The dark of night has an incredible impact on humans. It limits our vision and heightens our sense of vulnerability. Neighborhoods that are friendly, bustling or eclectic during the day become vacant no-walk zones after sundown.

Fighting that embedded fear of the dark has led to extensive use of nighttime electric lighting. Streetlights in city and surrounding suburbs maintain lights as a convenience and a security measure. Iconic buildings bathe in artificial light for dramatic effect. And businesses use creative lighting in an attempt to break through the clutter and capture the attentions of potential customers.

Population growth coupled with this desire for nighttime illumination continues to shrink the dark nighttime areas of the globe. In photos taken from space, the dots of light are so close you don’t need to connect them to see the outline of each continent. The glow is particularly strong in North America and Europe.

The World Wildlife Fund is championing an event March 29 that seeks to have people re-think their use of night lights. Earth Hour started in Sydney, Australia, in 2007 and has now gone global. From 8 p.m. to 9 p.m., cities around the world will turn off their lights to symbolize their commitment to finding solutions for climate change.

Individuals are encouraged to use the time to swap out the incandescent light bulbs in their homes with energy efficient compact fluorescent bulbs, which I’ve noted before are now available at rock-bottom prices.

While there are legitimate safety reasons for lighting public spaces at night, other lighting offers a significant opportunity for conservation: Allowing an office building to go dark from 2 a.m. to 4 a.m. is unlikely to have a negative impact on its community presence, but would cut down on the electric bill. So too would replacing your  home’s plugged in pathway lights with solar models, or putting the flood lights for your back yard on a motion sensor.

So the one thing THIS SPACE is encouraging you to do this time is to use Earth Hour as a moment to think about how you can cut back on some of your nighttime electricity use.

Every Kilowatt-hour you save reduces the pressure to buy additional power from fossil-fuel power plants. That avoids greenhouse gas emissions that would otherwise add to climate change and keeps a few extra dollars in your pocket.

Embracing the black of night is not something with which most of us are always comfortable. An amazing thing happens, though, when you cut back on the artificial lighting or step away from it. Without the glare, the stars can shine through in the night sky – at least on those few days around here that they’re not hidden by clouds.