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Ever wonder why migrating birds crash into buildings? Or why you can't sleep at night? What about where you can still see the Milky Way?
Light Pollution News explores how our 24/7 lit world affects everything from wildlife and human health to our understanding of the stars, travel, and the future of our cities. Host Bill McGeeney brings on rotating guests to help dig into the latest research, policy activity, and real-world solutions - from how irresponsible lighting degrades our health to the best dark sky destinations for your next trip. Whether you're a birder, conservationist, astrophotographer, or just someone who misses sleeping in darkness, this is the show that connects the dots between your disappearing nighttime environment and the world around you.
67 Episodes
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This episode's guests: Shweta Kulkarni, AstronEra.Josh Dury, Award Winning Photographer.Jim Webster, Advocate.Bill's News Picks: Explore NASA’s most detailed map of the night sky yet, Andrew Paul, Popular Science. Satellite megaconstellations will threaten space-based astronomy, Nature. Minimizing aviation lighting duration reduces bat attraction to wind turbines, Journal of Applied Ecology. Tawny owls are turning to street lighting to help them hunt, British Ecological S...
This episode's guests: Shweta Kulkarni, AstronEra.Josh Dury, Award Winning Photographer.Jim Webster, Advocate.Bill's News Picks: DarkSky One supercar lurks in the dark like a ninja with its sensible lighting, Gaurav Sood, Yanko Design. Colored light changes how music makes us feel, Eric Ralls, Earth.com. Bright needs, dark desires: Public preferences and balancing the benefits of artificial light and natural darkness at night in Aotearoa New Zealand, People and Nature. Il...
This episode's guests: Randy Nelson, PhD, Circadian Rhythm Researcher.Scott Lind, Electrical Engineer, CEO Redshift Lighting.Rushil Kukreja, Founder of Princia.Bill's News Picks: Space Modernization for the 21st Century NPRM, FCC. Palo Alto approves dark sky ordinance, sets earlier curfew, Riley Cooke, Palo Alto Online. Widespread influence of artificial light at night on ecosystem metabolism, Nature. Midnight darkness and evening melatonin pre-treatment reverse night-li...
This episode's guests: Randy Nelson, PhD, Circadian Rhythm Researcher.Scott Lind, Electrical Engineer, CEO Redshift Lighting.Rushil Kukreja, Founder of Princia.Bill's News Picks: New York’s Skyline Has a Bold New Look, Nicholas Mancall-Bitel, New York Times.Switching off public lighting: a study on local authority practices, Samuel Busson, Cerema.Exposure to more artificial light at night may raise heart disease risk, American Heart Association. ‘My Neighbor’s Christmas Lights Shi...
Find today's articles at LightPollutionNews.com. Happy Holidays friends! It's our annual Holiday Potluck show! This is the show where guests return to discuss their favorite stories of 2025! We welcome back to the show: John Barentine, Dark Sky ConsultingYana Yakushina, LawyerDr. Mario Motta (absentia)Michael CalhounSteve MaricondaPatrick Sommer Article List: Citizen science illuminates the nature of city lights, Nature Cities.Personal night light exposure predicts incidence ...
This episode's guests: Dr. Amardeep Dugar, Lighting Designer.Dani Robertson, Author / Dark Sky Officer.Stephane Picard, CEO of Cliff Valley Astronomy.Bill's News Picks: Remote Welsh island with population of three people searching for new tenant family, BBC News. Headlight complaints abound, but glare-related crashes haven’t increased, Joe Young, IIHS. Spatio-Temporal Variation in Aerial Arthropod AbundanceRevealed by Weather Radars, Global Change Biology. Nocturnal fligh...
This episode's guests: Dr. Amardeep Dugar, Lighting Designer.Dani Robertson, Author / Dark Sky Officer.Stephane Picard, CEO of Cliff Valley Astronomy.Bill's News Picks: Ikea just made a mini bed for your phone, Grace Snelling, Fast Company. Individual-Level Exposure to Light at Night and Sleep Health: A Comparison between Real-Time Mobility-Based Measurements and Indoor Residence-Based Measurements, Environmental Science & Technology. We’ve Lit Our Way Into a Complex Probl...
This episode's guests: Tatsiana Thomson, Brome Bird Care.John Barentine, Dark Sky Consulting.Lynne Peeples, Author of the Inner Clock.Bill's News Picks: Environmental Commission applauds progress on bird-safe buildings, Amy Smith, Austin Monitor. Great River Bridge goes dark for birds, Hawk Eye.Puffins, petrels, and places: Understanding human perceptions to prevent seabird mortality due to light pollution, Ornithological Applications.Light does not phase shift the circadian clock of sub...
This episode's guests: Tatsiana Thomson, Brome Bird Care.John Barentine, Dark Sky Consulting.Lynne Peeples, Author of the Inner Clock.Bill's News Picks: Spectacular drone show over Vatican recreates Michelangelo’s ‘Creation of Adam,’ Virgin Mary, Ariel Zilber, New York Post.As more cities get Dark Sky label, these Indigenous communities apply the same tenets, Mark Brodie, KJZZ-FM.The First Dark Sky Map of Thailand: International Comparisons and Factors Affecting the Rate of Change, PreP...
This episode's guests: Yana Yakushina, Lawyer and Researcher.James Lowenthal, Astronomer.Vicky Derksen, Night Sky Tourist. Bill's News Picks: Randomised trial reveals a mismatch between preferences for and hormonal responses to anthropogenic light colour temperatures, PLOS One. Light Wavelength Modulates the Effects of Lighted Nights on Sleep, Metabolism and Oxidative Stress in Female Zebra Finches, Journal of Experimental Zoology Part A: Ecological and Integrative Physiology.&nbs...
This episode's guests: Yana Yakushina, Lawyer and Researcher.James Lowenthal, Astronomer.Vicky Derksen, Night Sky Tourist. Bill's News Picks: The endangered night: the challenge of light pollution within the international environmental legal context, Journal of Environmental Law. On National Space Day, Fadnavis pledges India's first state Dark Sky Policy, and what it could unlock for Maharashtra, ANI, Tribune. Appeals court rules Florida's "Alligator Alcatraz" detention...
In this episode, Bill McGeeney interviews Vasu Menon, a NC State computer science student who created Stargazer.org - a revolutionary web app that solves every amateur astronomer's planning nightmare. Born from a frustrating full-moon stargazing trip to Virginia's Stanton River park, this tool combines dark sky locations, weather forecasts, and lunar data into one simple interface. The Problem Multiple apps needed for stargazing planningMoon interference ruining viewing exper...
Episode Summary Discover how one artist is tackling light pollution through whimsical street art. Berlin visual artist Alona Rodeh joins the show to discuss her viral "Nightcaps" project - 3D-printed "hats" that transform unshielded street lamps into community art while reducing light pollution. Key Topics Covered The Nightcaps Project: 15 sculptural lamp covers installed throughout Berlin's Brunnenvierteljat neighborhoodCommunity engagement: Workshops with local families and children incorp...
This episode's guests: Steve Mariconda, MPH.Frank Turina, Educator / National Park Service / Night Sky Resource Center. Bill's News Picks: Natural experiments from Earth Hour reveal urban night sky being drastically lit up by few decorative buildings, Scientific Reports.Night lights versus conservation dreams: balancing human preferences with conservation goals in protected areas for sustainable nature-based noctourism, Journal of Sustainable Tourism.Noise pollution and artificial light at n...
This episode's guests: Steve Mariconda, MPH.Frank Turina, Educator / National Park Service / Night Sky Resource Center. Bill's News Picks: ‘This is a big win’: Planning Commission embraces ‘dark skies’ for Rappahannock County, Bob Hurley, Rappahonnock News.A CT man claims state courts don’t comply with a certain law. Why he says it matters., Sean Krofssik, Hartford Courient.City denies environmentalists’ appeal, greenlights new Oaks Park ride and lights, Maddie Khaw, The Oregonian.Fears over...
This episode's guests: Kelly Beatty, Sky and Telescope.Kerem Asfuroglu, Dark Source.David Smith, BugLife. Bill's News Picks: Darkness is crucial to Everglades habitat: Could Alligator Alcatraz threaten it?, Max Chesnes, Phys.org. A183 Coast Road cycleway to get new street lighting to boost safety despite wildlife and dark skies fears, Nic Marko, Shields Gazette. Lunar cycle and moonlight intensity influence nocturnal migration patterns in a small songbird, Scientific Reports. ...
This episode's guests: Kelly Beatty, Sky and Telescope.Kerem Asfuroglu, Dark Source.David Smith, BugLife. Bill's News Picks: Citizen science illuminates the nature of city lights, Nature Cities. Does darkness increase the risk of certain types of crime? A registered report article, Plos.org. To Determine if Changing to White Light Street Lamps Reduces Crime: A Multilevel Longitudinal Analysis of Crime Occurrence during the Relighting of Leeds, a UK City, Applied Spatial...
In this episode of Why It’s So Bright at Night, host Bill McGeeney explores the growing movement in Norfolk, Virginia, led by Citizens for Responsible Lighting, a grassroots group advocating for smarter, healthier, and more environmentally responsible LED streetlighting. The group formed after residents were disturbed by overly bright 3000K–4000K LEDs installed across the city starting in late 2023 as part of a $5 million retrofit project funded by a $3 million federal grant. Rather tha...
This episode's guests: Babak Tafreshi, Photojournalist for National Geographic.Tom Reinert, Past President of Dark Sky International.Jeffrey Calta, President of the Pennsylvania Firefly Festival. Bill's News Picks: How Atlanta’s ‘Light Up the Night’ program is making streets safer—one LED at a time, 11Alive. ‘The right light:’ Pittsburgh begins installing LED streetlights, Ed Blazina, Pittsburgh Union Progress.Photographer captures ghostly ripples over Colorado night sky. 'It is r...
This episode's guests: Tom Reinert, Past President of Dark Sky International.Jeffrey Calta, President of the Pennsylvania Firefly Festival. Bill's News Picks: See photos of Manhattanhenge as seen from 42nd St. in Manhattan, Seth Harrison, Iohud. Space-time cube reveals escalating light pollution in China's national parks: impact of boundary geometry and human activities (1992–2021), Environmental Pollution. Streets going dark to deter mayflies, Caitlin Hunt, News5. Noctu...
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