the time to gaze upon the panorama of the night sky? Light pollution in Idaho Falls is not overwhelming, but it does take getting a little way out of town before things start to become clearer and the innumerable points of light start to come into focus and create an incredible natural kaleidoscope. A number of years ago, there was a lot of sun spot activity that resulted in the Northern Lights being visible as far south as Idaho Falls. To have the best hope of observing the Aurora Borealis I headed north towards County Line Road. Sure enough, I was able to watch an endless parade of green lights sweeping across the evening sky. Rippling and waving, like gigantic neon flags, the lights were mesmer- izing. The point was you had to get away from the city lights to see them. Today the night sky has a new color added to it. The most striking way to see it is as you're heading down Ashton Hill. Some might think the glow is being caused by all the reactors at the Site going critical simultaneously, but the source has greener, yet potentially as ominous roots. Now, 78 idaho FallS magaziNe MARCH/APRIL 2014 Night Lights

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