- 5 months ago
Highlights from this episode:
Go to Jail
Shopping Problems
Turtle Season
Hospital Lighting
Intro and outro music by Doctor Turtle
Sponsored by The National Association of Innovative Lighting Distributors visit https://naild.org/
Headlines and Sources can be found at https://restoringdarkness.com/
Go to Jail
Shopping Problems
Turtle Season
Hospital Lighting
Intro and outro music by Doctor Turtle
Sponsored by The National Association of Innovative Lighting Distributors visit https://naild.org/
Headlines and Sources can be found at https://restoringdarkness.com/
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Hi there, I'm recording this on August 20th, 2025, and that means two things.
00:08Due to my general inability to keep track of milestones, this is the 51st Darkness News
00:16update, and I want to thank everyone who made that happen, including our sponsors at the
00:22Softlights Foundations, the National Association of Innovative Lighting Distributors, who have
00:27really helped me make this a full-featured series and helped me build the Darkness Restoration
00:34One program, which will educate lighting practitioners in how to engage in conservation practices.
00:41That program will be available in the fall, but until then, let's get into the news.
00:47The KTH Royal Institute of Technology has determined that safety is a feeling.
00:54This is part of a survey of different lighting conditions at metro stations, and they found
01:02that brightness was more important to the sense of security than color.
01:09They're trying to measure just a baseline of whether the minimum they can offer for the
01:14visually impaired at night, while also still just feeling generally welcoming while you're
01:20in a metro station, and they found a really specific formula that helped them figure out
01:28just the color temperature and brightness they needed to offer late at night that served as
01:33many people as possible.
01:35In Poland, they have determined that pedestrian safety is about balancing both vertical and
01:42horizontal illuminance.
01:43They tested lighting fixtures at a number of different heights, and they found that you
01:49actually need to mount the entire fixture just a bit lower and try to angle it so that
01:53it covers a wider area so that the entire crosswalk as well as the areas to the sides are covered
01:59in order to reduce fatalities when involved with drivers.
02:07Pedestrianized lighting otherwise is actually good overall.
02:10This is a series of studies of walkability design interventions and found that if you bring,
02:17again, part of this, bringing street lighting lower to serve pedestrian needs, led to more
02:23people walking and more people being healthy.
02:26A federal judge has paused the expansion of the Florida ice concentration camp for two weeks.
02:34This is pending a National Environmental Protection Act review.
02:41Detainees will just end up at a different Florida prison for now, but there we go.
02:47That's just an update from Florida.
02:50We have a survey that says that it is hard to sleep in ICUs.
02:55Lighting is an issue.
02:56Pain is an issue.
02:58Not surprised, but also just staff moving around.
03:01They're all factors for how to sleep in an ICU.
03:04We also have an Italian study showing that sleep rehab is actually linked with cardiac rehab.
03:10So people recovering from heart failure need personal sleep interventions,
03:15like maybe an ICU with fewer people walking around and fewer lights on.
03:21Circadian lighting does reduce falls in hospitals.
03:24This is a five-month study in a rehab war in the Akashi Ninju Hospital using, um, not a sponsor,
03:33but interesting company, Yamato Shadowless Lamp Company products.
03:37And they found that timed tuning and dimming helped older patients, uh, not only recover from
03:43whatever they were staying in the hospital for, but also they didn't fall down so much.
03:48Falling down is a big problem for old people in hospitals.
03:53I should know.
03:54My grandmother doesn't have a hip anymore.
03:57Young adults are more anxious and more depressed as they get pushed off their chronotype.
04:03This is a large-scale study of Chinese undergrad students,
04:06and they tracked both their reported feelings and reported sleep quality,
04:12as well as the number of naps they took.
04:13And they found that there was just a complex network of emotional and sleep interactions
04:20that emerged.
04:22And what really, what we really need is just more support for sleep.
04:27Uh, circadian rhythms are established in infancy.
04:31This is a study from Kumamoto University that has found that while the beginnings of circadian
04:37rhythmicity are, start to form in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy, the real
04:43lifelong ones, those come about in the first year out of the womb.
04:50Bird vocalizations change with light at night.
04:53Uh, this is a study from Central Europe covering 35 diurnal species.
04:58And they observed that more light led to more songs, especially when predators were present,
05:06which is interesting.
05:08Uh, tiger mosquitoes are more active overall because of light pollution.
05:13This is a trap study in St. Louis, Missouri, and they found that light and heat are extending
05:19the seasonal activity cycle cycles of tiger mosquitoes, which could also lead to, uh, West Nile virus
05:26spreading, by the way.
05:28Alan is harming the mating habits of glowworms, even in conditions that allow for part-night
05:36streetlight scheduling.
05:38Uh, Alan is also changing medaka courtship rituals.
05:42Uh, these Japanese rice fish are known to begin mating at night and finish their business, uh, in
05:52the morning.
05:52And if you change the lighting conditions at night, that pushes them to doing it later and
05:58And it's a whole thing.
05:59It's a whole thing.
06:01Uh, we also have a study that shows that blind cave fish, fish with no functioning eyes who
06:08are not expected to see light, uh, are harmed by light at the DNA level.
06:14What's interesting is that the DNA damage recovers when they return to darkness, specifically if that
06:25darkness does not include any UV light, this might cure cancer guys, maybe long-term, long-term goal there.
06:36That's just an interesting fact for now.
06:38Uh, speaking of interesting facts, the Audubon Society has begun their fall migration awareness
06:45campaign with a new pledge and new petition to, for, of course, individuals to change their
06:52lighting habits and a new petition to encourage city and municipal figures to change their lighting
06:59habits overall.
07:00Turtle hatching season has begun on the Anna Maria Island of Florida with local conservationists
07:07and volunteers running around beaches, filling holes, kicking over sandcastles, and checking
07:12out lighting on the beach so that no turtles get disoriented.
07:18Speaking of disorientation and Florida, hatching season has begun in Naples, Florida, and we're
07:24already starting to spot turtles going the wrong way.
07:29In Florida, Fort Myers Beach projects are including turtle-safe lighting advocacy once again as the
07:35hatching starts.
07:37Uh, Foster City, California has begun lighting interventions to counter Canada gooses.
07:43That's right, they will be turning on lights at night to bother Canada gooses.
07:48Canada gooses are majestic, barrel-chested, the envies of all ornithologies.
08:01They are leaders, born and bred leaders.
08:03I think we all need to take a good look in the mirror and ask ourselves where we would be
08:08without Canada gooses.
08:10We cannot allow this to happen.
08:12We will not allow this to happen.
08:14And if you, uh, have a problem with Canada gooses, then you've got a problem with me.
08:20And I suggest you let that one marinate.
08:23Norfolk, Virginia has paused their switch to LED streetlights over complaints.
08:30Uh, they got about 9,000 fixtures in to a 30,000-lamp project, and, uh, they're gonna pause.
08:38Uh, complaints about bright blue-rich light
08:41that led the utility into stopping and looking into offering alternatives.
08:46They'll be probably redoing the residential areas of Norfolk with dimmer-shielded fixtures now.
08:54So you can fight City Hall.
08:56You can fight the utilities.
08:58Ain't that something?
09:00Teton, Wyoming is officially, officially confirmed as a Dark Sky International community,
09:07with accolades being officially presented to city officials.
09:12On the Banks Peninsula of New Zealand, they are tremendously in favor of seeking dark-type reserve status.
09:20So 85% of public people, public people, public people, people in the public surveyed,
09:28are in favor of going dark.
09:30Uh, the region, this is a peninsula on the South Island near Christchurch,
09:36is already home to a number of nature reserves and heritage parks,
09:39so this just fits in.
09:40Synergistic.
09:41They're probably in favor of that.
09:43In Jefferson City, Missouri, they're ready to go dark sky,
09:48but they're not sure how to shop for fixtures.
09:51Uh, they have a draft ordinance, ordinance based on the, uh, Dark Sky International
09:56and Jim Benya model ordinance, but their public works guys just don't know how to shop
10:04for, for the right fixtures, especially when it comes to parks and pathway lighting.
10:10They don't know what to look for.
10:11Uh, Dark Sky International's shopping list isn't that helpful,
10:14and they're gonna have an even harder time for, uh, enforcing this for new construction
10:21and renovations, because that's gonna depend on commercial-level stuff.
10:25Big box stores, they don't, they don't have the good stuff.
10:28Man, it would be great if there was some sort of training program for lighting professionals
10:31that could solve that.
10:32It would be really great, it'd be really great that if we could solve that problem,
10:37man, Nailed is ready to solve that problem this fall.
10:42We're gonna have a great time.
10:43In New York City, Chinatown residents are pushing back on a jail expansion.
10:50Uh, this is a pre-trial detainment facility that would be huge, and actually kinda suck
10:57to live near, just gonna say, uh, that they're, they're right to push back on this one.
11:03In Clarksville City, Tennessee, uh, there is a call to actually start enforcing bylaws related
11:09to digital signage.
11:11In theory, electronic messaging boards are forbidden, but no one's been passing out fines,
11:18and it would be good if that happened.
11:19Over in the UK, specifically in Bristol, nobody likes the lighting at a Gloucestershire, Gloucester, Gloucester, Gloucester County Cricket Club,
11:31and they want to extend their, uh, lighting even further to allow for more night play.
11:37In Castle Point in Essex, they are going to be bringing back full night street lighting after 11 years.
11:45Uh, in 2014, uh, in 2014, the twin engines of nonsense that were Brexit and the, uh, Russian invasion of Crimea,
11:54Crimea, and the subsequent sanctions on fuel and energy from Russia led to a number of towns in the UK
12:04cutting their street lighting to save money on energy, and now, now that's dropping, that's dropping.
12:11Residents of Castle Point Essex have said that they would like full night street lighting back after all these years, uh, because of crime.
12:24If there was only some sort of data from, like, Sussex, about how crime rates don't change under street lighting,
12:32if only there was some sort of data from Sussex, nearby Sussex, that proved that their concerns were entirely faulty.
12:40Oh wait, there is.
12:44I don't think anyone gets to complain about street lights being off at 2am unless you're regularly up at 2am.
12:51Can that be a rule? Can that just be a rule?
12:56Anyway, uh, back to California.
13:00In Conway, California, a couple that runs an Airbnb is suing the Special Lighting District of Cursage,
13:08who somehow have authority over short-term rentals.
13:14I don't know, guys. Maybe, maybe, maybe we should just have...
13:21Maybe, maybe, maybe we should decide lighting bylaws in a sensible fashion.
13:27Maybe we should do that.
13:31Americans say they have small governments,
13:34but what they actually have is
13:36seven layers of government
13:39that can claim any amount of authority at any time.
13:42And that can feel small,
13:45but from the outside it seems entirely chaotic.
13:50At least to me.
13:52Maybe you shouldn't just be allowed to have a special district for street lighting
13:57because you want to pay less to the utility
13:59and then also get to fight short-term rentals alongside that.
14:04I don't know.
14:06I'm, I'm just a crazy Canadian who believes in
14:09responsible government
14:11and order.
14:13And what's the third thing Canadians like?
14:16Magic beavers.
14:16That's the third thing.
14:17Magical beavers.
14:18On the sports desk,
14:22Northern Arizona University's sports teams
14:25will begin,
14:26have begun a new tradition.
14:28They're going to change their name
14:29and their jerseys for six games
14:32to honor their dark sky status
14:34and their participation in astronomy.
14:37Northern Arizona University
14:40is in Flagstaff,
14:42home of the observatory
14:43that discovered Pluto.
14:44And four teams,
14:46specifically their soccer team,
14:48their volleyball team,
14:49and both the men's and women's basketball team
14:52will be playing six games each
14:55under the name Astrojacks.
14:59They will also be in new colors.
15:02There's, there's some fetching shades of blue and gold there.
15:05The, their mascot,
15:07which is some sort of bull,
15:09has a little space suit on now.
15:11It's very cute.
15:12It's very darling.
15:13This is, this is a tribute to where they are
15:16and also a chance to sell new merch.
15:19And, you know what?
15:20I, I honor that.
15:22I, I honor the chance to sell new merch.
15:25I might buy one of those soccer jerseys if I can.
15:29In rural Canada,
15:32astrotourism is up.
15:34Remote communities are working to raise their image
15:37and score some money from campers
15:39by offering distinct experiences
15:42with astrotourism.
15:44So there's money in what we do, too.
15:47SpaceX is pledging to pay for rehabs
15:51to a Texas beach.
15:54The San, the South Padre Island
15:56is going to have a number of new things.
15:58They're going to fill in some pathways.
16:00They're going to revamp the barbecue pits
16:03and change rooms and all that.
16:05But also,
16:06they are going to include
16:08environmentally safe lighting.
16:10This will be the first time
16:12an Elon Musk-owned entity
16:14actually installs lighting
16:16that doesn't contribute to light pollution.
16:19So there we go.
16:21Low orbit objects
16:23remain bad for radio telescopes.
16:25This is a report
16:26from the Square Kilometer Array,
16:29an array of radio telescopes
16:31that take up a square kilometer,
16:33and they have found that
16:34current,
16:35current existing Starlink satellites
16:38are leaking radio waves
16:40in a way that damages
16:42their ability to do their jobs.
16:46Meanwhile,
16:48low orbit objects from AST
16:50will also be creating radio pollution,
16:52but AST's constellations
16:54want to start using
16:55the 430 megahertz band,
16:58which is the one
16:59ham radio operators use.
17:02And you know what?
17:03Podcaster,
17:04I gotta respect
17:05ham radio operators.
17:07We are kindred folk.
17:09We are kindred folk
17:10in amateur audio content.
17:13And it is at this point
17:15that I feel like
17:16I should go into
17:18my ongoing rant
17:20about low orbit objects
17:21and how they're going to ruin
17:22everything,
17:23but I've done that
17:24three times
17:25this fiscal year.
17:28So I'm going to do
17:29an entirely new rant.
17:30I haven't had a time
17:31to do this.
17:32I have not had an opportunity
17:33to do this.
17:34So I'm going to do
17:34an entirely new,
17:36different rant right now.
17:38And that rant is...
17:40Alright,
17:41so this new rant
17:42starts with the fact
17:44that I work for Nailed,
17:45and part of my work for Nailed
17:47is that I rewrote
17:50and re-narrated
17:51the section of LS1
17:52that had to deal
17:53with how light interacts
17:54with the eye directly.
17:57And then for LS1,
17:58I also worked on
17:59a section,
18:01a series of modules
18:03about lighting
18:04for elder care,
18:06whether that's
18:06aging in place
18:07or senior centers.
18:09And the fact of the matter
18:10is that as you get older,
18:11as we all get older,
18:13our eyes just
18:15aren't as good.
18:17They get harder,
18:18they get denser,
18:19and they don't receive light
18:22at the same rate.
18:24You need more light
18:26as you are older
18:27just to see,
18:29never mind to activate
18:30your circadian neurons.
18:32But...
18:34And so we have
18:37the baby boomers,
18:39the largest cohort
18:40of the population,
18:41entering the point
18:42of their lives
18:43where they need
18:45more vision support.
18:46They need more light
18:48to function.
18:49And this just happens
18:50to coincide
18:52with the LED revolution.
18:54We have the ability
18:55to offer more light
18:57cheaply, easily,
18:59and safely.
19:00One of the stories
19:01I heard about LS Evolve
19:02is that sometimes
19:04senior homes
19:05would burn down
19:06just because they needed
19:07so many halogen lights.
19:09And so we have
19:10this interesting,
19:11very interesting phenomena
19:13where light pollution,
19:14which often
19:15we blame streetlights,
19:18but light pollution
19:18is spreading
19:19because people
19:21actually do need it.
19:24And, you know,
19:25it can be easy.
19:27We can have a scapegoat, right?
19:29We can just blame
19:31the boomers.
19:34But I don't blame them.
19:35They say time
19:38is the fire
19:39in which we burn.
19:41And that's true.
19:43Like, we're all going
19:44to need something
19:45as we get older.
19:46It might not be
19:47more light, per se.
19:49It might be more escalators.
19:51It might be
19:51any number of adaptations
19:54for elderliness.
20:00But, you know,
20:02there's also
20:03this countervailing thing
20:05that, like,
20:05okay,
20:06we have
20:07all this brightness now
20:08and we maybe
20:09need all this brightness
20:10now for this population
20:11we have,
20:12but once they're all gone,
20:14once they're all gone,
20:15they've all shuffled off
20:17to wherever it is
20:19they go
20:20in the great beyond,
20:23it'll be done, right?
20:24Like, all the boomers
20:26will go away
20:27and we can fix this.
20:29But,
20:31the younger generation,
20:33if TikTok
20:34is to be believed,
20:36does not want
20:37single sources of light
20:38in their homes.
20:40They're used to having
20:41cheap, available layers
20:43of ambient light
20:45and decorative light.
20:47And,
20:47they're going to get old too,
20:49right?
20:49They're going to get old too.
20:51What happens
20:52to the Gen Zers
20:53who have rejected
20:54the big light
20:56having six lamps on
20:58at all times,
20:59suddenly needing
21:00those six lamps
21:01to all be
21:0220,
21:0330,
21:0440% brighter?
21:06What happens
21:07when they need
21:07to drive
21:08after dark?
21:10I think
21:10we can't just wait
21:13for this problem
21:13to solve itself.
21:14we have to keep working.
21:17And I think
21:18that's the work
21:19we're doing, right?
21:20That's why I'm here.
21:21That's why you're
21:22listening,
21:23I hope.
21:24And,
21:24you know,
21:25again,
21:26time is the fire
21:27in which we learn
21:28as well.
21:28Maybe we can share
21:29some things
21:30with each other.
21:30Maybe we can find
21:31some new solutions.
21:34That is the end
21:35of the rant.
21:37Dark Sky International,
21:39this is the last story.
21:40This is the last story.
21:41We have left the rant
21:42and we are into
21:42the last story.
21:44Dark Sky International
21:45has named the winners
21:46of the Capture the Dark
21:48Photo Contests.
21:50They did this
21:51in 13 categories.
21:53I want to say
21:54congratulations
21:54to everyone
21:55that even submitted.
21:58More than 2,000 people did.
22:00I think
22:01the work that got selected
22:03or got selected
22:05as a winner
22:05or named as a runner-up,
22:07they're all fantastic.
22:08And if you're
22:09on the video version,
22:11we're just going to
22:11let them all run
22:13in a slideshow right now.
22:16If you're on the audio,
22:18you're just going to hear
22:18an extended version
22:20of the end song.
22:22But
22:22I want to thank you
22:24for your time,
22:25your attention,
22:26your patience,
22:27your interest.
22:28I also want to thank
22:29Nailed
22:30and the Soft Lights Foundation
22:32and the Lighting
22:33and Darkness Foundation.
22:34I will be back
22:35in two weeks.
22:37Until then,
22:38take care of yourself.
22:41I'll see you next time.
22:43I'll see you next time.
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