Light at Night: A Glowing Hazard
NOVEMBER 16, 1:00-4:00 PM PST
The Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society, the Sierra Club Loma Prieta Chapter, and the Sierra Club Bay Alive Campaign invite you to our symposium on dark sky and bird-friendly building and lighting design.
The use of LED lighting technology is causing an unintended, yet pervasive and harmful effect: the over-lighting of our nights. Learn about the biological and physical effects of light at night and strategies that can guard our health and environment while providing safe and practical lighting solutions.
Our speakers are global experts in light pollution and bird-safe building and lighting design. Assemblymember Alex Lee of California’s 25th district gave the introductory remarks for this event.
1. Introduction and Opening Remarks by Annie Yang by California Assemblymember Alex Lee
2. John Barentine, Ph.D., Executive Officer and Principal Consultant at Dark Sky Consulting: Finding Darkness Within The Light: The built environment as the key to solving the problem of light pollution
3. Travis Longcore, Ph.D., Associate Adjunct Professor at the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, Ecological Effects of Light Pollution
4. Christine Sheppard, Ph.D., Director of the Glass Collisions Program at the American Bird Conservancy: Bird Collisions and Artificial Light at Night
5. Mary Coolidge, BirdSafe & Lights Out Campaign Coordinator for Portland Audubon: Building a Case for Dark Skies
6. Full panel Q&A
Travis Longcore, Ph.D. – Dr. Longcore is Associate Adjunct Professor at the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, Science Director of The Urban Wildlands Group, a Los Angeles-based conservation nonprofit, and an independent ecological design and environmental policy consultant. His research is focused on nature in cities, and his landmark article “Ecological Light Pollution” (Longcore and Rich 2004) and 2006 co-edited book Ecological Consequences of Artificial Night Lighting (Island Press) have come to define this new and rapidly growing research area in ecology.
Christine Sheppard, Ph.D. - Dr. Sheppard is the Director of the Glass Collisions Program at the American Bird Conservancy (ABC). She established ABC's glass testing and evaluation program, which is the foundation for a LEED credit for reducing bird collisions. She has published and consulted on bird-friendly building design and related federal and local legislation for over 20 years.
John Barentine, Ph.D. - Dr. Barentine is the Executive Officer and Principal Consultant at Dark Sky Consulting, LLC, a consultancy offering professional services in the areas of light pollution, dark skies and astronomy. He previously served as the International Dark Sky Places Program Manager and Director of Public Policy for the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA). He is a committee member of many dark sky and astronomical organizations.
Mary Coolidge - Ms. Coolidge is the BirdSafe & Lights Out Campaign Coordinator for Portland Audubon and was previously their Assistant Conservation Director. She is dedicated to making urban environments more hospitable to wildlife and helping connect people to nature. She splits her time between Center for Diversity & the Environment, the Oregon Zoo’s California Condor breeding facility, and Portland Audubon.
Questions? Contact Rani Fischer at ranif@scvas.org
