Andy Deprato is a med student that’s already co-authored two research papers, with a third on the way. His meta-studies have correlated light pollution with seasonal allergies, asthma, a few different cancers and (once the third paper clears peer review) a number of mental health issues.
In this interview we discuss: which came first; light or health, how metastudies work, health and how it interacts with light and sleep and what he plans to do next with his career.
Andy Deprato is a second-year medical student at McMaster University’s Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine. He previously completed a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology degree at the University of Alberta, where he began his research investigating the influence of artificial light at night on health outcomes. He has published on the influence of light at night on allergic diseases and been involved in projects assessing the potential role of artificial light at night with cancer and mental health outcomes through this work. Andy is also involved in research in public health, surgery, and patient accessibility and enjoys a range of sports and outdoor activities.
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Sasha’s eyes were ruined by laser surgery in 2011, and she launched My Beautiful Eyes Foundation in January 2012. Since then, as a patient advocate, she has advised and represented thousands of people, the majority like her, irreparably damaged by refractive eye surgery, laser and lens. Sasha has worked closely with John McDonnell MP, actively campaigning for government regulation of the UK refractive surgery industry, doing her utmost to publicise the serious risks of these unnecessary and frequently debilitating operations, and to expose the corruption within the industry – at every level.
Connect with Sasha:
To donate: https://fundrazr.com/sasharodoy
http://linkedin.com/in/sasha-rodoy-35b12596
facebook.com/SashaRodoyMBEF
twitter.com/MBEFCampaign
http://www.mybeautifuleyes.co.uk/
Connect with The Soft Lights Foundation: www.softlights.org
Mark Baker contends that the Department of Energy committed fraud by not following Congress’s instructions. Is the LED bulb really a replacement for the incandescent bulb? Or is it totally different, unsafe, hazardous and dangerous?
Mark Baker is the President of The Soft Light Foundation, a non-profit organization that advocates for the protection of people and the environment from the harms of visible radiation emitted by products that use Light Emitting Diodes. Mark is the primary author of a primer on the differences between a curved surface emitter and a flat surface emitter. His co-authors include subject matter experts in the fields of physics, engineering, medicine, and light pollution.
Connect with The Soft Lights Foundation: www.softlights.org
Bill hosts the Light Pollution News Podcast. Some might see that as competition to the Restoring Darkness Podcast. We don’t see it that way. The more awareness brought to the issue of light pollution, the better. Let’s ALL make podcasts about the subject! Bill McGeeney is the host of the Light Pollution News podcast. He’s a dark sky advocate, member of the Pennsylvania chapter of Dark Sky International, a master watershed steward, and a Mid-East Region of the Astronomical League Representative. McGeeney started Light Pollution News to further explore topics associated with the environmental and ecological plight. The show aims to present an open and fair platform to discuss and evaluate topics in the news each month as they pertain to light pollution. The goal is to further build conversation, education, and awareness of light pollution.
Connect with Bill:
http://lightpollutionnews.com
https://www.linkedin.com/company/light-pollution-news/
https://www.instagram.com/light.pollution.news/
https://www.tiktok.com/@light.pollution.news
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61556886105279
Find the Light Pollution News podcast here:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/light-pollution-news/id1671233917
https://open.spotify.com/show/6Qvbh4JwCqtIssE3HrlREU
https://www.youtube.com/@LightPollutionNews
Connect with The Soft Lights Foundation: www.softlights.org
Steve Mariconda became so passionate about light pollution that he decided to make it the subject of this master’s thesis! In his research, he learned about its real impact on human health. Mark Baker suggests that we use the word “carcinogen” when referring to light pollution. That’ll perk up officials’ ears! Steve Mariconda lives in Bergen County, New Jersey, about 10 miles from NYC. He is finishing his master’s degree in public health at Rutgers University. His final thesis is on indoor and outdoor artificial light at night (ALAN) and its impact on human health and safety. He is a DarkSky International Delegate, one of three in New Jersey, and a member of the DarkSky New Jersey Chapter. He currently make a living as a nursing home musical entertainer.
Connect with Steve on LinkedIn
DarkSky International
DarkSky New Jersey
Connect with LightFair
Connect with The Soft Lights Foundation
We invited Dan onto Restoring Darkness to discuss wallpacks, those glaring lights you see on the sides of commercial and industrial buildings that seem to point straight into your eyes when you’re driving on the road or walking on the sidewalk. As these lights are purportedly for safety and security, the conversation morphed into a discussion about the need for light at night. Dan points out that there is light needed for safely walking down the sidewalk, light to feel safe and secure, and light to know where you are. There are many nuances to solving this, but as Dan points out, we can at least start with the glare from wallpacks. Dan Weissman, AIA, IALD, IES is an award-winning Architectural Lighting Designer, researcher, and craftsman specializing in sustainable design and digital technologies. As Associate Principal and Director of Lam Labs at Lam Partners, he collaborates on innovative projects and engages with leading academics to advance the field. Dan serves as Chair of the IES Daylighting Committee, is an active member of the IES Sustainable Design committee and Solemma’s Climate Studio Product Advisory Group, and sits on the Board of Directors of the Flint Collective. He periodically teaches at Harvard Graduate School of Design, and is a frequent guest lecturer nationally and internationally. An avid musician and amateur luthier of mandolin-family instruments, Dan also tends a garden, and two children along with his artist wife Lanie, and bakes two sourdough loaves a week.
Connect with Dan:
LAM Partners
Connect with Dan on LinkedIn
Dan on Instagram
Connect with The Soft Lights Foundation: www.softlights.org
Louis the XIV made Paris the first city to be lit at night and now, ironically, it seems France may be the leader in mitigating light pollution. David tells us about France’s law that shops must turn off their lights after the store is closed. Of course we have local ordinances in North America for that, but France seems to be better at enforcing the law. David contends that our cultures’ fear of night and the dark is Alfred Hitchcock’s fault. David is a French engineer, musician, amateur astronomer, and motorcycle enthusiast who speaks 3 languages and has worked in cybersecurity. He discovered the light pollution phenomenon 5 years ago, and is now acting to make people aware of this problem, and to fight it. David maintains that the difficulty is that people do not care, because they are not informed.
Connect with David:
https://rallumons-les-etoiles.eu/
https://www.facebook.com/p/Rallumons-les-Etoiles-100079622841681/?_rdr
https://twitter.com/rallumonetoile
https://fr.linkedin.com/company/rallumonsletoile
Connect with The Soft Lights Foundation: www.softlights.org
If you’ve driven in the country and experienced a car coming at you with their high-beams on, you sort of know what Michael Evenson experiences. Regular low-beam LED headlights are so bad for him that, wherever he is on the road, he has to stop until the “terror brightness” passes. Michael points out that we should look at Europe where headlights must be shielded or aimed to point only on the road. Why can’t we do that here?
Born in 1945 at the head of the Boomer Generation which meant that anything Michael was interested in became a fashion for much of the country. He got a liberal arts degree from UC Berkeley, and headed for the hills to carve out a life with other community building individuals, raising children, and preserving environmental health. He turned to farming and ranching, and has owned the Lost Coast Ranch, from the late 60s to the present. He is the owner and founder, in 1986, of OldGrowthTimbers.com specializing in dismantling old buildings to salvage the precious old redwood, while routinely trucking lumber and livestock on the back roads and highways of California. He is the long time President of the Mattole Salmon Group, spending a lifetime restoring salmon to the Mattole River.
Connect with Michael:
https://www.facebook.com/LostCoastRanchOrganic
https://oldgrowthtimbers.com/
Connect with The Soft Lights Foundation: www.softlights.org
We’ve all experienced a camera flash that leaves us blind for a couple of seconds. Now imagine that happening every time some LED headlights hit your eyes from cars on the freeway. And you’re going 60 MPH.That’s what happens to Johanna Wilson. Ironically, emergency lights are the worst of all! It’s so bad that she cannot drive at night. Let’s get these LED lights off the road! (https://www.facebook.com/p/Petition-to-ban-LED-headlights-100066336797916) Johanna Wilson is a seasoned business management professional with focuses in business administration, operations, and regulatory affairs. She is also deeply committed to her community, regularly volunteering for organizations in women’s leadership and human trafficking prevention. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and boxer-lab mix, Kingsley.
Connect with Johanna:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/johanna-wilson-pmp-939a23ab/
Connect with The Soft Lights Foundation: www.softlights.org