How to celebrate Dark Sky Month in Utah
April is Dark Sky Month in Utah — lining up with International Dark Sky Week April 2-8 — and there are events across Utah throughout the month to both celebrate and educate.
Several national and state parks are hosting events, including Cedar Breaks National Monument’s final Dark Sky Tour of the season on Saturday, April 6, and full moon hikes at Dead Horse Point State Park on April 23-24.
The University of Utah and Brigham Young University are also holding weekly star parties, and Clark Planetarium has two outdoor star parties this month on top of their usual shows and activities.
For those wanting to explore to find the perfect stargazing spot, Utah has 27 officially designated Dark Sky Places, including several state and national parks as well as towns like Springdale.
This is the fourth consecutive year of having a Dark Sky Month in Utah, with the goal of highlighting the tourism benefits of stargazing as well as educating people on the harmful effects of light and air pollution.
Rocky Mountain Power pushing retirement of coal plants to 2042
Rocky Mountain Power announced this week it plans to burn coal until 2042, a decade longer than previous plans.
The company, which is Utah’s largest electricity producer, currently has two coal-fired plants in Utah, both of which they announced last spring would be retired by 2032.
This week, however, PacifiCorp, Rocky Mountain Power’s parent company, updated its Integrated Resource Plan to keep those plants running until their original retirement dates of 2036 and 2042.
Some Utah lawmakers have cheered the decision for providing reliable and cheaper power to Utah, but climate experts and environmental groups are calling it a drastic setback for the health of Utah’s environment.
