Keeping Nighttime Dark

Dr. Jordan Tourtelot Perzik entered the field of psychology in 2009 when he earned his master’s degree in the field from Antioch University in Los Angeles. The owner of a life coaching service, Jordan Perzik, Ph.D., he earned his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Pacifica Graduate University in 2020. Dr. Perzik counts astronomy among his broad range of interests, and is a life member of the Los Angeles Astronomical Society, the Palomar Observatory of Caltech Astronomy, and the International Dark-Sky Association.

Established in 1988 with the objective of limiting or eliminating light pollution in the night sky, the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) protecting the night sky from light pollution, the use of artificial light in an inappropriate or excessive manner. A side effect of an increasingly industrialized society, light pollution only became a problem within the last hundred years or so. But in that relatively short period of time, it’s gotten to the point where slyglow: light that creates a glow in the nighttime above populated areas, covers about 80 percent of the world’s population.

The rhythms of natural light and dark have been imprinted on the core of every living thing on earth, and the sudden appearance and domination of artificial light threatens to disrupt those lives. From a human perspective, light pollution represents wasted energy and an adverse impact on human health, and in the area of crime and safety, scientific studies show that excess lighting does not deter crime or increase safety, From a larger perspective, light pollution disrupts wildlife and the ecosystem.

Light pollution can be reduced by communities and the businesses that operate in them, as well as by individual families. The IDA promotes such efforts by working with communities and other organizations to protect more spaces from light pollution, and designated communities, urban spaces, and other spaces that meet specified standards as “International Dark Sky” places. In addition the IDA endorses outdoor lighting products that minimize glare and reduce skyglow. More information about the IDA and its work is available online from their website at DarkSky.org.

Originally published at http://drjordanperzik.wordpress.com on January 13, 2022.