Toward Responsible Outdoor Lighting
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Reception

We aim to make progress Toward Responsible Outdoor Lighting. We want outdoor lighting that reduces our impacts on the environment and the people, while still providing sufficient light to meet the needs of the people. New lighting technologies and a better understanding of the impacts of lighting on human and non-human animals open pathways to responsible lighting.

Light Pollution is Ecocide!

Join us if you are concerned about the rapid reduction of insects and birds. You may also be concerned about our disconnect from dark nights with a beautiful sky covered with stars or enchanting moonlit nights and the impacts this disconnect may have on our feelings and world view.

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News

TROL VCC News

[Apr. 18, 2026] Earth is Getting Brighter Fast But Not Everywhere: In his article in the Guardian titled “Earth gets brighter every year but progression is volatile, study finds,” Richard Luscombe reports on a new study published in Nature that shows that “the nightlights of Earth are surprisingly dynamic, characterized by frequent and coexisting brightening and dimming.” This has many implications for efforts to reduce light pollution.

[Apr. 09, 2026] Satellite Mirrors Could add to Light Pollution: In her article titled “Satellite mirror plans could disrupt sleep and ecosystems worldwide, scientists say” and published in the Guardian, Linda Geddes reports on plans to add mirrors to satellites. Experts warn that these mirrors would add to light pollution and could increase impacts of this pollution on human health and ecosystem health.

Platform News

[May. 22, 2026] DRG VCC opened: The "Disaster Risk Governance VCC" has been initialized and is open now.

[May. 21, 2026] NEXUS VCC opened: The "Food-Water-Energy Nexus VCC" has been initialized and is open now.

[May. 11, 2026] ILie VCC opened: The "I Lie and Why it Needs to Stop VCC" has been initialized and is open now.

[May. 09, 2026] Doomsday Clock is Getting Closer to Midnight: In January, the Doomsday clock was set to 85 seconds before midnight, the closest setting since it was established in 1947 in response to the threat of nuclear war. Sophie McBain in her article “‘The odds are not in our favour’: who sets the Doomsday Clock – and what can they tell us about the future of humanity?” emphasizes that with the wars on Iran and on the Ukraine, the rapid and largely uncontrolled development of AI and the climate breakdown all together increasing the likelihood of a nuclear war, the clock now stands closer to midnight than ever before. She asks the question of whether we can buy ourselves more time.

[Apr. 25, 2026] World Happiness Report Finds Positive Impacts of Collaborative Platforms: The World Happiness Report 2026 has a strong focus on the impacts of social media and the Web in general on human happiness. The results of most studies indicate that the use of most social media seems to have a negative impact on happiness, while those tools that generate trust and collaboration have a positive impact. The report sumarizes: “Internet activities fall into two groups. Communications, news, learning, and content creation are associated with higher life satisfaction. Social media, gaming, and browsing for fun are associated with lower life evaluations.” This supports the mission of Place4Us as a trust-focused collaborative platform for intercreativity and learning.