SP19 Light Pollution, Health, and the Environment

Light Pollution, Health, and the Environment
Instructor: Steve Martin
Friday, March 15; 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
$34 Member / $39 Non-Member
Limit: 20 students
Embrace the dark. For well over a century, the night sky has been lit with artificial lighting. Until recently, the dramatic impact of light pollution on wildlife, human health and the environment has been largely underestimated and poorly understood. This class emphasizes the importance of nighttime darkness and the many ways that darkness is necessary for the natural world and our physical, mental and emotional health. We will explore ways to mitigate the effects of light pollution in our homes and local environments and discuss strategies for making homes more “dark friendly,” thereby improving health, saving money and benefitting the environment. Weather permitting, the class will include a walk around the Arboretum grounds to see the ways the Arboretum has implemented light-reducing methods and policies.

Steve Martin is an astronomer and educator who taught at colleges and universities for more than 25 years. He has lectured on light pollution and its effects on the environment and has offered stargazing and introductory astronomy workshops domestically and internationally. He was formerly the supervisor of the Williams College observatory, where he participated in research expeditions around the world to study and observe solar eclipses.