In his captivating talk Paul describes what we call “light pollution,” the overuse and misuse of artificial light at night. In cities and towns, in suburbs and villages all over the world, we are using more light than we need, and we are using it ways that waste money and energy, harm our physical health, harm the environment, and yes—rob us of the stars. What are the solutions for this problem?
A native Minnesotan, Paul Bogard loves night’s natural darkness. So much so that he wrote two successful books about it. He is the author of The End of Night: Searching for Natural Darkness in an Age of Artificial Light, and the editor of Let There Be Night: Testimony on Behalf of the Dark. Paul is now an assistant professor at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, where he teaches creative writing and environmental literature. He has a new book coming out in 2017.