Highlights from the darkness news word are:

 - Blue blocking lenses don't work

 - Municipal governments leading on bird safety

 - DarkSky's photo contest winners

 - Holidays are visible from space

LEDs came along in the early 2000’s. They emitted light. They were energy efficient. What could be bad? Ask Mark Baker who’s highly sensitive to certain LED lights. And there are people worse off than him who cannot neurologically tolerate the type of radiation emitted by LEDs. Imagine if you couldn’t go to a store or walk under street lights lest you get dizzy, acquire a migraine or fall into an epileptic episode. There are thousands of people who can’t leave their house, and now can't even replace their light bulbs with incandescents. And let’s not forget about the natural world where studies on the effects of LEDs have barely scratched the surface. Mark Baker is the President of The Soft Lights 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. Connect with Mark: www.softlights.org Soft Lights Foundation - https://www.facebook.com/groups/softlights.org Ban Blinding LEDs - https://www.facebook.com/groups/BanBlindingLEDs Petition to Ban Blinding Headlights: https://www.change.org/p/u-s-dot-ban-blinding-headlights-and-save-lives  

Our host, Michael, has learned a lot from reading children's books to his kids. Anna’s book, “Can You See The Stars Tonight?” we’re sure, is no exception. We are always hopeful for the next generation, so let’s teach our children about the impact of light pollution with Anna’s book. And you can’t go wrong with cute little puffins! Anna is a children's book author and illustrator who is passionate about animals and wildlife. She received a first class degree in Illustration from Sheffield Hallam University and a Masters in Children's Book Illustration from Cambridge School of Art. Anna's latest picturebook, “Can You See The Stars Tonight?” published by David Fickling Books, is a story about the impact light pollution can have on puffins and what we can do in our own homes to help our local wildlife when it comes to light pollution. Sponsor: Evluma www.evluma.com 

Find the latest news in the Restoring Darkness front. Highlights of this episode: - University of Pennsylvania Study Shows Staying Up All Night Might Help with Depression - Mice with High Blood Pressure Die Faster Under Circadian Disruptions - Melatonin-rich diet improves sleep Presented by The Lighting And Darkness Research Foundation https://restoringdarkness.com/donate/  

Dr. Darley gives us a new term (that we’re totally stealing!). Instead of describing light pollution to people as too much light, she feels people respond more positively to the problem if you describe it as a “darkness deficiency.” Dr. Darley goes on to explain the hazards of too much light - sorry, of a darkness deficiency - in your environment when you’re trying to sleep, like hormone imbalance, thyroid problems, and cancer risk. If you hold your arm out in the middle of the night and you can see your fingers wriggle, then there is not enough darkness in your room. Dr. Catherine Darley is the leader in natural sleep medicine. She combines her knowledge of sleep and circadian disorders with her training as a naturopathic physician to bridge these two fields. She’s treated patients for over 20 years, along with training healthcare providers in sleep medicine. Dr. Darley now focuses on teaching people sleep skills so they can thrive at home, at work, and have a high quality life. You can find her online at SkilledSleeper.com, on Instagram, and Substack. 

If bright light at night bothers you, it is much worse for marine life, and they don’t realize it, they just react. Their instinctual biological processes change in reaction to artificial light and sky glow which then affects the food chain. To add to that, the blue light from LED’s penetrates deeper into the water. The sky glow disrupts biological processes that are guided by moonlight. Dr. Davies and Prof. Smyth are doing the research. Now it’s up to us to take action. Dr Davies is a marine conservation ecologist at the University of Plymouth, UK working. His research seeks to understand the impacts and management of man-made global change on ecosystems, and human-environment interrelationships. He has published research on the impacts and management of a variety of global change issues - most notably Artificial Light at Night (ALAN). Prof. Tim Smyth is the Head of Science for Marine Biogeochemistry and Observations at PML. This involves leading a team of around 20 people ranging from PhD students to experienced senior scientists across a range of disciplines from air-sea exchange, nutrient cycling to molecular science within the broad remit of marine biogeochemistry. His brief also includes oversight of the Atlantic Meridional Transect (AMT) as well as the Western Channel Observatory (WCO) which he has been leading for the past 15 years. 

Harold Wallace, Jr., is curator of the Electricity Collections at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. Responsible for over 25,000 objects documenting the history of electrical science and technologies, Hal has specialized in the history of electric light and power since joining NMAH in 1995. Hal holds a Ph.D. in public policy / policy history, and an M.A. in the history of technology, both from the University of Maryland Baltimore County. He has curated exhibitions and written articles and blogs on the history of several electrical topics. His current exhibitions are Lighting A Revolution and The Electric Dr. Franklin. He serves on the Collections Committee of the Baltimore Museum of Industry and as Smithsonian representative on the board of the Thomas A. Edison Papers Project. Hal is a member the American Historical Association, the American Political Science Association, the Illuminating Engineering Society, and the Society for the History of Technology. 

Shannon Willis is an exhibition and graphic designer, originally from Maryland, now residing in North Bethesda. Alongside her life as a designer, she is a devoted pet parent to two small dogs and enjoys diverse creative outlets such as art, design, building, dining out, and horror movies. Shannon's lifelong passion for art and crafts led her to pursue studies in Industrial Design at Virginia Tech and Graphic Design at the Art Institute of Washington. For the past 13 years, she has been an invaluable member of the Museum of Natural History, utilizing her creative prowess to design engaging exhibitions. Shannon's enthusiasm and commitment to her craft drive her to constantly seek new opportunities for growth and expand her knowledge. Her dedication and transformative work leave a lasting impact on design at NMNH, delighting visitors and contributing to the museum's success.

Juliana Olsson is an exhibit writer and editor at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. In order to write all the labels visitors will (hopefully) read, she’s constantly learning about new topics, exploring the collections, and going on field trips to fossil digs and dark sky sites. She holds an M.A. in Museum Studies from Johns Hopkins University, and a B.A. in Film Studies and Integrative Biology from UC Berkeley. In 2023 she celebrated 10 years at the Smithsonian.

It’s been over 5 years since Dr. Kyba was on the Get A Grip On Lighting podcast. Between then and now, we created Restoring Darkness which is a much more appropriate place for Dr. Kyba to be as his research is on skyglow and artificial light at night. He points out that when lighting up a building to make it an experience, it is no longer an experience when you do it EVERY NIGHT! We bet you’ve never thought of the dangers of attracting Mayflies to an illuminated bridge. You can take part in his research by joining the Nachtlicht-BüHNE project, or submitting measurements with the Loss of the Night app on an Android or iOS device. Christopher Kyba is a physicist at the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences and Ruhr University Bochum. He has worked on quantification of artificial light in the outdoor environment for over a decade, using ground, air, and space-based techniques, as well as citizen science. He obtained his PhD from the University of Pennsylvania in 2006, and his BSc from the University of Alberta in 2000.