All posts by Peter Terezakis

Sacred Sky Sacred Earth, Sky

Night owls may want to dim their lights….

“Study finds that that night-time lighting reduces hormone associated with sleep and health

People who spend their evenings in relatively bright light run the risk of stressing their bodies by ratcheting down the production of melatonin. Produced in the brain’s pineal gland, this hormone plays a pivotal role in setting the body’s biological clock – and, potentially, in limiting the development of certain cancers.”

Sacred Sky Sacred Earth, Sky

A Cosmic Effort

“It all started when Gail Topping began losing the Milky Way.

For years, from her home in the hills above Ojai, she could see the gauzy, faint galaxy streaking across the sky, along with Orion, the Big Dipper and Pleiades.

I track the changing of summer and winter by the constellations, she said.

But as light from Ojai’s streets, stadiums and parking lots increased, the dark skies started getting lighter and the Milky Way started to fade.

I was losing something like a landscape, and I didn’t like it, she said. I held onto this idea that it had to stop. “

Sacred Sky Sacred Earth, Sky

More U.S. cities dimming lights with dark-sky legislation

“About 300 counties, cities and towns have undertaken dark-sky legislation – laws requiring such measures as shielding outdoor lighting to reduce light pollution – across the country.

More than 50 state bills have been introduced in the past two years. Seven were enacted. Eighteen states – Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maine, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Texas, Vermont, Virginia and Wyoming – have adopted dark-sky legislation in recent years, according to USA Today.

The city of Davis is part of this trend. Davis’ Light Ordinance was proposed by then-mayor Julie Partansky and enacted in 1998 – Ordinance 1966 was established to minimize light pollution and allow people to see the night sky.”

Sacred Sky Sacred Earth, Sky

National Park struggles with Dark Sky

The Orion as seen with light pollution (left) and without (right).
The Orion as seen with light pollution (left) and without (right).

“He added that if more people see the night sky, then they will start “asking themselves where we sit in the world and in the universe”.

He said 92% of the population have never seen a true dark sky.

“To me a dark sky is a bit like a beautiful landscape or seascape – it’s an asset that an area can take on board, and use as part of its promotion for tourism.”

Sacred Sky Sacred Earth, Sky

More U.S. cities dimming the lights

Lights from Las Vegas, 85 miles away, illuminate the night sky at Dantes View in Death Valley National Park, Calif., as Dan Duriscoe takes pictures.
Lights from Las Vegas, 85 miles away, illuminate the night sky at Dantes View in Death Valley National Park, Calif., as Dan Duriscoe takes pictures.

“The push to turn down the lights in American cities is gaining broad support from several unlikely allies — from conservationists and builders to city planners and the military.

Dark-sky legislation — laws requiring such measures as shielding outdoor lighting to reduce light pollution — has been embraced by about 300 counties, cities and towns.

More than 50 state bills have been introduced in the past two years, and seven were enacted. Eighteen states —Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maine, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Texas, Vermont, Virginia and Wyoming — have adopted dark-sky legislation….”

Sacred Sky Sacred Earth, Sky

A desert plea: Let there be darkness – LA Times

“Even in the wilderness where the mountains meet the desert, city lights are ever encroaching.

A bright lamp from a far-off parking lot began marring the night sky in a rural corner of the high desert in the Antelope Valley about three years ago.

The glow went all the way to the home of Wayne Argo from about five miles away. Argo had long exulted in how dark it got at his ranch-style home, separated from downtown Los Angeles by 35 miles and the San Gabriel Mountains.

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“I can see millions more stars than people that live in the city,” said Argo, who lives 20 miles southeast of Palmdale. “It’s unbelievable. I can see the Milky Way — the whole Milky Way.”

But now, he said, parking lot lights shining in the distance are “one of the brightest things you see at night.”

“It’s affecting everyone around that area,” said Argo, director of the Assn. of Rural Town Councils.”

Health, Sacred Sky Sacred Earth, Sky

Avoiding Depression: Sleeping in Dark Room May Help

Exposure to a dim light at night, such as the glow of a TV screen, may prompt changes in the brain that lead to mood disorders, including depression, according to a new study in hamsters.

While more work is needed to see if the results are true of humans, the findings might explain why night-shift workers and others constantly exposed to light at night are at increased risk for mood disorders, the researchers said.

The findings are being presented today (Nov. 17) at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in San Diego.