WASHINGTON, Feb. 14 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Journalists are invited to attend a conference on "The Night: Why Dark Hours are So Important," on Wednesday and Thursday, February 21-22, at the Carnegie Institution, 1530 P Street, NW, Washington, DC. There will be one press conference, at 11:30 AM EST on Wednesday.
The program includes speakers who are experts in fields that include anti- terrorist force protection, astronomy, behavioral, biology, and medical research, recreation and parks management, and in illumination engineering and other engineering disciplines. They will examine the effects of excess nighttime light on natural and social phenomena, ranging from the health and behavior of animals and people to outdoor lighting designs that facilitate both public safety and energy efficiency. And, they'll describe the effects on how the public and scientists view, use and enjoy the night sky.
The press conference features Dr. David L. Crawford, CEO and Co-Founder of the International Dark-Sky Association and Dr. Stephen M. Pompea, Manager of Science Education, National Optical Astronomy Observatory, both of Tucson, AZ. Crawford will explain how efforts to reduce excessive artificial illumination at night have grown from a topic mostly raised by astronomers to a subject of wide interest across many disciplines. Pompea will describe a program to involve the general public in measuring how bright the night sky is at many times and places, and will display measures of the night sky illumination in DC made (weather permitting) on the eve of the conference.
The meeting consists of four sessions: 9:00 AM EST Wednesday, February 21: Protecting the Nighttime Environment. Featuring astronomers and educators. 1:00 PM EST Wednesday: Ecological and Human Health Concerns -- Talks by medical researchers, investigators of the effects of light on biological and behavioral phenomena, in birds, fish, humans and other animals, an illumination engineer, a US Fish and Wild Life Service biologist, and an environmental and ornithological consultant. 9:00 AM EST Thursday, February 22: Energy Efficiency, Savings, & Technology. Speakers knowledgeable about vision science and on visibility and lighting for roads and for antiterrorism force protection, from the Federal Highway Administration, the Center for Vehicle and Infrastructure Safety at Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, the Naval Facilities Engineering Command, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration, and the outdoor lighting industry. 1:00 PM EST Thursday: Solutions. Remarks and conclusions from managers in industry, the California Energy Commission, and the American Astronomical Society.
There will be exhibits, including an exhibit and "lesson" at 4:30 PM EST on Wednesday, February 21 on the GLOBE at Night 2007 program, in which thousands of students, families and citizen-scientists around the world will measure the brightness of their night skies next month.
The conference is co-sponsored by the American Astronomical Society, the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, the Ecological Society of America, the International Dark Sky Association, Monrad Engineering, the National Optical Astronomy Observatory and the National Science Foundation (NSF) and is supported by a grant from NSF's Division of Astronomical Sciences and Office of Multidisciplinary Activities. (The content of this press release and the opinions and other information presented at the conference do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation nor those of the other sponsors.)
American Astronomical Society
