Reading Standards for Informational Text > Understanding Across Media and Formats (CCSS.RI.8.10) Practice Test

Streetlights are essential for public safety, but our current approach often floods the sky with wasted light. Light that shines upward does not help a pedestrian spot a curb; it just erases the stars and disrupts wildlife. Communities that install shielded fixtures, use warmer bulbs, and add motion sensors have reported lower energy bills without darker sidewalks. In fact, directing light downward increases contrast at night, allowing drivers and walkers to see hazards more clearly. Bird rescue groups also note fewer collisions during migration when glare is reduced. No one is asking towns to sit in the dark. The smarter choice is to put light where and when it is needed. As cities replace aging equipment, they can choose designs that protect the night, save money, and preserve safety. The night sky is a shared resource, and we already have the tools to reclaim it.

In the late 1800s, several cities threaded iron tubes beneath their streets. Mail clerks loaded small leather cylinders with letters, sealed them, and launched them with a hiss of compressed air. The tubes promised speed: a message could cross downtown in minutes even when traffic stalled above. For a time, the system felt futuristic. But it had limits that became hard to ignore. Each capsule held only a handful of letters; leaks or jams could halt an entire line; and constant repairs were costly. When telephones spread through offices in the early 1900s, routine notes no longer needed a physical ride underground. Pneumatic mail endured in a few places for specialty uses, yet as cheaper, faster options emerged, city governments questioned whether to keep paying to patch the tubes.