Here at Restoring Darkness, we are on a mission to eliminate light pollution. Dr. Barber wants to tackle “sensory pollution.” He is doing that by running the Sensory Ecology Lab at Boise State University and studying the effects of light and sound pollution on birds, bats, and insects. Let’s eliminate light pollution, then we’ll start the “Restoring Silence” podcast! Dr. Barber completed his BS and MS at the University of Wyoming and his PhD at Wake Forest University before he spent 5 years with the National Park Service's Natural Sounds and Night Skies Division for his postdoctoral work. He now runs the Sensory Ecology Lab at Boise State University - a set of scholars dedicated to understanding how sensory environments and sensory pollution impact birds, bats, and insects. 

You’d think a landscape lighting designer wouldn’t really be concerned with sky glow. “Just light up the landscape and the sky be damned!” But you would be wrong if you thought that about Kathryn. Her number one concern when designing is to not add to light pollution. She strongly advises clients to turn off their lights by 10 pm, and even earlier if you aren’t around to enjoy them. She’s a big advocate for controls too, which, as we at Restoring Darkness have been saying, makes sense for outdoor lighting. And Kathryn knows what she’s talking about: She has led workshops and taught classes at numerous locations including universities, and she is an active Mentor Team member of the International Landscape Lighting Institute Intensive Course, and serves on the ILLI Board of Directors and ILLI Programming Committee. Kathryn Toth is an award-winning architectural lighting designer who strives to create artistic lighting solutions. Her projects include exterior, landscape, retail, commercial, and residential projects around the globe. Working to create the visual atmosphere and enhance the space is her specialty. Kathryn is an active and instrumental member of the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) Recommended Practice for Landscape Lighting and the IES Outdoor Nighttime Environments (ONE) committees, a member of the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA), and a board member of the International Landscape Lighting Institute (ILLI). 

Sometimes it’s a good idea to go to the source. So we went to the founder of the Responsible Outdoor Light At Night conference (ROLAN), Karolina Zielińska-Dąbkowska. Karolina explains to Michael and John that as a lighting designer, she had questions that she couldn’t find answers to. And researchers wouldn’t let her in because she wasn’t in their circle. So Karolina went out and got her own PhD and became a researcher. Thankfully she’s willing to share some of her research with us. Dr. Karolina M. Zielinska-Dabkowska IALD, IES, CIE, MSLL, RIBA is an architect and an award winning practicing lighting designer with over 20 years of experience working in the field of lighting design. Karolina is also an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Architecture, Gdansk University of Technology, Poland, and Co-Founder of GUT LightLab, where she conducts research on various aspects of light and lighting in the built environment. In 2022 Karolina Founded Responsible Outdoor Lighting at Night (ROLAN) conference and was principal co-author of the ROLAN Manifesto. 

If you ever doubted the impact on wildlife of humans just being around, let Sheldon tell you how the turtle nests in Hawaii bounced back in 2020. Luckily that trend continues with her army of volunteers that help redirect hatchlings away from artificial lights that lead them away from the water. Michael and John also discuss with Sheldon how there are light pollution ordinances in almost every city and town but no enforcement. Dr. Sheldon Plentovich leads the US Fish and Wildlife Services' Pacific Islands Coastal Program where she works with partners to find innovative ways to protect and restore island ecosystems. She grew up in the southeastern United States and started working on Pacific Islands in 1996. Her priorities are community-based restoration efforts, ecosystem restoration at a landscape scale and species translocations. When she's not working, she's surfing, mountain biking or spoiling her dogs. 

We all know cities are a big contributor to light pollution. Charlotte Gage from Adfree Cities in the United Kingdom, contends that one of the biggest offenders is digital advertising. LED’s are getting brighter and advertising signs are being left on all night, drowning out views of the night sky but also destroying people’s sleep who live nearby these signs. Charlotte, Michael and John discuss what progress has been made, about how laws haven’t caught up to digital signage, and how best to tackle this blight. Charlotte Gage is Network Director for Adfree Cities, a network of groups across the UK who are concerned about the impacts of corporate advertising on our health, wellbeing, environment, climate, communities and the local economy. Adfree Cities lobby for policy change at national and local levels, showcase alternatives, organize locally to stop new advertising sites in UK cities, and produce resources to raise awareness about the impacts of commercial advertising. 

Roland is from the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, but he speaks proficiently, beyond the perspective of astronomy, on many of the other aspects of light pollution. Roland talks with Michael and John about LED street lighting, the safety light at night straw man argument, cars hitting lamp posts because of glare, and some surprising facts about blue light that you might not have heard before. Roland Dechesne, FRASC*, is a member of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada’s Light Pollution Abatement Committee as well as a Past President of the Calgary Centre of the RASC and an amateur astronomer with over 40 years’ experience. He has been a popularizer of astronomy to the public for much of that time. His interests are astrophotography, meteorites and light pollution abatement. He ‘moonlights’ as an oil and gas geologist during the day. He was recently honored by having asteroid #10087 named for him. 

Rayan began a career in aircraft maintenance, but he went from aerospace to space - his interest in cosmology led to him creating Cosmic Tribe, making astronomy and space more accessible to a wider audience and thus spreading awareness of the problem of light pollution. Rayan talks with Michael and John about our lack of connection with the cosmos and the technical jargon and language barriers preventing that connection. Rayan is well-respected in the industry and holds several prestigious titles, including International Astronomical Union-IAU Dark Skies Ambassador, IDA Dark Sky Delegate, and National Coordinator of the Moon Village Association. He is also the Young Persons Committee Head of the Royal Aeronautical Society Pakistan Division and the International Astronomical Artist Association's Director of STEAM Outreach. He is the Founder of Cosmic Tribe and currently serves as the National Node of the International Day of Light and the IAU NAEC National Astronomy Education Coordinator from Pakistan Team. 

You can read Johan’s book, The Darkness Manifesto: How Light Pollution Threatens the Ancient Rhythms of Life which was just released in North America. Johan talks to Michael Colligan and John Bullock about the impact of light pollution on flora and fauna around the world, not to mention the impact on human health. Johan also points out that with the advent of artificial light at night, an appreciation for silence and slowness has diminished. So hurry up and listen to this podcast! Johan Eklöf, PhD, is a Swedish bat scientist and writer, most known for his work on microbat vision and more recently, light pollution. Johan has studied bats for almost 25 years and now has his own consultancy company, hired by authorities, wind companies, municipalities, city planners and environmental organizations as an expert on bats, night ecology and nature friendly lighting. 

It’s not too long ago that the Sun and Universe revolved around the Earth. That was the thinking until science and the arts began to see that the data just didn’t line up. Valerie reveals to us how knowledge gained in astronomy and cosmology influenced art and architecture. WATCH this episode, if you can. Having studied at the Universities of Bristol, Manchester and the Witwatersrand (South Africa), Dr Valerie Shrimplin has lectured extensively on Byzantine, Medieval and Renaissance Art and Architecture – and on sixteenth-century history as well. In particular, she has published quite widely on the influence of astronomy and cosmology on art (including her PhD on the influence of Copernican heliocentricity on Michelangelo’s Sistine Last Judgment). 

Climate change. Air pollution. Plastics. Chemicals. Pollution is a challenge. How do we deal with light pollution? As Georgia says, “with the flick of a switch!” It’s that easy. But is light pollution yet seen as pollution? Georgia is doing her part as the Mayo Dark Sky Park Development Officer for the Irish National Parks & Wildlife Service. And you’re invited to visit. As a mature student, Georgia completed a BA (Hons) in Outdoor Education, which resulted in a dissertation on the subject of light pollution and fueled an interest in protecting and restoring our dark skies. This formed the basis of an application to the International Dark Sky Association and the gold tier accreditation of Mayo International Dark Sky Park. Together with local community members, she worked to raise awareness of light pollution and became a founder member of the non-governmental organization "Dark Sky Ireland" to facilitate engagement at all levels from grassroots to policy.