Prompt
As you read the passage below, consider how Paul Bogard uses
- evidence, such as facts or examples, to support claims.
- reasoning to develop ideas and to connect claims and evidence.
- stylistic or persuasive elements, such as word choice or appeals to emotion, to add power to the ideas expressed.
Adapted from Paul Bogard, “Let There Be Dark.” ©2012 by Los Angeles Times. Originally published December 21, 2012.
At my family’s cabin on a
Minnesota lake, I knew woods so dark that my hands disappeared before my
eyes. I knew night skies in which meteors left smoky trails across
sugary spreads of stars. But now, when 8 of 10 children born in the
United States will never know a sky dark enough for the Milky Way, I
worry we are rapidly losing night’s natural darkness before realizing
its worth. This winter solstice, as we cheer the days’ gradual movement
back toward light, let us also remember the irreplaceable value of
darkness.
All life evolved to the steady
rhythm of bright days and dark nights. Today, though, when we feel the
closeness of nightfall, we reach quickly for a light switch. And too
little darkness, meaning too much artificial light at night, spells
trouble for all.
Already the World Health
Organization classifies working the night shift as a probable human
carcinogen, and the American Medical Association has voiced its
unanimous support for “light pollution reduction efforts and glare
reduction efforts at both the national and state levels.” Our bodies
need darkness to produce the hormone melatonin, which keeps certain
cancers from developing, and our bodies need darkness for sleep. Sleep
disorders have been linked to diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease
and depression, and recent research suggests one main cause of “short
sleep” is “long light.” Whether we work at night or simply take our
tablets, notebooks and smartphones to bed, there isn’t a place for this
much artificial light in our lives.
The rest of the world depends
on darkness as well, including nocturnal and crepuscular species of
birds, insects, mammals, fish and reptiles. Some examples are well
known—the 400 species of birds that migrate at night in North America,
the sea turtles that come ashore to lay their eggs—and some are not,
such as the bats that save American farmers billions in pest control and
the moths that pollinate 80% of the world’s flora. Ecological light
pollution is like the bulldozer of the night, wrecking habitat and
disrupting ecosystems several billion years in the making. Simply put,
without darkness, Earth’s ecology would collapse....
In today’s crowded, louder,
more fast-paced world, night’s darkness can provide solitude, quiet and
stillness, qualities increasingly in short supply. Every religious
tradition has considered darkness invaluable for a soulful life, and the
chance to witness the universe has inspired artists, philosophers and
everyday stargazers since time began. In a world awash with electric
light...how would Van Gogh have given the world his “Starry Night”? Who
knows what this vision of the night sky might inspire in each of us, in
our children or grandchildren?
Yet all over the world, our
nights are growing brighter. In the United States and Western Europe,
the amount of light in the sky increases an average of about 6% every
year. Computer images of the United States at night, based on NASA
photographs, show that what was a very dark country as recently as the
1950s is now nearly covered with a blanket of light. Much of this light
is wasted energy, which means wasted dollars. Those of us over 35 are
perhaps among the last generation to have known truly dark nights. Even
the northern lake where I was lucky to spend my summers has seen its
darkness diminish.
It doesn’t have to be this
way. Light pollution is readily within our ability to solve, using new
lighting technologies and shielding existing lights. Already, many
cities and towns across North America and Europe are changing to LED
streetlights, which offer dramatic possibilities for controlling wasted
light. Other communities are finding success with simply turning off
portions of their public lighting after midnight. Even Paris, the famed
“city of light,” which already turns off its monument lighting after 1
a.m., will this summer start to require its shops, offices and public
buildings to turn off lights after 2 a.m. Though primarily designed to
save energy, such reductions in light will also go far in addressing
light pollution. But we will never truly address the problem of light
pollution until we become aware of the irreplaceable value and beauty of
the darkness we are losing.
Write an essay in which you
explain how Paul Bogard builds an argument to persuade his audience that
natural darkness should be preserved. In your essay, analyze how Bogard
uses one or more of the features in the directions that precede the
passage (or features of your own choice) to strengthen the logic and
persuasiveness of his argument. Be sure that your analysis focuses on
the most relevant features of the passage.
Your essay should not explain
whether you agree with Bogard’s claims, but rather explain how Bogard
builds an argument to persuade his audience.
