Today in History—June 1: Czech Republic Passes “Dark-Sky” Law
On this day in 2002, one of the weirdest side effects of capitalism was thrust into the spotlight, literally: lighting.
This included spotlights, street lamps, floodlit billboards, and neon signs, all the trappings of commerce that proliferated in the Czech Republic in the economic boom that followed the end of communism in the country a decade earlier.
The unintended consequence was light pollution, and in a country with deep astronomical roots—both Johannes Kepler and Tycho Brahe had worked in an observatory there under imperial patronage—that mattered. The country’s modern-day Brahes and Keplers reported being forced to seek darker skies in neighboring Austria, relying on increasingly sensitive equipment just to carry out their work.
The astronomers made their case for a solution—and the government listened. The result was the so-called “dark-sky law,” part of the Protection of the Atmosphere Act, a broader set of anti-air pollution measures that contained the world’s first national law aimed at limiting light pollution. The act passed both houses of parliament and was signed into law in February and went into effect on this day, much to the de-light (see what I did there?) of the astronomers.
One third of people alive today can’t see the Milky Way from their homes because of light pollution.
At its core, the law required outdoor lighting to be more efficient: Fixtures should be shielded or directed downward to prevent light from traveling skyward. Fines could be issued to both organizations and members of the public who disregarded the measures, though the rollout was designed to be gradual to allow time for adjustment. Astronomers and conservationists agreed to work with officials to implement compliant lighting across the country.
Not bad for a problem so widespread that, at the time of the passage of this law, 99 percent of the population of western Europe had never seen a truly dark night sky from their homes.
- 150,000 Czech crowns: Maximum fine for violations of the act
- 200 miles away: Distance the sky glow of Los Angeles is visible from
- 80 percent: World’s population living under a lit sky
- 1920: Revolutionary leader Adolfo de la Huerta is sworn in as interim Mexican president
- 1926: Polish scientist and politician Ignacy Mościcki is elected president
- 1937: Prince Konoe Fumimaro forms a cabinet, will become Japan’s prime minister
