(Jessica Cornelison / KCUR 89.3)

We have inadvertently filled our world with poorly designed outdoor lighting. The price? We’re losing our starry skies, hurting our health, killing pollinators, wasting billions of dollars and releasing millions of tons of avoidable carbon dioxide. Now people in a Missouri college town and a state park are proving that picking the right bulbs and fixtures can curb light pollution and its harms.

Resources:

• Better outdoor lighting: Steps for reducing light pollution
• Examples of shielded light fixtures

Places and organizations mentioned in this episode:

• Thousand Hills State Park and Truman State University in Kirksville, Missouri
• DarkSky Missouri and DarkSky International

This episode of Up From Dust was written, reported and mixed by Celia Llopis-Jepsen, with editing by Mackenzie Martin and Stephen Koranda.