Space Station Observation Night View Up The East Coast Of North America

I look at this video and am reminded of what sky watchers mean by "light pollution." It speaks volumes about how much power has to be produced to light the country. And all that produces heat and consumes energy resources.

I spent a lot of time in the sixties flying as well as driving back and forth between Atlanta and Pittsburgh. Most of the time my travels were during daylight hours.

I remember one one winter the return flight was at night. The flight had a very brief stopover in Charlotte and then on to Atlanta. What stuck with me was the almost total absence of lights except around larger cities.

In 1995 I had to make a business trip from Atlanta to Long Island. The flight up was near the end of daylight but the return was a night flight. I was amazed that all the way there were bright lights...no patches of darkness below along the way.

Play this at full screen and pause it along the way to pick out where you live if on the east side.  Look at the top edge of the screen and you will see part of a solar panel.