PODCAST

Restoring Darkness

Scott Wachter

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

science nature

All Episodes

48:58

Episode 74: Light Pollution Is Pollution With Dawn Brown

Restoring Darkness ·

2023/06/21

Michael welcomes a fellow Canadian to the podcast. Michael and Dawn discuss the never ending pursuit of continuous improvement, the interchangeable use of the terms sustainability and energy efficiency (they are NOT the same!), the use of cheap and energy efficient lighting creating more light pollution, and the legal precedents that are inadvertently sustaining light pollution. They even touch on Capitalism and Socialism, but you’ll have to listen to the episode to hear that part. A

42:53

Episode 73: The Bees of the Night with Dr. Zoë Randle

Restoring Darkness ·

2023/06/08

Dr. Randle comes to us from the U.K. based Butterfly Conservation, one of the largest insect conservation organizations in the world. Dr. Randle points out that artificial light at night affects pheromone production in some female moths and sperm count in some males. Along with all the other environmental pressure, light at night has caused a 32% decline in population since the 1970’s. Thanks to the thousands of volunteers and data sets stretching back decades, you can learn all about them

51:32

Episode 72: Darkness For Tranquility with Mike Hawtin

Restoring Darkness ·

2023/05/24

Mike comes to us from the North York Moors National Park in the north of England. Mike has done ALOT to fight light pollution in his area. He has: developed a Dark Skies Festival; encouraged businesses to collaborate and to become Dark Skies Friendly; oversaw the application to become an International Dark Sky Reserve from inception to successful designation. He’s even successfully influenced the UK government on lighting policy. He even found the time to appear on Restoring Darkness! Mike

52:10

Episode 71: Eliminating Sensory Pollution with Dr....

Restoring Darkness ·

2023/05/10

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

37:50

Episode 70: Less Is More with Kathryn Toth

Restoring Darkness ·

2023/05/03

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

62:17

Episode 69: It’s A Movement with Karolina...

Restoring Darkness ·

2023/04/19

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

68:59

Episode 68: The Turtles Nest Again with Dr. Sheldon...

Restoring Darkness ·

2023/04/12

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'

50:25

Episode 67: Advertising Light Pollution with...

Restoring Darkness ·

2023/03/29

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

54:17

Episode 66: Insecurity Lighting with Roland Dechesne

Restoring Darkness ·

2023/03/15

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

51:02

Episode 65: Cutting Through the Jargon with Art with...

Restoring Darkness ·

2023/03/08

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

53:05

Episode 64: Get the Darkness Out of the Shadows with...

Restoring Darkness ·

2023/02/15

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

57:43

Episode 63: Painting the Night Sky with Valerie...

Restoring Darkness ·

2023/02/08

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

51:23

Episode 62: Keeping the Urban Out of Rural with...

Restoring Darkness ·

2023/02/01

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

55:54

Episode 61: Designing Darkness with Camilla Rathsach

Restoring Darkness ·

2023/01/11

Camilla has an interesting way of looking at lighting design. Rather than a lighting designer, she calls herself a “darkness designer.” Camilla explains to Michael and John her philosophy on darkness, and how it is revealed with the use of light. Camilla leaves you with a little exercise on how to embrace darkness. Camilla has a bachelor’s degree in Design Culture and a master’s degree in Lighting Design from Aalborg University in Denmark. She started working as a team manager in a museum

44:29

Episode 60: What We’ve Learned with Michael Colligan...

Restoring Darkness ·

2022/12/28

In this special year-end episode, Michael and John discuss issues that have come up over the past year in the Darkness Restoration and Preservation movement. Have things improved? Are we getting there? 2023 is upon us, let’s get it done!

54:42

Episode 59: De-Illumination of the Night Sky with...

Restoring Darkness ·

2022/12/14

Sabine is a full time Dark Sky Officer for the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Sternenpark Rhön. Sabine explains to Michael how she has become an expert on laws regarding light and light pollution. While she can’t issue tickets (yet), she can use her authority and expertise to improve bad light and advise on development plans. If you’re in lighting, listen to Sabine in this episode! Since childhood, Sabine has been an amateur astronomer and has been active in nature and species conservation

58:13

Episode 58: The Night is a Realm with Kerem Asfuroglu

Restoring Darkness ·

2022/12/07

Michael Colligan was inspired to be a Dark Sky advocate by William Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night's Dream.” The stars have inspired countless poets. Kerem considers the night to be a “realm” and he specializes in dark sky friendly lighting design for what he likes to call, “the urban and rural public realm.” Kerem Asfuroglu is the founder of Dark Source, a London-based lighting design studio driven by social and environmental values. Following his graduation from Wismar University –

65:47

Episode 57: Well Lit, Not Brightly Lit with Mark Major

Restoring Darkness ·

2022/11/30

Mark originally wanted to be a painter and painting to him was like subtracting light as paint is added to a white canvas. Conversely, in lighting, one is adding light to darkness. And this led Mark to understand you can’t talk about light without talking about darkness. Michael discusses with Mark how we have lost much of our understanding of the value of darkness as lights have gotten cheaper and more efficient. Mark formed Speirs Major with Keith Bradshaw which grew out of Speirs and

50:52

Episode 56: Dark Skies vs. Skis with Bernd Pröschold

Restoring Darkness ·

2022/11/16

Bernd is an astrophotographer based out of Cologne, Germany. Bernd tells Michael how hard it is to find dark skies for his astrophotography. Even driving 2 days from Cologne, he can’t find an ideal dark area to take pictures. Bernd has taken photos from high in the Austrian mountains, but the bright lights of the ski hill grooming machines moving up and down the hills is hard to avoid with his time lapse photography. Bernd Pröschold is an astrophotographer and author. From 1998 to 2003 he

33:39

Episode 55: The Pilot Project For Pilots with Thomas...

Restoring Darkness ·

2022/10/26

Wind turbines are a zero emissions solution to energy needs. But with solutions, new problems always arise. We’ve all seen the giant wind turbines towering into the sky and with any tower, there is a risk for air traffic. And how do we solve that problem? With lights. Sometimes blinking. And that has been a problem for residents in Germany who live near them. Thomas Herrholz and Dark Sky GmbH from Germany is a company that has been developing techniques to activate obstacle lighting only

214 results

Restoring Darkness

All Episodes

Similar Podcasts

Classic Radio Science Fiction

solgoodmedia.com

Mission to Mars

Inception Point Ai

The 365 Days of Astronomy

365DaysOfAstronomy.org

Creek Devil

william Jevning

UFO Chronicles Podcast

Nik Hunter