Robert Gent is the president of the board of directors of the International Dark-Sky Association.

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Opinion by Robert Gent

On behalf of the International Dark-Sky Association, we would like to thank the Arizona Daily Star for its Feb. 16 editorial "Arizona needs to update its dark-skies law." Preserving the night skies of Arizona for astronomy is very important, but there are many other reasons why this makes good sense.

In the United States, a growing public awareness of and concern for the effects of light pollution has inspired states, counties and municipalities to pass hundreds of dark-sky-friendly ordinances.

A few years ago, New Mexico passed a "Night Sky Protection Act." In addition, then Gov. George W. Bush signed a Texas bill that regulates outdoor lighting for all state-funded entities. Colorado, Virginia and other states have enacted new laws, too. In Florida, there are dozens of laws to protect sea turtles from light pollution.

Hundreds of communities have established zoning standards to control light pollution. The most effective outdoor lighting ordinances have established light brightness limits, required shielding in virtually all cases and created lighting curfews.

Internationally, momentum continues to build as hundreds of other municipalities around the globe take actions to promote responsible outdoor lighting.

A few months ago, the country of Slovenia passed a national law controlling excessive outdoor lighting. In 2000, the Lombardy Parliament of Italy passed a comprehensive law on outdoor lighting. Similar actions have been taken in the United Kingdom, Spain, Japan, Australia and elsewhere around the globe.

Research into the effects of night lighting has grown into issues of human health. At the 2006 International Dark-Sky Association annual meeting, medical researchers presented results of studies into possible links between cancer and night lighting.

Dr. David E. Blask of Bassett Research Institute in Cooperstown, N.Y., spoke of his research that demonstrates a link between artificial night lighting's suppression of melatonin and increased growth of breast cancer cells in women. Melatonin is a natural hormone produced by a gland in the human brain that helps regulate our day-night biological clock.

It seems that every year, we gain new and stronger evidence that it is time for action.

Not only are we destroying the night skies, but we are adversely impacting wildlife, we are disrupting human day-night cycles, we are wasting energy and we are hindering safety and visibility with excessive glare.

The International Dark-Sky Association will continue to raise the alarm and we will do all we can to reverse the damage. But the days for apathy are long gone. All of us must do all we can to protect the nighttime environment.

Please join me in supporting an updated Arizona state law. We need this now and for future generations.