Highlights from the Darkness News are:

-       The Royal Society Publications this Month

-       LDS Project Updates

-       Virginia Observatories vs Private Residents

-       NASA’s Turtles

Mark Baker is back and he’s still advocating for people who experience the harmful effects of LED light. Mark tells us about some ongoing litigation involving car lots and nearby residents, and a successful one against a town in Minnesota. You’re going to see more of Mark here, as the Soft Lights Foundation and the Lighting & Darkness Foundation work together to tackle the problems of harmful LED’s. Mark Baker is the President of The Soft Light Foundation, a non-profit organization that advocates for the protection of people and the environment from the harms of visible radiation emitted by products that use Light Emitting Diodes. Mark is the primary author of a primer on the differences between a curved surface emitter and a flat surface emitter. His co-authors include subject matter experts in the fields of physics, engineering, medicine, and light pollution. 

Watch this episode and you’ll feel the hope and positivity emanating from your screen from Aparna and John. Michael discusses, with Aparna and John, humanity’s lost connection with the sky, forgotten sky stories and traditions from many cultures, and even the lighting industry’s little corner of the climate change problem, which we could effectively tackle RIGHT NOW, if there was only the willpower to do so. Aparna and John haven’t lost hope. Aparna Venkatesan is an astronomer in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, and co-Director of the Tracy Seeley Center for Teaching Excellence, at the University of San Francisco. She works on studies of the first stars and quasars in the universe, and is also actively involved in projects in cultural astronomy and space policy. She currently serves as co-Chair of the American Astronomical Society's Committee to Protect Astronomy and the Space Environment (COMPASSE). Professor Venkatesan has been recognized internationally for her research and DEI leadership, featured widely in the media, and received numerous prizes and awards. She is deeply committed to increasing the retention of underrepresented groups in astronomy and STEM, and is active in developing scientific partnerships with Indigenous communities worldwide. Connect with Aparna: https://www.usfca.edu/faculty/aparna-venkatesan John Barentine is the Principal Consultant at Dark Sky Consulting, LLC, and was formerly the Director of Public Policy for the International Dark-Sky Association. He earned a Ph.D. in astronomy from the University of Texas at Austin, and previously held staff positions at the National Solar Observatory, Apache Point Observatory, and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. Throughout his career, he has been involved in education and outreach efforts to help increase the public understanding of science. He is a member of the American Astronomical Society and the International Astronomical Union, and is a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society. The asteroid (14505) Barentine is named in his honor. His interests outside of astronomy and light pollution research include history, art and architecture, politics, law and current events. 

Highlights from the darkness news are:

-       Scientific Consensus

-       1000 Bird Strikes in One Night

-       Chile Restores Darkness

-       Light Pollution is Brain Pollution

Highlights from the darkness news are:

-       ALAN Linked with Breast Cancer

-       France Powers Ahead on Night Conservation

-       Border Protection Suspend Nature Protections

-       Blue-Filtering Lenses Not Recommended 

Hannah practices “place-based” research. Rather than finding international or national solutions, she advocates for small scale “place-based” solutions for local areas that will have their own challenges. As an astrophysicist, she is working to make the science understandable, accessible and more relevant. Michael brings up an interesting philosophical question that arises from that endeavor. Hannah Dalgleish is a knowledge exchange professional working in the academic and place-based policy engagement sphere. She has a PhD in astrophysics and has been involved in numerous projects related to astronomy for development, with a particular focus on dark skies and society, light pollution and policy, and science communication. She helps to coordinate the International Astronomical Youth Camp and is a former Trustee of the Royal Astronomical Society. 

Highlights from the darkness news are:

 - Charting New Harms of ALAN

 - Speakers from Under One Sky

 - Bird’s Eye Views Are Shrinking

 - Pandas Get Jet-Lag

It’s about communication, spreading knowledge, and good lighting. As a member of Lighting Urban Community International (LUCI), Elisa is one of many across the globe advocating to use light as a tool for social, cultural and economic development. Before you develop your urban area, contact Elisa (or one of her colleagues from LUCI) and she’ll help you avoid bad lighting. Let’s get it right the first time!

Elisa Hillgen is a lighting designer, light artist and a lighting coordinator at the City of Jyväskylä, known as City of Light. She has previously worked in the field of building and interior design, and has over 15 years of experience in different fields of lighting. For the last 7 years, she has focused on urban lighting and light art projects. Her job as the lighting coordinator of Jyväskylä includes taking care of the dark time cityscape by organizing design projects and maintenance for urban lighting and working in the light festival team. She is also the LUCI Association contact person for the City of Jyväskylä, which is currently the president of the global network.

Connect with Elisa:

https://valonkaupunki.jyvaskyla.fi/en/city-light-jyvaskyla

https://www.linkedin.com/in/elisahillgen/

https://www.instagram.com/hilgelli/

Rachel comes to us from the Sea Turtle Conservancy in Florida. She’s doing her part to protect the turtles in so many ways. She helps to conduct code enforcement workshops for municipal enforcement officers around the state, and she is promoting wildlife-friendly lighting, by following key principles: keeping lights low, shielding them from view, using longer wavelengths, and minimizing unnecessary lighting. Her goal is to reduce light pollution and its impact on wildlife, particularly sea turtles, by promoting responsible lighting practices. Rachel Tighe is a certified lighting specialist I in the lighting industry through the National Association of Innovative Lighting Distributors. Rachel has worked for environmental and conservation driven organizations for over 14 years with a focus in minimizing the anthropogenic threats to wildlife and the natural world. She has worked as the Lighting Project Manager for Sea Turtle Conservancy, the oldest sea turtle organization in the world, for over the past seven years. Rachel and her team work to mitigate problematic lights on sea turtle nesting habitat. Connect with Rachel: www.conserveturtles.org @conserveturtles Sponsor: Evluma www.evluma.com 

Highlights from the darkness news world are:

 - Night Shift Work is Bad for Your Memory

 - Giving Insomnia to Molluscs and Rodents

 - Circadian Lamps Go to Space

 - Progress on a Petition to Change LED Headlights