The Hidden Cost of Light Pollution

After midnight at the Megler Bridge, near the mouth of the Columbia River, Astoria, Oregon. Photo: Jeffrey St. Clair.

The night sky—the silent dark between stars—is a living commons bridging Earth, life, and spirit. As the 13th‑century Zen master Eihei Dōgen taught in Keisei Sanshoku or “The Sound of the Streams, the Shape of the Mountains,” rivers, forests, mountains, and night are not mere backdrops but the body and speech of the Buddha—sacred, alive, and deserving reverence.

Imagine stepping outside on a clear night...