-Hi, I'm -Eric Ford for Made here.
-Defending the Dark -from director, -Tara Zabriskie focuses on -preserving dark sky areas -in northern Maine.
-The film examines efforts -to reduce light pollution, -which has benefits -for wildlife -and their habitats, reduces -health and safety risks -to humans, and saves -energy and reduce costs.
-You can watch -Defending the Dark -and other great made Here -films -streaming on our website -and through the PBS app.
-Enjoy the film -and thanks for watching.
-This program is supported -in part by the Maine Outdoor -Heritage Fund -and Your True Nature.
-Committed -to sharing the wisdom -of the Earth -through advice for life, -greeting cards, bookmarks, -stickers and magnets.
-The dark sky really to me, -just takes -us back to a place -where we can actually sit, -look up and just hear nature -at night -and see the sky and realize -that that's one thing that -the world hasn't changed -for indigenous people.
-If you look on the map, -the light pollution -that Maine -has, this black hole, -and that's -because we have an area -that has -little light pollution -and we have very dark skies.
-We need to connect -people as a whole -with the environment -and to really understand -that we don't own it.
-We don't control it, -but we have a tremendous -impact on it.
-So anything that's evolved -over billions of years -to be nocturnal, -like school of medicine, -if we preserve the sky, -we're preserving the sky, -the that -our great grandparents saw.
-And if we lose it, -we're losing that sense of -where we are.
-I moved back home to -Maine, -the coast of Maine -in the early 2000s, -and one night I got -out of the car and looked up -and I was like, oh my gosh, -the Milky Way, this is.
-The stars were so bright -and the sky was so black.
-It was an -ah moment.
-you know, our species has -been in the dark at night -forever.
-Until 100 years ago.
-So I know -when I look up at night -and I'm in a dark area -that really brings -out the stars and have an understanding -of star stories that exist within our tribes, -really -helps me to understand -what my ancestors were -probably thinking, because -the dark sky -really tells a story, -and the stars -are that story, -and those stories -really have a relationship -to who we are as a people.
If we lose the night -sky, we lose, you know, !an elimental part of who we are.
-We need to find ways to.
-Make sure -we conserve that sky.
-This area, -surrounding -Katahdin, has the largest -areas of dark sky -east of the Mississippi -River.
-There's -little light pollution, -and you can see -the Milky Way.
-And you can see stars here -that you can't see -on most of the East Coast.
-I have paddled -from Mount Katahdin -and just like to North -Haven Island five times, -it's an enormous amount -of river and ocean.
-And really -part of that experience -was for me to look at -sort of these landmarks, -these things that happened -traditionally -before contact period, -so that I could observe -or understand a little bit -about what -my ancestors might have -gone through or seen.
-What's the same, -what's different?
-One of the things that -can't be -changed yet, and -that's great, is they -haven't altered the sky.
-And, you know, business -industry, government -has not altered what we see -when we look up at night.
-What they have done, though, -is made it a little harder -for us to see that sky -at night in certain areas.
-So dark sky preservation, -which sounds like it's about -bringing the stars back, -which it does, is really -about a much bigger issue.
-So here's the thing.
-If you can't see the stars, -which, by the way, is true -for 80% of the world's -population, -that's -the symptom of the problem.
-But that's indicative -of the fact -that there's too much -artificial light -being produced -and being sprayed out -in places -where it's not needed.
-So what are the impacts -of that?
-Well, yes, -we lose the stars, -but that's our symptom.
-The real problems, -cover many different areas.
-So let me hit a few of those -pretty quickly here.
-One is if you live -in a light polluted area, -you are at increased risk of -breast or prostate cancer -because it -affects your body chemistry.
-it has been -tied to other forms -of hormonal cancers.
-It's been tied to problems -with adolescent development -because it affects -sleep cycles.
-So it has just direct -medical effects on people.
-excessive -light produces glare.
-So a lot of road lights -which aren't done -well produce glare.
-a lot of lights on parking -lots produce -a lot of glare light.
-gas stations are famous for -being grossly overweight.
-All of these are creating -glare and actually -making it more dangerous -to be on the road.
-So those are just a couple -of things -that affect humans, -birds and insects -pollination, -which we desperately need.
-It's not just for -pretty flowers and trees, -but your food has to be -pollinated.
-Some insect -or bird has to bring -the right stuff -from one plant to another.
-Plant that can be lowered -by as much as 60% in areas -that are light polluted.
-So moths are pollinators.
-So a lot of times -people think of moths, -just the caterpillars that -might do damage to a crop.
-But really, as we start -studying more about moths, -we're realizing -that we've really studied -those diurnal creatures, -that it's daytime creatures -like the bees -and the butterflies.
-We haven't really touched -moths, so they just started really studying them.
-And what they're noticing is that moths are -incredibly -important pollinators.
-Unlike a bee, -where bees can be -very specific to a plant, -or they find a food source -and they're like going -to stay with that food -source.
-Moths are not like that.
-They're actually -very generalist.
-And so they'll go from plant -to plant -and that kind of spreading -of pollen across -an ecosystem -is incredibly important.
-We don't -have as many fireflies -as we used to have.
-over a billion birds die -each year trying to migrate because they get trapped -in the lights of cities or get misdirected -and can't navigate.
-Most songbirds, in fact, -migrate in, in the darkness -and then migrate at night -and in the places -where they're cities -and lights, -they get really thrown off -course.
-So when in fact, -when they did, -when the Twin Towers -came down -and they put up -the two beams of light, -they saw fatalities rise -among birds -that were flying down -through the flyway -of the East Coast, -just thousands -of birds dying.
-And it really was just -two lights in the sky -that changed.
-So amphibians are nocturnal -and they breed in darkness, -and that's what they -they need.
-And what you'll notice -actually, in ponds, -like if you come up -to a pond -that's full of -frog song and spring -and you have flashlights, -it silences them -almost immediately.
-you'll see that in places -where -there is a lot of light, -they have a harder time -with mating in that area.
-And those amphibians -make such a big difference -in all the animals, like -the insects they're eating.
-And they're -just they're a huge impact.
-So it -has tremendous effects -on the natural environment.
-Then, of course, -to make extra light, -you have to make -electricity.
-So here's the thing.
-For every 100W of lighting -that's on for a year -requires burning a ton -of coal in a power plant.
-And Americans, -believe it or not, spend -$3 billion a year -paying for electricity -to put on lighting -that's going up in the sky.
-So the beautiful thing -about this problem, compared -to many others is, number -one, curing it saves money.
-You're using smaller bulbs -that are putting light -on only when -and where you need it.
-They use less power -so the fixtures are cheaper.
-The electricity use is down.
-That saves you money.
-And when you do these -things, -the results are immediate.
-If you turn the lights off, -everything comes back -right away, right?
-The birds and the insects -will find their plants.
-The stars will come back, -the glare will go away.
-It's an it's an immediate -result that saves money.
-So for the Wabanaki people, -the dark sky really has -a significance -and stories of afterlife -and how we conduct ourselves -through life -that we're watching -right now.
-The term -Wabanaki is specific -to the northeast region -of Maine in the Maritimes.
-It encompasses four tribes -the Knickknack, -the Maliseet, -the Penobscot, -and the past Macquarie.
-And in pre-contact times, -we're all one people, -one language.
-considered ourselves -the keeper of the eastern -door.
-Wabanaki means people -who see the light first.
-The sun.
-And so -we refer to ourselves.
-Our identity is based on -the sunrise.
-People have the first light, -and so we -have been in this area, -proven -for at least 12,000 years.
-And we have a number -of stuff, stories that -talk about the stars -and when -we are feeling hopeless, -you know, the Milky Way -that we call it now -in English really has -a significance in that -it contains a story -about our ancestors -who have lived -and walked this earth before -us, but have passed away, -and they're up there, -and they light these fires, -and they go -and sit by these fires, -and they look down on us, -and they watch us, and -they wait -for people who pass -in this life to come up, -and they greet them -like family, you know, -with warmth and love.
-And these fires are each -one of the stars that we see -in the sky, in the Milky -Way, the furthest away.
-And it's a part it's -the path we need to walk.
-Once we leave this earth, -we walk on that path -and we find our ancestors.
-We find the right fire.
-And that's really -comforting as as humans.
-Right now -we're sitting at Metal -Whistle Lodge, -which is one of the -Appalachian Mountain Club -lodge facilities -within the AMC Main Woods -International Dark Sky Park.
-It's the first dark -sky park in New England.
-Katahdin Woods -and Waters is designated -by the International Dark -Sky Association -as a dark sky sanctuary.
-So Ranger -Heritage Trust is working -with the community -to conserve the night sky -in the Rangeley region -and hopefully fairly soon, -I'll have the town -of Rangeley become certified -as a dark Sky community -as a first step towards -conserving night sky and, -out in a broader region.
-We think -it's our responsibility -to take some initial steps, -start here -at the center of population -and build out from there.
-The International -Dark Sky Association, -which is globally recognized -as the leading organization -against light pollution.
-They have created a dark -Sky place program, -has different designation -levels.
-There's a dark sky, -sanctuaries, parks, -reserves, communities, -and they're working -on some new configurations -as well -to really kind of help -capture the energy around, -light pollution and -conserving the dark skies.
-What we have here is a dark -sky park.
-So an area of -substantial area, -you know, region, where, -all the outside lighting is -either controlled -or in our case, minimized, -and which is accessible -to the public -and has programing -and activities.
-So it's not just an area -that's dark, -but where we have ways -to engage the public with -the natural night sky.
-And so this is -this is a perfect -place to be doing that.
-And as soon as they started -working on acquiring land -up here -and I looked at and went, -wow, that would be a really -great international dark -Sky reserve.
-Now a -reserve is a higher status -in a park, -but we can talk about that -a bit and we -we aim to get that status -down the road.
-We finally were able to -get the commitment to say, -okay, -we're going to go -after this.
-and it involves -quite a bit of work.
-It's not just a matter of, -you know, -writing a letter saying, -hey, we'd like to be a dark -sky park.
-In order to be a dark -sky park, you have to have an -exceptionally dark sky, which we do here.
-And, that's proven -with the dark sky readings -that we took, -with, sky quality meters.
-And so that was great to see -that we already -had the resource here.
-We had to make sure -that our entire 75,000 -acres of ownership, -that all of the lights met -the international dark -sky guidelines.
-and then the final piece -was making -sure that as these regions, -move forward, -and especially for us, -that we had -ordinances in place so that -there would be no future -lighting that fell outside, -those guidelines could ever -occur on our landscape.
-So we partnered -with Mountains of stars, -and their astronomy -programing to kind of bring -some of that educational -aspect to our Lodge's -whole goal in what we do -is to connect people -with the environment, -and we do that -through astronomy, -because astronomy -is firstly really cool.
-Everybody loves it.
-And it is, of course, -the study of -absolutely -everything in the universe.
-And that includes you and me -and all the plants -and animals -and birds and trees -and rocks and things.
-And our goal -is to change the way people -look at the environment -and how they treat things.
-We also have telescopes -at all three of our lodges -so that, people can go out -and experience -what a dark sky is, -because it's great -to be able to eliminate -that light pollution, -but be able to show people -why it's important -to eliminate.
-And just the amazing, -a fun, awesome experience -that you get -from the result, -which is an amazing dark sky -and stargazing -opportunities.
-That's amazing.
-Oh my god.
-I read something about, International Dark Sky -Association having reserves around the world, -and when I heard that Roxann -Quimby owned this -86,000 acres -plus in the North Woods, -I contacted her and said, -what about if we turn this -into a dark sky reserve -and it wasn't -the right time.
-And her recreation manager, -we talked and we came up -with the idea of having -a stars of a quartet -party.
-That was that was -a very huge beginning.
-And then, the idea -of becoming a national park -was on the agenda, -and the National Park -Service -came to do some meetings.
-And right at the end, -I thought, -I need to talk about dark -skies and -said, there's one resource -we haven't talked about.
-They had a little pause.
-Then I said, is the night -sky, and people clapped.
-And I just remember -this sort of roar -from the audience.
-And the National Park -Service picked up on it -and he said, yeah, goes -astro tourism.
-Well, dark -Sky Maine evolved from, -being involved -at Katahdin Woods and Waters -National Monument -before it was a monument.
-In 2014, a group of people -started doing, a star party -there called Stars Over -Katahdin and Nancy Hathaway, -who was one of the founders -of stars over -Katahdin came up to me -after and says, -I think we should start -a nonprofit -to help other people -around the state of Maine -who want to work towards -having good dark skies -as best -they can have, -wherever they happen to be.
-And I said, that -sounds like a great idea.
-She says, are you in?
-And I said, it -looks like I'm in, I guess.
-So we were sort of off -and running -like a herd of turtles, -with, the great mission -of saving the precious night -skies in Maine.
-There is a benefit -economically, you know, to -having dark skies -is feel -like on a map, you paint -a green and people show up -because it must be -beautiful.
-They mean great, -you know, for a -national park or a state -park or something.
-Well, -it turns out if you get a -designation, -an official designation -with the International Dark -Sky Association, -that your dark Sky -sanctuary, dark Side sky, -preserve or this number -of different categories, -then people who want to be -in dark places, -they will come -because they want to set up -telescopes -and they want -to see these skies.
-Because -if you're into astronomy, -you need that darkness -to be able to see, -that thing you're looking -for, that star, that planet, -that alignment, -that eclipse, -you need to have -those nice dark skies.
-And so for this region, -so heavily based on tourism -as being the economic driver -in the region, -this was kind of -a new thing, -something that you could -either come specifically for -or you could tag on to -a trip that you were -already having.
-So whether or not -you are a paddler -or a camper or a hiker, -you're a hunter.
-You like to fish.
-That dark sky can easily -be tagged on to any trip.
-So for the community, -it was really about, wow, -this is a great resource -that now we can market -the region as being, a great -place to come to see it.
-So we really are -at a crossroads -right now, with lighting.
-so the lights that are going -in are invariably too big, -too bright too.
-But if you look at satellite data, for example, it's -widely available on the web.
-Just look for light -pollution satellite map -and look at any area -from 5 or 10 years ago.
-And now you'll find out that -things are a lot brighter -now, even though -we're using a much better -lighting technology -that should be producing -less glare, -it's producing more.
-So if we continue down that -road, -what's going to happen?
-The sky will be invisible -to almost everybody.
-health -effects will get worse, -and we don't -really even know -how bad it's going to be.
-The epidemiological studies -of these cancers -were being done -on my generation.
Right.
-It shows up when you're -older, in your 50s and 60s.
-and things were a certain -level of brightness -when I was growing up.
-Today's kids are growing up -in a much brighter -environment, -so the health effects -for them -are going to be even worse.
-But that's not really going to show up for a while.
-So we would expect -cancer rates to go up -and behavioral issues -to go up and learning issues -to go up.
-As more and more generations -grow up within these much, -much brighter environments, -if we keep -going the way we're going, -the stars -are going to go away.
-We're going to see fewer -and fewer -bird and insect species -because they're going -to die off.
-A bunch of plant -species will disappear.
-More pollution, -more glare, more issues.
-Flip side, -people wake up to this -and go, -oh, this is a real problem.
-It's an easy fix -that I save money, -I'm in.
Let's do that.
-And everybody goes -and does that.
-What happens?
-Well, the stars are going -to come back -because it's not going to be -where -suburbs and neighborhoods -are going -to be much more attractive, -because you're not going -to have glaring lights -pouring into your bedroom.
-Streets are going to be -safer for kids -walking outside -because you're not going to -have glare in driver's eyes.
-electricity -use will drop significantly.
-All all of those -negative effects -we talk about -are going to be reduced, -and they get reduced -immediately.
-It's not just a -we cut it now, -and in 20 years it's better.
-It's we cut it now and -it gets better right away.
-So those are -those are the two extreme -versions of the future, -the really, really good -and the really, really bad.
-This is truly something -that individuals -and families -can do something about.
-There are a couple of good -ways that folks can proceed -to make improvements.
-we can have our lights, -our outside lighting.
-It's important for the -shield to come down -so that the light doesn't -go out the sides -so that, the light goes -where we want it to go.
-People are on the ground -for the most part, -for my experience.
-And so you need -the light down where people can see it -so they can, like, walk in on a trip and fall -and hurt -themselves and find a way.
-so shield your light.
-That's -so that's an easy fix.
-The Illumination -Engineering Society -and the International Dark -Sky Association came up with -five very simple guidelines -that if you follow, -we'll give you the best -possible light.
-But the principles -are very simple, which are, -light should be useful.
-that light should only be -as bright as necessary.
-It should only light -the area you need.
-So, if you have a walkway, -by all means.
-Like the walkway, -it should only be on -when you need it.
-And lastly, -it should have as -little blue -light in it as possible.
-So you can imagine -all these office -spaces, people work -and then have these bright -fluorescent lights -and everybody hates them.
-That's -because they're so blue.
-It's a very intense light.
-Comfortable -lighting is much yellower, -and it's the blue light -that actually creates -most of the health -and glare.
-Okay, -so there's a whole bunch of -physics behind -why that happens.
-So the way to eliminate -that is -the bulbs you buy -should be what we call -the lowest -temperature possible.
-So every bulb you buy, every -fixture has a number on it.
-And it might be 3000 -K or 2700 K or 2000 K. -The lower that number, -the better it is, -the higher -the number, the worse it is.
-So you see those -really bright blue -headlights on cars -which are like 5000.
-So for comparison, -wherever possible you follow -those five guidelines.
-Have you know only -as much as you need, have it -where you need to have it on -when you need it, -and so on.
-That will solve the problem.
-So we can all make -a difference.
-And I'll use myself -for an example.
-I love Dark Skies, -but I hadn't really thought -much about outdoor lighting, -so right now -I'm going through, our -my residence and making sure -that my outdoor lighting -is shielded downwards -and number one, number two, -I only have it on -when I really need it.
-So that's one thing -any one person can do.
-The other thing -is reach out.
-Find other people -in your community -that are interested -in dark skies.
-You'd be surprised -if people would may not know how much -they love the night sky, but when you bring it up, -they remember that -it is important to them.
-My next door neighbor, -does -have a telescope, so he's -aware of of the night sky.
-But I went out to -look at the night -sky one night, and -he had his barn light on.
-So I got up the courage -to call and ask him, -you know, and I said, I'm -going out -to look at the stars.
-Would you be willing -to turn off your light?
-And that light -has not been on since, -and that was -a number of years ago.
-So maybe the, the -the sentence is -I'm going out -to look at the night sky.
-Would you be willing to turn -your light off for an hour -and then you can promote -that to businesses?
-You do it at home, -go to a company -you work for, -look at your parking lot -light, look at your building -lights and say, hey, look, we can increase our profits.
-Make it more comfortable, -make it safer.
-Why don't we make this -improvement?
-Part of the education -is that we, show people -that we can save -the night sky and have -lighting -that provides safety.
-And then we can go to our -towns and our cities and -make proposals -and make ordinances.
-One year -I went around -to all the town offices -surrounding -Katahdin Woods and Waters -to talk to them -about dark skies.
-And the next year -I went around and the doors -opened up wide.
-If you eliminate a light -or you redirect a light, -or you change the color -of that light bulb, -the result is -you get to see the dark -skies immediately.
-There are benefits -to doing dark -sky compatible lighting -wherever you are.
-and it and it's better -for the environment.
-It's better for your health -and safety.
-It's better -for glare issues.
-Saves money.
-So I mean, it helps -in every possible weather.
-I hope that -the amount of light -that's coming from this -region stays consistent.
-If not, is diminished over -time.
-and I also hope -that the people -that come here -to see the dark skies -take that experience -and that information -and take it home with them.
-It means for the future -that we're more -where can we stay connected -to ourselves -and our environment.
-Get outdoors, -look at the bugs, -look at the sky, and -and try to make -the connection -between the firefly -and the stars -because they're connected.
-If we lose these certain -just elemental -parts of ourselves -being outdoors, experiencing -the night sky, -seeing wildlife, -hearing birdsong, -we lose part of who we are.
-The dark sky is -extremely important to us.
-It is our -prehistoric internet.
-It's really important to us -culturally.
-It's really important to me.
-And, my understanding -and my experiences are based -on that, and I want to -kind of keep that going -the dark -sky impacts the world -by cultivating -and nourishing -the sense of wonder.
-I love lying on the grass -or lying on a blanket -that ticks around you -on a blanket.
-Now, with a with a child -especially.
-But anyone.
-And you lay there -looking at the stars and -and your son, -your daughter, your niece, -your whatever and says "Wow!
-How far away is that?
-How long would -it take us to get there?
-That's that.
-That's the ticket.
-That's what it's about.
-And if we lose our dark -skies, -it's not that those -questions will go away, -but we'd lose an important -catalyst.
-This program is supported -in part by the Maine Outdoor -Heritage Fund -and your true nature.
-Committed to sharing -the wisdom of the Earth -through advice for life, -greeting -cards, bookmarks, -stickers and magnets.
-To learn more or to schedule -a screening of Defending -the Dark in your community, -visit dark Sky film.com.
-Vermont public, partnering -with local filmmakers -to bring you -stories made here.
-For more, -visit vermontpublic.org