John Barentine's guest appearances

John Barentine

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Many of us cannot see or experience the beauty and glory of a truly dark, star-filled night sky. The ever-growing urban lights of large cities blind us to the ancient wonder of the heavens. There is a growing interest in astro-tourism, people willing to travel to dark-sky preserves  to experience and learn more about the heavens.    On this episode of Good Heavens! Dan talks with the public policy director of the International Dark Sky Association, (https://www.darksky.org/)  Dr. John Barentine, about the importance of preserving truly dark-sky environments, and about the importance of community and storytelling in relation to our relationship to the heavens above us.  There's even some bonus material at the end of the episode featuring a more in-depth look at stories about the constellations of Hercules and Draco the dragon!  See the Saving our Stars website (https://www.savingourstars.org/).  To follow updates on the on-line Grand Canyon Star Party visit this website: https://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/grand-canyon-star-party.htm

Many of us cannot see or experience the beauty and glory of a truly dark, star-filled night sky. The ever-growing urban lights of large cities blind us to the ancient wonder of the heavens. There is a growing interest in astro-tourism, people willing to travel to dark-sky preserves  to experience and learn more about the heavens.  On this episode of Good Heavens! Dan talks with the public policy director of the <a href="https://www.darksky.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">International Dark Sky Association</a>, (<a href="https://www.darksky.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.darksky.org/</a>)  Dr. John Barentine, about the importance of preserving truly dark-sky environments, and about the importance of community and storytelling in relation to our relationship to the heavens above us.  There's even some bonus material at the end of the episode featuring a more in-depth look at stories about the constellations of Hercules and Draco the dragon!  See the Saving our Stars website (<a href="https://www.savingourstars.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.savingourstars.org/</a>). To follow updates on the on-line Grand Canyon Star Party visit this website: <a href="https://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/grand-canyon-star-party.htm" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/grand-canyon-star-party.htm</a>

Preserving the Night Skys: John Barentine of the International Dark Sky Association

Sometimes when I’m up at night thinking about the inexorable alteration of the human existence since my own childhood and in the mere 150 years since America’s Industrial Revolution (yup, this is my brain not on drugs), what haunts me most is this: My two little girls -- and entire generations of human beings -- are now growing up without seeing the stars.And it’s not only megacity-dwelling people like us: Because of the ceaseless lights of our cities, suburbs and their surrounds, an astounding 80 percent of the world now lives under perpetual skyglow. In fact, two-thirds of Americans have lost the ability to see the Milky Way, and an unfathomable 99 percent of people (not to mention animals and plants) living in the United States and Europe will never experience the circadian rhythms of true darkness and natural light.Not surprisingly, there is a growing body of evidence on how our disconnection from the darkness may be profoundly impacting human health, not to mention its link to our modern-day epidemic of cancer and chronic disease. But I have bigger questions: What does it mean to the human existence, to our human souls, that we can no longer see and therefore dream about the heavens; that we no longer look up at the night sky and innately recognize our millions-year-old relationship with the universe?These were some of the topics at hand in my fascinating conversation for today’s episode with John Barentine, an astronomer who’s made it his mission to bring back the natural night sky in his work with the International Dark-Sky Association. John has had a remarkable career as an astronomer (a former researcher at NOAO and the NSO, as well as a former staff member at Apache Point), author and science communicator -- the last of which is apparent when you listen to John so eloquently deconstruct and discuss this epic topic, as well as inspire us on how to take action on light pollution and change our children’s literal vision of the future. 

Sometimes when I’m up at night thinking about the inexorable alteration of the human existence since my own childhood and in the mere 150 years since America’s Industrial Revolution (yup, this is my brain not on drugs), what haunts me most is this: My two little girls -- and entire generations of human beings -- are now growing up without seeing the stars.And it’s not only megacity-dwelling people like us: Because of the ceaseless lights of our cities, suburbs and their surrounds, an astounding <a href="http://www.darksky.org/80-of-world-population-lives-under-skyglow-new-study-finds/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">80 percent of the world now lives under perpetual skyglow</a>. In fact, two-thirds of Americans have lost the ability to see the Milky Way, and an unfathomable 99 percent of people (not to mention animals and plants) living in the United States and Europe will never experience the circadian rhythms of true darkness and natural light.Not surprisingly, there is a growing body of evidence on how our disconnection from the darkness may be profoundly impacting human health, not to mention its link to our modern-day epidemic of cancer and chronic disease. But I have bigger questions: What does it mean to the human existence, to our human souls, that we can no longer see and therefore dream about the heavens; that we no longer look up at the night sky and innately recognize our millions-year-old relationship with the universe?These were some of the topics at hand in my fascinating conversation for today’s episode with <a href="http://www.johncbarentine.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">John Barentine</a>, an astronomer who’s made it his mission to bring back the natural night sky in his work with the <a href="http://www.darksky.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">International Dark-Sky Association</a>. John has had a remarkable career as an astronomer (a former researcher at <a href="https://www.noao.edu/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">NOAO</a> and the <a href="http://www.nso.edu/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">NSO</a>, as well as a former staff member at <a href="http://www.apo.nmsu.edu/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Apache Point</a>), author and science communicator -- the last of which is apparent when you listen to John so eloquently deconstruct and discuss this epic topic, as well as inspire us on how to take action on light pollution and change our children’s literal vision of the future.

The Disappearing Darkness - John Barentine

My super-smart and longtime friend Dr. John Barentine from the International Dark-Sky Association joins me to talk about how lighting affects the night sky and the health and well-being of both humans and many other species across our planet. Whether it’s too much blue light that we’re staring at during nighttime hours or the over-abundance of light in our cities, light pollution is a real thing and the IDA is working to educate the public on how to reduce it. We also chat about how smart lighting from the home automation world is making its ways into cities and street lighting, along with what the future holds for lighting beyond the current LED revolution.Learn more about the International Dark-Sky Association at darksky.orgDrift LED light which outputs less blue light and can mimic sunset - product review.Links to the Sleep Cycle app that John mentioned: iOS | AndroidThe Conversation of Things podcast and all of Smarter Home Life's content are made possible in part by our wonderful audience members, as ad revenue doesn't fully cover our operations. There are a number of easy ways to help support the show...learn more and make a contribution today at smarterhomelife.com/support - thank you! Subscribe to the Podcast

My super-smart and longtime friend Dr. John Barentine from the International Dark-Sky Association joins me to talk about how lighting affects the night sky and the health and well-being of both humans and many other species across our planet. Whether it’s too much blue light that we’re staring at during nighttime hours or the over-abundance of light in our cities, light pollution is a real thing and the IDA is working to educate the public on how to reduce it. We also chat about how smart lighting from the home automation world is making its ways into cities and street lighting, along with what the future holds for lighting beyond the current LED revolution.Learn more about the International Dark-Sky Association at <a href="http://darksky.org" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">darksky.org</a>Drift LED light which outputs less blue light and can mimic sunset - <a href="https://smarterhomelife.com/everything/2017/6/22/can-the-drift-light-help-you-sleep-better-review" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">product review</a>.Links to the Sleep Cycle app that John mentioned: <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sleep-cycle-alarm-clock/id320606217?mt=8" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">iOS</a> | <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.northcube.sleepcycle&amp;hl=en" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Android</a>The Conversation of Things podcast and all of Smarter Home Life's content are made possible in part by our wonderful audience members, as ad revenue doesn't fully cover our operations. There are a number of easy ways to help support the show...learn more and make a contribution today at <a href="http://smarterhomelife.com/support" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">smarterhomelife.com/support</a> - thank you! <a href="http://smarterhomelife.com/podcast" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Subscribe to the Podcast</a>

Conversation of Things #2 - Dr. John Barentine and Preserving The Night Sky