The end of night : searching for natural darkness in an age of artificial light

Title:

Author:

Bogard, Paul, 1966-

Personal Author:

Bogard, Paul, 1966-

ISBN:

9780316182904

Edition:

First edition.

Physical Description:

ix, 325 pages ; 24 cm

Contents:

From a starry night to a streetlight -- Tales from two cities -- Light that blinds, fear that enlightens -- Body, sleep, and dreams -- The ecology of darkness -- Know darkness -- Come together -- The maps of possibility -- The darkest places.

Abstract:

Describes how ever-present, modern artificial lights have changed the way humans experience darkness and bemoans the fact that the primal dark sky can no longer influence science and art.

Subject Term:

Lighting -- Physiological aspects.

Night -- Psychological aspects.

Lighting -- Social aspects.

Light pollution.

Summary:

Describes how ever-present, modern artificial lights have changed the way humans experience darkness and bemoans the fact that the primal dark sky can no longer influence science and art.

Holds:

Available:*

Library	Material Type	Shelf Number	Status
Searching... Main Library	Book	551.56 B674	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

A deeply panoramic tour of the night, from its brightest spots to the darkest skies we have left.

A starry night is one of nature's most magical wonders. Yet in our artificially lit world, three-quarters of Americans' eyes never switch to night vision and most of us no longer experience true darkness. In The End of Night , Paul Bogard restores our awareness of the spectacularly primal, wildly dark night sky and how it has influenced the human experience across everything from science to art.

From Las Vegas' Luxor Beam -- the brightest single spot on this planet -- to nights so starlit the sky looks like snow, Bogard blends personal narrative, natural history, science, and history to shed light on the importance of darkness -- what we've lost, what we still have, and what we might regain -- and the simple ways we can reduce the brightness of our nights tonight.

Reviews (1)

Kirkus Review

An ardent opponent of light pollution chronicles how the darkness of night is disappearing around much of the world, why that matters, and what can and should be done about it. Bogard (Creative Nonfiction/James Madison Univ.) travels around the world to its brightest and darkest places, looking up at the night sky. This book can be seen as a companion piece to the anthology Let There Be Night: Testimony on Behalf of the Dark (2008), in which the author gathered 29 individual voices on the subject; here, the voice is his own but with generous quotes from scientists and activists whom he has sought out in his travels. Among the places he visited are not only the cities of Las Vegas, Paris, Florence and New York, but also Walden Pond, small towns and remote places such as Death Valley, Chaco Canyon, the Canary Islands and the Isle of Sark. Bogard fondly and movingly remembers times when night was really dark, but he fears that such experiences will be unknown to most of humanity. The loss, as he explains, is not merely an aesthetic or even a spiritual one; artificial lighting may be having serious impacts on our health and on the environment. The author talked to researchers who see a link between lighting and cancer and to naturalists who note the impact of artificial outdoor lighting on other species, such as birds, bats and bees. The efforts of the National Park Service to set up dark-sky preserves gives Bogard reason for optimism, and his conversations with outdoor lighting experts indicate that feasible energy-reducing approaches are available. What's needed is awareness, which the author provides in an appealing, reader-friendly way. An engaging blend of personal story, hard science and a bit of history.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.