In search of SILENCE AND STARLIT SKIES

Tonight, step outside and look up. What do you see? And hear? Chances are, unless you live way beyond the cityscape, you won’t see the Milky Way but rather a lot of reflected artificial light.

It’s become near-impossible to escape the ever-present hum of 21st-century living. Our days are punctuated with the buzz of traffic, TVs blaring, house alarms, nearby construction sites, drones, leaf blowers and lawnmowers. Even nature walks are often disrupted by cellphones and loud music. And, at night, neighbours’ intrusive external lighting comes streaming in through our windows.

The sounds of silence – or at least of nature – are slipping further and further away from us, much like the sight of a sky lit up by nothing but stars.

Local statistics are not available, but the numbers out of the US are alarming enough: 97% of its population is exposed to aviation and highway noise. Quiet