Episode 90 - Admit To Our Mistakes


High Pressure Sodium might be the best street lights for our rods and cones, but LED is here to stay, so we’re going to have to figure it out. Noah talks with Michael and Mark about reports, studies, and solutions. He gives us some very interesting facts about cone cells in our eyes under yellow light, and why military bases and astronomers use red light to illuminate at night. But cities have gone and are going to blue light LED’s at night, and no one wants to admit to this mistake. Noah Sabatier is a photographer and lighting researcher that is dedicated to advocating for better outdoor lighting. Noah has spent the past 5 years living with a night shift sleep schedule, during this time he realized that the streetlights in his city were far from optimal – and recent changes had only made them worse. He has spent the past 2 years extensively reviewing scientific literature and technical documents alongside others advocating for better lighting. Noah is now working to raise awareness of common misconceptions that lead to bad lighting and the better practices needed to solve this problem.

See some of Noah’s work on The Soft Lights Foundation website: https://www.softlights.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/A-Multi-Field-Analysis-of-Street-Lighting-in-Grand-Rapids-Michigan.pdf

Softlights.org

Soft Lights Foundation on Facebook

Ban Blinding LEDs Group on Facebook

Petition to Ban Blinding Headlights