Who Owns The Night Sky?

    Downtown Detroit has a new indicator light, it's the same color as the one that tells me my toaster oven is running.  The piercing blue blotch atop the Renaissance Center is General Motors new LED sign which continually cycles through three different G.M. logos.  For explanation, Joel Ewanick, G.M.’s head of sales and marketing, was quoted in the New York Times saying:  “We needed to freshen up our headquarters, and show people that G.M. is not the same anymore, that we are changing.”  Mr. Ewanick went on to say that the "different logos had been used before at various times in G.M.’s history, and featuring them in the display was a nod to the company’s past."  You shouldn't try to make sense of these two statements, it's the type of logic which only makes sense to a sales and marketing person.  Just don't be surprised when you find yourself at a G.M. dealership tomorrow looking to buy a car.
    Despite the distracting brilliance of this new light, things could have been a lot worse.  The article went on to explain that Mr. Ewanick was..."happy the company did not go further with an alternate plan to wrap the entire top floors with electronic lighting.  'We had to stop and say, that’s too much,' he said. 'We didn’t want to look like the casinos.'”  This is a good point, because the casinos, and in particular the Motor City Casino, have shown what can be done with the unbridled implementation of LEDs; a significantly cheaper form of lighting when it comes to the amount of energy used.  This of course leads to the troubling justification of such over-the-top lighting displays.  No doubt the Motor City Casino would not be covered in so many lights had traditional lighting methods been required. In other words, just because the technology is there doesn't mean you should abuse its applications.  It's kind of like believing it's okay to toss  your empty beverage cup in the street because now, instead of being made of Styrofoam, its biodegradable.
    Although G.M. controlled themselves (for now) doesn't mean all building owners or corporations will be so considerate.  How long will it be before the LED billboards we see beside the freeways start showing up on rooftops and the sides of buildings?  In fact some have already shown up on the side of the MGM casino's parking structure.  The little G.M. sign should be seen as a warning light for what is no doubt on the horizon.
    But, believe it or not, there is a far more intrusive and obnoxious form of light polluting Detroit than these proliferating LEDs.  This light, however, is not emanating from Detroit, or even the United States.  It is coming from Caesar's casino in Windsor, Ontario.
    Operating with North Korean-like brazenness, Caesar's has apparently decided the sky is theirs for the taking. Every night a hypnotic swirl of searchlights illuminates the sky, not only above downtown Detroit, but for miles in every direction.  It can be seen from the homes of literally hundreds of thousands of people.  If you want to enjoy your backyard in the summer be prepared to share it with the meddling lights of Caesar's casino.  Same goes for any nighttime walking or bike riding, you will be joined on these sojourns by a distracting overhead light display.  If you don't live below the sky which Caesar's has taken over and would like to see what I'm talking about, you may watch the 11 second video below.

    You can see how this might be distracting for an individual trying to collect their thoughts while sitting on their porch at night after a long day.  Our sky has been stolen from us and we must now figure out how to get it back.

    I will admit to being intrigued by the prospect of a war with Canada fought across the Detroit River.  What if we lost though?  We would not only have to put up with the lights but the name of the river itself would probably be changed to the Windsor River, and that just doesn't seem right.  Besides, the residents of Windsor have had their sky stolen from them too; they are the ones who need to push their government to reign in these thieves.  Unfortunately the casino is owned by their government, so the likelihood of this happening is slim.  To complicate things even more, the casino is run by Nevada-based Harrah's Entertainment, a company so rich there is a chance they actually do own the sky and we just didn't know it.  I have sent an email inquiry to them asking just that and am anxiously awaiting their response.
    But honestly, I don't know how to get the sky back.  I don't know how a business feels justified stealing it in the first place.  I do know that no self-respecting Detroiter or Windsorite should ever frequent Caesar's Windsor.  If you do, remember, you're going into it a loser already; once they've taken your sky they'll have no problem taking your money.