In part 2 of this podcast (find part 1 here), Michael and Tim continue their conversation. Tim gives his perspective on outdoor lighting and energy savings in Massachusetts while Michael does the same from his Ontario Canada perspective.
Tim is the Vice President of the Massachusetts chapter of the International Dark-sky Association.
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This one was so interesting, Michael let it go for an hour and 15 minutes. So we’ve broken it into 2 parts. In this, part 1, the conversation ranges from clean, affordable energy to controls to a popcorn analogy and the “windows effect.” Tim is the Observatory Manager and Technical Instructor at MIT’s Wallace Astrophysical Observatory. Check out part 2 here.
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Ron installs and commissions lighting controls. He is an integrator who knows his stuff. In this Restoring Darkness episode, he and Michael make the case for controls in exterior lighting systems and wonder why the lighting industry largely ignores this application. Ron Kuszmar oversees Port’s Architectural and Theatrical Lighting Design & Installation departments, as well as our Lighting Control Systems and Equipment Sales teams.
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Ron Kuszmar on LinkedIn
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Terry brings his vast amount of knowledge and experience to the question of industry alignment in the quest to reduce light pollution. Michael talks with Terry about the importance of educating everyone, from manufacturers and distributors right down to municipalities, which are some of the worst offenders. Let’s get on board with the 6 strategies for darkness restoration and preservation!
Terry is involved in illuminating engineering/lighting design, lighting education and lighting research. His professional career of 60+ years includes GE Lighting at Nela Park where he was Manager of the GE Lighting Institute. In 1998, he started his own consulting company, Lighting Ideas, Inc and became involved in lighting research as Director of the Lighting Research Office for the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI). These days, in addition to consulting work, he acts on behalf of the American Lighting Association as their Director of Engineering and Technology and is the Executive VP of the J.H. McClung Lighting Research Foundation.
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Where does the resistance to the adoption of darkness friendly lighting come from? Michael poses this question to Peter Brown. Michael and Peter discuss how and if it’s even possible to get the industry on board.
With over thirty years in the lighting industry, Mr. Brown has sales and marketing experience in distribution, manufacturing, auditing, design and installation; both in the C&I and public sector markets.
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Scientific coordinator for the Mont-Megantic International Dark Sky Reserve, Rémi Boucher has been passionate about the starry sky and the night experience for many years. Do people believe that light pollution is actually pollution or a metaphor? Michael and Rémi dive into this question and tackle the complexities of maneuvering through municipal and state/provincial governments, environmentalists, lighting manufacturers and distributors, private landowners and… you can see how complex this is. Listen to Restoring Darkness and then help us bring back the night sky.
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Personal website (photography) : remiboucherphoto.com
Work website (dark sky reserve) : meganticdarksky.org
Abdul Dremali is an Palestinian/Egyptian artist with a passion for the night sky. Currently based in Reno, Nevada, he travels the world in search of dark skies for his astrophotography. Abdul advocates some sensible solutions for restoring darkness. We should all follow his example of his relationship with the moon and the stars. And check out his photos at what is perhaps the suavest URL ever – abdul.cool
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Hannah Moon is a PhD Candidate at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa in Dr. Megan Porter’s vision lab. Her work focuses on understanding the physiological and molecular aspects of light perception in birds and has won multiple awards at scientific conferences. In other words, she’s trying to understand what birds are seeing. As you’ll hear, it goes beyond just the molecular structure of the bird’s eyes. And yes, it’s but another species that can’t make it to the sea because of our nonchalance towards light pollution.
Dr. Meredith Kernbach is a postdoctoral scholar at the University of South Florida, St. Petersburg in the lab of Dr. Mya Breitbart. For her doctoral dissertation, she studied how light pollution may affect zoonotic disease dynamics, specifically West Nile virus in House sparrows. Dr. Kernbach has found that even low light levels have allowed sparrows to hold the disease longer which means more mosquitos acquire it. And you can guess what that means for us. Turn off your lights!
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Dr. Andreas Jechow is an interdisciplinary physicist with a broad expertise in photonics, the science of light. Earlier in his career Andreas worked in laser physics and quantum optics, for example on imaging the “shadow of a single atom” with lasers. In 2015, Andreas transitioned to environmental sciences where he applies his knowledge of light in research on light pollution. Some of the fascinating studies Andreas is involved in include the impact of light on bats and insects and also on aquatic ecosystems. You’ll love the story of his daughter’s astute observation of the moon, and you’ll be jealous to hear that the city of Berlin where he lives is one of the darkest cities in Europe.
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