Fighting Against Light Pollution

A profile of one woman's crusade to get cities to crack down on excess light in cities and bring back dark-skies.

1 minute read

December 20, 2006, 9:00 AM PST

By Christian Madera @http://www.twitter.com/cpmadera


"[Susan] Harder is a woman with a mission."

"The mission, which has absorbed her energies 40 hours a week for the past decade, is the fight against what is known by the somewhat anodyne term 'light pollution' or, as Ms. Harder puts it with typical vigor, 'our insane, just insane love of lighting absolutely everything up.'"

"From streetlights to billboards to parking lots to private properties, she contends, in cities, suburbs and rural areas, the country is awash in excess light. This light, she claims, squanders money and energy, upsets the ecological balance, causes accidents, makes people sick and diminishes the beauty of the environment, both natural and man-made."

Tuesday, December 19, 2006 in The New York Times

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

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