In recent years folks have been looking for ways to make a buck off their property, other than farming and ranching, and have hit upon the idea of eco tourism, as ecology. That is where other folks come out to the county and pay to see wildlife, prairie grasses and a lot of things those of us living in rural areas take for granted.

While browsing the other day I ran across something being called "Astro Tourism" where people pay money to go out and look at clear night skies. That sounds like a good idea to me, but it would require a lot of help from others.

There are not many clear skies left anymore, even out in the country, because of light pollution. From my house I can see the glow of a couple of power plants, Fairfield and Corsicana, not to mention natural gas well drilling rigs, tank batteries and what have you.

Astrologers, those guys who have the cool job of looking through telescopes to find new planets and stars, or just to watch a passing comet, estimate that as much as half the world's population is unable to view stars because or urban light pollution. If you don't believe that, try to look at the stars some night when visiting Dallas. It can't be done.

When we first bought our property in the Steward's Mill area of Freestone county, and before building a house on it, we would come out just to look up at the stars. It was amazing how much more could be seen in the country than from a neighborhood. However, the stars are not as bright anymore because we now have lights glowing inside and outside the house. We are also polluting the sky.

Fixing most of the problem in our little piece of the country is as simple as turning out some of the lights, especially when they are on in a room we are not using. Our neighbors would appreciate this. They joke that when we are at our house, the lights go dim in their house.

Just before I started writing this, I planned to go outside and look at the stars. Then I would go inside the house, turn off some lights and go look at the stars again. Trouble is, the sky was overcast Monday night and no stars were visible.

When I was a kid growing up in rural Texas towns from the Gulf Coast to the Panhandle, I remember lying on my back in the yard and looking up at the stars. They were crisp and clear. Often as a special treat, my dad would point out constellations. He was a bomber navigator during World War II and had to learn the constellations so that he could plot a course to get the airplane where it needed to go and back. I didn't pay enough attention and can only identify Orion and the Big Dipper, but have shown these to my own son.

Astro Tourism requires that an effort be made to create a "Starlight Reserve" and a town in New Zealand has done just that. By decree, only a certain kind of street lamp is used by the town, and they must be shielded from above so as not to cast light up toward the sky, household lights must shine downward, floodlights are prohibited and all outdoor lights must be extinguished from 11 p.m. until sunrise. The strict rules were instituted to protect a nearby observatory, but as an unexpected consequence tourists are flocking to the area just to look up at the stars.

Some cities in other parts of the world are experimenting with methods to let the stars shine through, by advising businesses and homeowners how best to use outdoor lighting and viewing the night sky has improved.

The same could be done around here at power plants for example. Lighting could be redesigned to provide ample illumination, but without the glare and upward escape of light. Cities could replace street light bulbs with better kinds that don't throw excessive light. Security lights at homes in town and in the country could be motion activated so that they don't burn all night long.

If you think that the stars are not as bright, you aren't alone. Why else would someone illuminate the trees in their yards, a job that used to be done by the moon and stars. The unfortunate consequence of artificially illuminating trees, to mimic moonlight, is that it messes up the sky for others.

I'm not trying to start some crusade here, but do propose cleaning up some of the light at our place. Besides helping us to see the stars, it will also cut down on our electric utility bill.