Light pollution blots out the sky for millions of urbanites. A generation of children is growing up without the wonders of the night sky. Our ancestors were intimately acquainted with the motions of the stars and planets, while we live in ignorance of the sky above our heads.
However, the recent massive blackout gave us in the Northeast US a glimpse into our celestial-cultural heritage. People were shocked. "I can actually see stars!" But appreciation of the Universe should not be dependant on electrical crises. There should be a time, perhaps once a year, when we should agree to shut the lights off for a few hours, at least in selected areas.
Maybe a holiday when there wouldn't be much need for outside lighting (Suggestions? I was thinking maybe Thanksgiving night.) Or it could be a new "Starry Night" or "Astronomy Day" or whatever. Maybe it could be on a new moon in spring or summer, on a Saturday. Another idea- the night hours of Earth Day, a date on the astronomically significant vernal equinox when nature is already celebrated. (Earth Day/Sky Night)Of course, "Starry Night" might be delayed a day or two in a particular locality depending on local weather conditions.
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I like this idea, but it would be dificult to pull off. Would the power be turned off or just the lights? Would highway lights be turned off? If so that brings trafic to a halt and that will cost the trucking industry a pretty penny. Maybe if you limited it to urban cores from sunset till midnight - that might not hurt truckers too badly.
I was thinking of this as a project for inside a city or municipality. The power would certainly not be cut. But the city government would shut off most of its streetlights and other outside lighting and encourage businesses and residents to follow suit. (Even drawing a curtain could help.)In a large city it might only be possible to do this in some areas.
I think the starry night should be every night, and truckers can drive just fine using their headlamps. This is most easily tied to a motion-sensor based street lighting system where when activated, the light comes on for say 15 minutes, so only when there is no traffic would the lights be off, giving us all a break... and saving significant electricity.
In parts of the UK, to prevent sky light pollution, street lights have covers that aim the light only down... this helps quite a bit.