May 30, 2024 – What is believed to be the only specialty license plate in the country dedicated to preserving dark skies is now available at all Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles offices.
The license plate features an outline of a young family gazing at the stars away from city lights. The tag line, “Save Starry Skies,” is intended to raise public awareness of how the proliferation of artificial lights in our cities, towns, and even rural areas threatens our ability to see a brilliantly star-studded sky at night.
The plate was designed by Jonathan Boarini, a dark sky advocate and Department Chair of Media Technologies at the College of Southern Nevada .
According to DarkSky International, the vast majority of Americans live under skies that are polluted by light to such a degree that only a handful of stars are visible and the Milky Way is not visible at all. Excessive artificial light also impacts birds, nocturnal wildlife and even human health, in addition to wasting billions of dollars on inefficient practices.
Nevadans are more fortunate. Because so much of the state is public land managed by the federal government, vast stretches of the state remain relatively unlit. Many rural Nevadans can simply step out their back door and city dwellers don’t have to travel far in order to gaze up to see more stars than they can possibly count.
However, worldwide, light pollution is growing at the rate of nearly 10% a year and Nevada is not immune from the impacts of the spread of artificial light. Proceeds from the specialty license plate will be used to monitor artificial light, educate the public about the value of preserving dark skies, support low-impact astro tourism and provide improved lighting infrastructure.
The plate’s sponsor is Friends of Nevada Wilderness, a statewide 501 (c)(3), celebrating its 40th anniversary this year.
“We’re so pleased to be able to sponsor this unique plate that will help spread the word about our amazing dark skies in Nevada and how important it is to protect them,” said Friends Executive Director Shaaron Netherton. “We hope motorists all over the state will agree it’s a beautiful addition to their vehicles and that saving starry skies is a worthy cause.”
For more information on how to acquire the Save Starry Skies license plate and to schedule an appointment with DMV to acquire the plates (annual renewals can be done online), visit nevadadarksky.org.
