Light Pollution News

Light Pollution News

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Light Pollution News episodes

  • Apr 2024: Sonification

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    Host Bill McGeeney is joined by Isa Mohammed of the Caribbean Institute of Astronomy, Frank Turina of the Night Sky Resource Center, and the Director of Dark Sky International's Engagement, Bettymaya Foott.

    See Full Show Notes, Lighting Tips and more at LightPollutionNews.com. Like this episode, share it with a friend!

    Bill's Picks:

    • Blue lights for Benny: Delco lights up to honor 2-year-old who unexpectedly died, Leland Pinder and Katherine Scott, 6ABC. 
    • Some Entergy customers could see increase in bills because of new bulbs used in street lights, WAFB9. 
    • LED Color Temperature Selection Process, the City of Grand Rapids.
    • Architectural Review Board Staff Report, City of Palo Alto. 
    • A night in England’s darkest village, Helen Pickles, The Telegraph. 
    • UWS State Senator Renames Bird-Safety Bill FLACO Act: ‘Feathered Lives Also Count’, Gus Saltonstall, West Side Rag. 
    • MEANS AND WATERWAYS: LIGHTING A FERRY TERMINAL, Randall Whitehead, Furniture, Lighting & Décor.

    Support the show

    A hearty thank you to all of our paid supporters out there. You make this show possible.

    For only the cost of one coffee each month you can help us to continue to grow. That’s $3 a month. If you like what we’re doing, if you think this adds value in any way, why not say thank you by becoming a supporter!

    Why Support Light Pollution News?

    • Receive quarterly invite to join as live audience member for recordings with special Q&A session post recording with guests.
    • Receive all of the news for that month via a special Supporter monthly mailer.
    • Satisfaction that your support helps further critical discourse on this topic.


    About Light Pollution News:

    Ever wonder why migrating birds crash into buildings? Or why you can't sleep at night? What about where you can still see the Milky Way?

    Light Pollution News explores how our 24/7 lit world affects everything from wildlife and human health to our understanding of the stars, travel, and the future of our cities. Host Bill McGeeney brings on rotating guests to help dig into the latest research, policy activity, and real-world solutions - from how irresponsible lighting degrades our health to the best dark sky destinations for your next trip. Whether you're a birder, conservationist, astrophotographer, or just someone who misses sleeping in darkness, this is the show that connects the dots between your disappear...

    1 hr 50 min
  • Sonification
    The Great American Eclipse Part II is nearly upon us! Hope you have your plans set! Joining from all the way in Trinidad and Tobago, Isa Mohammed! From an undisclosed space in the desert, Dark Sky’s own, Bettymaya Foott. And educator – astrophotographer, Mr. Frank Turina!
    This month, there’s a ferry station in Seattle that appears to have it all figured out! And should we bundle that lighting ordinance with bird legislation, or leave unbundled?! And…when’s the last time you used all of your senses?
    1 hr 50 min
  • Mar 2024: Ar Hyd Y Nos

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    Host Bill McGeeney is joined by storyteller Mary Stewart Adams, author of the new book - All Along the Night, Dani Robertson, and dark sky consultant, John Barentine.

    See Full Show Notes, Lighting Tips and more at LightPollutionNews.com. Like this episode, share it with a friend!

    Please be sure to check out Dani Robertson's Book: All Through the Night.

    Bill's Picks:

    • Why flying insects gather at artificial light, Nature.
    • Artificial light at night reduces earthworm activity but increases growth of invasive ragweed, BMC Ecology and Evolution.
    • Artificial light at night affects the timing of roosting by Chimney Swifts, International Journal of Avian Science.
    • David Duchovny tries to avoid 'electric light', BANG Showbiz.
    • The majority of streets turned off at night in Bordeaux: what results after a year?, Jean Cittone, Le Figaro.
    • Dark Skies: Watch as Powys lights go off for dark sky, BBC.
    • Nocturnal Seafaring: the Reduction of Visibility at Night and its Impact on Ancient Mediterranean Seafaring. A Study Based on 8–4th Centuries BC Evidence, Journal of Maritime Archaeology.
    • Orion and the Dark, Netflix.

    Support the show

    A hearty thank you to all of our paid supporters out there. You make this show possible.

    For only the cost of one coffee each month you can help us to continue to grow. That’s $3 a month. If you like what we’re doing, if you think this adds value in any way, why not say thank you by becoming a supporter!

    Why Support Light Pollution News?

    • Receive quarterly invite to join as live audience member for recordings with special Q&A session post recording with guests.
    • Receive all of the news for that month via a special Supporter monthly mailer.
    • Satisfaction that your support helps further critical discourse on this topic.


    About Light Pollution News:

    Ever wonder why migrating birds crash into buildings? Or why you can't sleep at night? What about where you can still see the Milky Way?

    Light Pollution News explores how our 24/7 lit world affects everything from wildlife and human health to our understanding of the stars, travel, and the future of our cities. Host Bill McGeeney brings on rotating guests to help dig into the latest research, policy activity, and real-world solutions - from how irresponsible lighting degrades our health to the best dark sky destinations for your next trip. Whether you're a birder, conservationist, astrophotographer, or just someone who misses sleeping in darkness, this is the show that connects the dots between your disappear...

    1 hr 55 min
  • Ar Hyd Y Nos
    Plenty on the plate this afternoon! We learned new details on how nighttime flying insects use light at night. Colorado’s wealthiest ski town decided to create a new Dark Sky ordinance, but should 311 be the mechanism of enforcement? A couple pays 100 in legal fees after they fail to convince a judge of light trespass. And what to make of a new glow in the dark park in Dallas? This month, host Bill McGeeney is joined by Interlochen Radio's Mary Stewart Adams, Dark Sky Consultant, John Barentine, and fresh off of the publishing of her new book, Dani Robertson!
    1 hr 55 min
  • Why It's So Bright at Night? Interview with Jennifer Huygen on the Fairlands Valley Park Petition.

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    'Why It's So Bright at Night' is a periodic episode of Light Pollution News, where host Bill McGeeney sits down and chats to understand the positions of people who advocate for light. The show's intent is to spur conversation and understanding, helping all of us work together to a common unified goal of a better tomorrow for people, plants and animals.

    This episode, mentioned in the Feb 2024: A Space for Celebration episode, Jennifer Huygen started a petition in Stevenage, England to add lighting to a park. We explore why the lighting is needed, what types of lighting would be deemed acceptable, and seek to understand the cultural issues that are driving the need behind the lights.


    Support the show

    A hearty thank you to all of our paid supporters out there. You make this show possible.

    For only the cost of one coffee each month you can help us to continue to grow. That’s $3 a month. If you like what we’re doing, if you think this adds value in any way, why not say thank you by becoming a supporter!

    Why Support Light Pollution News?

    • Receive quarterly invite to join as live audience member for recordings with special Q&A session post recording with guests.
    • Receive all of the news for that month via a special Supporter monthly mailer.
    • Satisfaction that your support helps further critical discourse on this topic.


    About Light Pollution News:

    Ever wonder why migrating birds crash into buildings? Or why you can't sleep at night? What about where you can still see the Milky Way?

    Light Pollution News explores how our 24/7 lit world affects everything from wildlife and human health to our understanding of the stars, travel, and the future of our cities. Host Bill McGeeney brings on rotating guests to help dig into the latest research, policy activity, and real-world solutions - from how irresponsible lighting degrades our health to the best dark sky destinations for your next trip. Whether you're a birder, conservationist, astrophotographer, or just someone who misses sleeping in darkness, this is the show that connects the dots between your disappear...

    48 min
  • Why It’s So Bright at Night?
    'Why It's So Bright at Night' is a periodic episode of Light Pollution News, where host Bill McGeeney sits down and chats to understand the positions of people who advocate for light. The show's intent is to spur conversation and understanding, helping all of us work together to a common unified goal of a better tomorrow for people, plants and animals.
    48 min
  • Feb 2024: A Space for Celebration

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    Host Bill McGeeney is joined by freelance writer, Lauren Collee, astronomer, Tim Brothers, and film maker, Tara Roberts Zabriski.

    See Full Show Notes, Lighting Tips and more at LightPollutionNews.com. Like this episode, share it with a friend!

    Bill's Picks:

    • It’s autumn everywhere except under this streetlight, Be Smart.
    • The Small Town That Turned Christmas Lights Into an Economic Miracle, Ruth Simon and Dave Cole, The Wall Street Journal.
    • City of Davis looking for better ideas to light up streets, James Yalor, CBS News Sacramento. 
    • Streetlight Color Temperatures our Community Cares About, City of Boulder.
    • Power outage and environmental justice in Winter Storm Uri: an analytical workflow based on nighttime light remote sensing, International Journal of Digital Earth.
    • An inventory of human light exposure behaviour, Scientific Reports.
    • In rural California, bright Santa Tracker spotlight divides a community, Clare Fonstein, San Francisco Chronicle. 
    • Maine’s Penobscot Watershed Is Too Important to Allow Mining, Linda Coutant, National Parks Conservation Association.
    • Influence of COVID-19 on night-time lights in Czechia, Journal of Maps.

    Support the show

    A hearty thank you to all of our paid supporters out there. You make this show possible.

    For only the cost of one coffee each month you can help us to continue to grow. That’s $3 a month. If you like what we’re doing, if you think this adds value in any way, why not say thank you by becoming a supporter!

    Why Support Light Pollution News?

    • Receive quarterly invite to join as live audience member for recordings with special Q&A session post recording with guests.
    • Receive all of the news for that month via a special Supporter monthly mailer.
    • Satisfaction that your support helps further critical discourse on this topic.


    About Light Pollution News:

    Ever wonder why migrating birds crash into buildings? Or why you can't sleep at night? What about where you can still see the Milky Way?

    Light Pollution News explores how our 24/7 lit world affects everything from wildlife and human health to our understanding of the stars, travel, and the future of our cities. Host Bill McGeeney brings on rotating guests to help dig into the latest research, policy activity, and real-world solutions - from how irresponsible lighting degrades our health to the best dark sky destinations for your next trip. Whether you're a birder, conservationist, astrophotographer, or just someone who misses sleeping in darkness, this is the show that connects the dots between your disappear...

    1 hr 45 min
  • A Space for Celebration
    This Month, calling in live from Sydney, Lauren Collee adds a unique cultural view of night! As well does a man who converted dark sky skeptics to believers in his home Massachusetts town, astronomer, Tim Brothers! And…the brains behind one of the most talked about recent documentaries in Dark Skies, Ms. Tara Roberts Zabriskie!
    We have a lot to go over about tonight, including holiday lights mistaken as an alien invasion to the preferences of light temperatures of Boulder residents! And is the City of Davis, California simply too dark!?
    1 hr 45 min
  • Jan 2024: Walking in a Freakily Large Planetarium.

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    Host Bill McGeeney is joined by AstroBackyard's Ashley Northcotte, lighting designer and founder of Dark Source, Kerem Asfuroglu, and educator and advocate, Diane Turnshek.

    See Full Show Notes, Lighting Tips and more at LightPollutionNews.com. Like this episode, share it with a friend!

    Bill's Picks:

    • God’s Promises Are Clearest When We Turn Out the Lights, Cort Gatliff, Christianity Today. 
    • Stays in Vegas: London mayor rejects plan for Stratford Sphere venue, Robert Booth, The Guardian. 
    • Heber Valley Utah Temple approved. See why the church agreed to dim the lighting, Tad Walch, Dessert News. 
    • Trains, stargazing put Ely on the map. Critics fear clean energy project could undo that., Wyaat Myskow, The Nevada Independent. 
    • Energy efficiency indicators in road lighting: critical evaluation in a case study, Bulletin of the Polish Academy of Sciences Technical Sciences. 
    • Shining a light on duckweed: exploring the effects of artificial light at night (ALAN) on growth and pigmentation, Plant Biology. 
    • Giant lasers to light up San Francisco for APEC, Amy Larson, KRON 4. 
    • Why can’t I wish upon a star in Boston?, Meg Richards, Berkeley Beacon. 


    Support the show

    A hearty thank you to all of our paid supporters out there. You make this show possible.

    For only the cost of one coffee each month you can help us to continue to grow. That’s $3 a month. If you like what we’re doing, if you think this adds value in any way, why not say thank you by becoming a supporter!

    Why Support Light Pollution News?

    • Receive quarterly invite to join as live audience member for recordings with special Q&A session post recording with guests.
    • Receive all of the news for that month via a special Supporter monthly mailer.
    • Satisfaction that your support helps further critical discourse on this topic.


    About Light Pollution News:

    Ever wonder why migrating birds crash into buildings? Or why you can't sleep at night? What about where you can still see the Milky Way?

    Light Pollution News explores how our 24/7 lit world affects everything from wildlife and human health to our understanding of the stars, travel, and the future of our cities. Host Bill McGeeney brings on rotating guests to help dig into the latest research, policy activity, and real-world solutions - from how irresponsible lighting degrades our health to the best dark sky destinations for your next trip. Whether you're a birder, conservationist, astrophotographer, or just someone who misses sleeping in darkness, this is the show that connects the dots between your disappear...

    1 hr 57 min
  • Walking in a Freakily Large Planetarium.
    This month, from AstroBackyard, we have Ashley Northcotte! Diane Turnshek joins us and details some fun news about a video game you cannot win!
    And Dark Sourced, Mr. Kerem Asfuroglu joins us all the way from Ireland!
    We’re putting the pedal down to start the New Year! Astrotourism may be at risk for Ely, Nevada! Is there a balance between art and the night sky? And the EU releases a 75 paged All-Things-Environmental Brief for mitigating light pollution!
    All this including some truly enlightening conversations! There’s a lot in this one! Let’s jump in to the first Light Pollution News of 2024!
    1 hr 57 min

About Light Pollution News

From the publisher's feed

Ever wonder why migrating birds crash into buildings? Or why you can't sleep at night? What about where you can still see the Milky Way? 

Light Pollution News explores how our 24/7 lit…