Is the night sky an endangered species? Check out the trailer for The City Dark, which explores the philosophical and practical implications of losing the night sky.
When an earthquake hit Los Angeles in 1994, there were numerous people reporting a "giant, silvery cloud" in the sky. These scared citizens were simply seeing the Milky Way for the first time. It's not just LA, but "66 percent of the United States and 50 percent of the European population can no longer see the milky way at night." This map of the United States in 2000 from an EPA report released in 2010 is a cloud-free composite image at night. It hits home just how little darkness there is.
Ian Cheney explores this problem and its ramifications in his new documentary, through interviews with "Astronomers, cancer researchers, ecologists, and philosophers," which help make the movie into "an introduction to the science of the dark, and an exploration of the human relationship to the stars."
If you are on the lookout for dark sky, here's a helpful and interactive map (I would try Montana personally). And if you want to catch The City Dark, it will be at various festivals in July, including at Miami's Greek Film Festival from July 1-4 and the Indianapolis Film Festival on July 16th.