Individual choices and unified action together make a difference

A Q&A with NASA Solar System Ambassador Dan Price

Dan Price is a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, informal educator, newspaper columnist, and Volunteer Naturalist at Bernheim Forest. His weekly “Bluegrass Skies” column has appeared in the Frankfort State Journal for almost five years. A lifelong amateur astronomer and student of science originally from Buffalo, New York, Dan has been conducting astronomy outreach programs in Kentucky for almost a decade and has worked with Frankfort Audubon in defense of dark skies for nearly as long. Price’s passion for public education stems from the belief that a better understanding of the way the world works is a cornerstone of compassion and community. 

Dan was a featured panelist at the Louisville Audubon Society’s Lights Out Louisville launch event on August 22, 2024. This Q&A has been condensed and lightly edited for clarity.

 Louisville Audubon Society (LAS): If there was just one thing you wanted people to know about the importance of the Lights Out initiative, what would it be?

Dan Price: The obvious reason for why we’re doing this is to protect migratory birds, but I think understanding the “how” may be even more impactful for folks to hear. 

Lights Out is a simple and achievable goal that requires making just a few small choices that reduce artificial light at night. But as an individual, what you do at home, at work, and within your community can make a big difference. So when a lot of people choose to make those small changes, it can have far-reaching benefits. 

It’s a solvable problem, and we all have a chance to make a difference—through both the choices we make as individuals and the unified action we take as a community. 

LAS: Whether as an individual or as a group, we know some folks might be a little hesitant about adopting the Lights Out initiative. What argument against going Lights Out do you think is the most common—and how would you respond? 

Price: I think there are two primary factors that could create hesitation about the Lights Out program. 

One is fear, which makes sense, as it’s totally normal—biologically and evolutionarily—to be afraid of or apprehensive about the dark. 

The other is cynicism. At this point, many people have lost hope about making any kind of meaningful contribution toward environmental challenges. But that’s just simply not true. Every bit counts, and something as simple as putting motion sensors on lights can make an immediate difference in terms of your own life, too. 

It may also help to remember that—as I mentioned earlier—unified efforts start with individual actions. One of the benefits of living in a community is having the ability to rely on each other. I, personally, would much rather have a vigilant neighbor, and possibly a new friend, than leave my lights on all the time and have to maintain all that vigilance myself.

“We’re all part of something bigger through our connection to the natural world—which also means an action as simple as closing your blinds at night might save the life of a bird or animal. Choosing to go Lights Out is easy to do and a simple gesture that can have a big impact. Everything counts. Everything makes a difference.” —Dan Price

In fact, we’re all part of something bigger through our connection to the natural world—which also means an action as simple as closing your blinds at night might save the life of a bird or animal. Choosing to go Lights Out is easy to do and a simple gesture that can have a big impact. Everything counts. Everything makes a difference. 

LAS: We couldn’t agree more! Let’s switch gears to some bigger—one might say cosmically bigger—topics. Are there any major connections between the study of the night sky and the study of birds, or wildlife in general? 

Price: The effects of light pollution impact more than just birds. Lots of animals use the night sky to navigate, from birds to frogs to dung beetles. 

And—because most animals aren’t used to seeing lights at night other than those in the sky—too much artificial light at night from buildings, houses, and other human-made infrastructure can alter their innate behaviors in negative ways.

For example, hatchling sea turtles use the moon to guide themselves to the ocean, but can end up heading toward brightly lit beachfront cities instead of the ocean because the artificial light throws off their natural behavior. That hurts their chances for survival right from the start of their lives.

It can be easy to forget just how quickly we humans can change the world—which was a much darker place at night just 100 years ago, or even 50 years ago. People are often able to quickly adapt to monumental changes—consider our acceptance of technology such as Zoom meetings and calls, which are commonplace now but were practically unheard of just 5 years ago. Wild animals, however, can’t comprehend that an inability to adapt to major changes more or less in real time can mean life or death for them. 

Of course, even humans are getting lost in the built environment—an issue that can be perpetuated by artificial lighting. Think of people watching television or scrolling on their phones long after their circadian rhythms would have them asleep.

LAS: Are there ways to help people see for themselves the impact of light pollution? And—for folks that aren’t able to visit a designated Dark Sky Place—are there alternatives to help them get an idea of what those areas are like? 

Price: That’s tough. Understanding the difference between a polluted night sky and a natural one is hard until you actually experience it. In fact, the first time I saw the Milky Way through a pair of binoculars, I thought the binoculars were broken. 

That said, there are resources online, such as videos and photographic comparisons, that can help illustrate the differences for those that can’t get to a Dark Sky Place. In fact, NASA has an entire online curriculum for parents with children who are interested in space, astronomy, or science in general—as well as for educators, including guided lessons and experiments you can do from home. 

You can also visit museums or planetariums, whether virtually or in real life. For instance, the Adler Planetarium in Chicago hosted an exhibition that showed visitors the night sky over Chicago with and without varying degrees of light pollution. (LAS note: Louisville’s own planetarium remains closed, although movements to reopen the facility have been gaining some traction.) 

And not many people know this, but you can actually borrow a telescope from the Louisville Free Public Library through their partnership with the Louisville Astronomical Society. 

Finally, you can go to an event hosted by your local Astronomy Club. I’m at Bernheim Forest once a month. We have telescopes there, and we can see the night sky decently well (although you can also see an awful light dome coming from Louisville). 

So find the best area that you can in the woods or a little outside the city, and maybe you’ll be surprised by how much night sky you’ll see.