PODCAST

Restoring Darkness

Scott Wachter

News and interviews related to the reduction of light pollution.Currently on hiatus.

science nature

All Episodes

40:22

Episode 94: Don’t Blame The Lights with Elisa Hillgen

Restoring Darkness ·

2023/09/20

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

31:15

Episode 93: Enforcing The Ordinances with Rachel Tighe

Restoring Darkness ·

2023/09/13

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

8:43

Episode 92: Darkness News Update September 12th, 2023

Restoring Darkness ·

2023/09/12

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

8:06

Episode 91: Darkness News Update August 29th, 2023

Restoring Darkness ·

2023/08/30

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

51:44

Episode 90: Are LEDs Harmful? With Mark Baker

Restoring Darkness ·

2023/08/28

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

32:57

Episode 89: Can You See The Stars Tonight? With Anna...

Restoring Darkness ·

2023/08/23

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

13:02

Episode 88: Darkness News Update August 14, 2023

Restoring Darkness ·

2023/08/17

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/

50:04

Episode 87: Darkness Deficiency with Dr. Catherine...

Restoring Darkness ·

2023/08/16

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

54:54

Episode 86: Sky Glow Disrupts Biological Processes...

Restoring Darkness ·

2023/08/02

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

13:10

Episode 85: Special Release - Live from The...

Restoring Darkness ·

2023/07/26

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

10:27

Episode 84: Special Release - Live from The...

Restoring Darkness ·

2023/07/26

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

20:49

Episode 83: Special Release - Live from The...

Restoring Darkness ·

2023/07/26

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.

54:26

Episode 82: Consensus Based Not Evidence Based with...

Restoring Darkness ·

2023/07/26

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

49:46

Episode 81: Wayfinding Landscape Lighting with Dan...

Restoring Darkness ·

2023/07/20

Dan is a landscape lighting designer and he is on our side. He tries to stay away from “on at dusk off at dawn” sensors. As Dan says, for good design. you need the darkness. You can’t just pump light into an area and call it good lighting. Good lighting is controlled and does not contribute to light pollution. Dan Jobbins is a lighting designer, based out of New York’s beautiful hudson valley. He graduated from Boston University’s College of Fine Arts with a BFA in theatrical lighting

21:59

Episode 80: The Darkness News Update July 19, 2023

Restoring Darkness ·

2023/07/19

Scott Wachter, from the Lighting Industry News Brief (https://naild.org/lighting-industry-news-brief) joins Michael Colligan to bring you the latest news around darkness restoration. Watch for Restoring Darkness Episode 76, out tomorrow. And don't forget to give to The Lighting And Darkness Foundation to fight light pollution. https://restoringdarkness.com/donate

59:36

Episode 79: Voices In The Wilderness with Todd Burlet

Restoring Darkness ·

2023/07/13

Just like we’ve been saying all along, Todd doesn’t want to take away everyone's light at night. He just wants people to be mindful and reasonable about lowering light pollution. He removed the carriage light above his own garage many years ago. Sure they look nice and classy, but they blast light everywhere. And just like Christmas lights, they don’t need to be on at three in the morning while everyone’s asleep. Todd Burlet is a Delegate for DarkSky International, which has been the

17:01

Episode 78: The Darkness News Update July 12, 2023

Restoring Darkness ·

2023/07/12

Scott Wachter, from the Lighting Industry News Brief (https://naild.org/lighting-industry-news-brief) joins Michael Colligan to bring you the latest news around darkness restoration. Watch for Restoring Darkness Episode 75, out soon. And don't forget to give to The Lighting And Darkness Foundation to fight light pollution.

30:43

Episode 77: Save Wasatch Back Dark Skies with Shawn...

Restoring Darkness ·

2023/07/05

The Lighting And Darkness Foundation is taking on its first project! With your donations (please donate at https://restoringdarkness.com/save-the-night-in-wasatch-back-utah) we can help Shawn and Lisa and the other concerned residents, preserve their Wasatch Back night sky in Utah. Find out what the story is in this podcast. Lisa and Shawn are co-founders of Save Wasatch Back Dark Skies along with several other passionate Wasatch County residents. You can find more information at

43:25

Episode 76: Exhibiting The Night Sky with Dr....

Restoring Darkness ·

2023/06/29

Michael talks with our guests about the new Smithsonian exhibit, “Lights Out: Recovering Our Night Sky. It sounds like this exhibit will convince any skeptic of the importance of restoring the night sky. Watch out for a future episode, live from the Smithsonian. Dr. Kimberly Arcand is a leading expert in astronomy visualization and has been a pioneer in 3D imaging, printing, and extended reality applications with astrophysics data. She has worked for NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory at the

30:08

Episode 75: The Darkness News Update June 28, 2023

Restoring Darkness ·

2023/06/28

Join us for our inaugural episode of The Darkness News Update. Scott Wachter, from the Lighting Industry News Brief (https://naild.org/lighting-industry-news-brief) joins Michael Colligan to bring you the latest news around darkness restoration. Watch for future episodes to coincide with Restoring Darkness podcast episodes.

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Restoring Darkness

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