marshall megasite will obliterate the night sky - states astrophotographer

​I live in Marengo Township and own property in Eckford Township. I oppose the land transfers and the industrial development of the megasite due largely to environmental concerns. I want to address an environmental issue that will affect me at my home in Marengo, on my property in Eckford, and that will have a disastrous effect on the people of Marshall Township, and that's light pollution.

People who study the night sky use a 9-point scale to measure light pollution. 1 is the middle of the desert, with no towns for a hundred miles around: as dark as it gets. 9 is the Las Vegas Strip, or downtown Manhattan: you're lucky to see a bright star or the planet Jupiter. Here in Michigan, south of Saginaw, there is nothing better than a 4 (and remember, low numbers are good). You can see the Milky Way in a 4.  Downtown Detroit is an 8 or 9; downtown Lansing is an 8 or 9; downtown Coldwater is an 8 or 9, probably because of the prison.  Battle Creek is a 6; Marshall is a 5. The megasite, as you get away from Marshall, is a 4: as good as it gets south of Saginaw.

Industrial development there will invariably create light pollution, probably raising the number to a 5 or even a 6. The view of the night sky, as good as it gets in the area, will be ruined. People will no longer be able to see the Milky Way. Please vote "no" on the land transfers, and prevent the light pollution that will be created by industrial development of the area. 

--
W. Jeffrey Wilson
he, him, his
Professor Emeritus, Psychological Science
Albion College
Owner: Terra Nova Astrophotography
[email protected]
campus.albion.edu/wjwilson
jeffwilson.zenfolio.com/p534094800