Blog Archives

Denver Post (29 October 2017)

10/30/2017

Light pollution is stealing your view of the stars. National parks want to give it back.

“For the United States, the situation is getting steadily worse,” International Dark-Sky Association program director John Barentine said, citing data showing that 99 percent of Americans live under night skies where pollution from electric lights has reduced darkness by at least 10 percent.
“It is getting worse, even in places where people have light ordinances, because the enforcement is terrible,” Barentine said. “Cities generally don’t have the properly trained employees to substantiate violations of the ordinance.

“We now have second and third generations of people who may think not seeing the Milky Way is just a consequence of living in a city. Does it have to be the case that cities will not have dark night skies? We need an act of Congress. What we really need is a Clean Night Skies Act.”

Discover Magazine D-Brief Blog (2 October 2017)

10/6/2017

The Annual 9/11 ‘Tribute in Light’ Really Messes With the Birds

John Barentine is the program manager for the International Dark-Sky Association. His group collects light pollution research and lobbies governments, corporations and home owners to turn take action. He says this study used unique circumstances to back up what scientists have known for years, but struggled to quantify.

“In almost every bird species studied, researchers find a clear signal in terms of how exposure to artificial light at night modifies the behavior of birds,” Barentine says. “You put light into these spaces at times when their biology doesn’t expect light to be there, and it yields behavior that can be a threat to lives of individuals and a threat to entire species over time.”

Cortez (CO) Journal (2 October 2017)

10/6/2017

Proposed Hovenweep drilling criticized for harm to views, night sky

In 2014, Hovenweep was designated as an International Dark Sky Park because of its seclusion and absence of development nearby. The park offers night sky viewing activities for visitors, including the use of a telescope. It has protections that limit light pollution.

Encroachment of oil and gas development on parks and monuments with the “dark sky” status is becoming a concern, said Dr. John Barentine, program manager for the International Dark-Sky Association, based in Tuscon. No park has had its dark sky designation compromised by oil and gas development, but the issue is on the radar, he said.

“It’s a timely question. We are getting reports that more oil and gas development is a concern for dark sky parks,” Barentine said. “Changes at the Interior Department mean they are more friendly toward increasing drilling leases.”

Media Appearances

Denver Post (29 October 2017)

Light pollution is stealing your view of the stars. National parks want to give it back.

Discover Magazine D-Brief Blog (2 October 2017)

The Annual 9/11 ‘Tribute in Light’ Really Messes With the Birds

Cortez (CO) Journal (2 October 2017)

Proposed Hovenweep drilling criticized for harm to views, night sky

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