Protecting our night skies from light pollution
Experts say the solutions to light pollution can be as simple as installing better quality lighting. Recommendations involve keeping lighting low to the ground, targeting it to avoid light leaking in all directions, and, if possible, ensuring it has a long wavelength, typically observed as amber-colored. In this picture, the streetlights in Tucson, Arizona, do not leak into the sky, maintaining its natural darkness. Bettymaya Foott
DarkSky International is a body advocating for the mitigation of light pollution, and awarding Dark Sky accreditation to communities that follow its recommendations. Pictured, the sky above the town of Castle Valley, Utah, an International Dark Sky Community. Around 250 miles southeast of Salt Lake City, the town allows no commercial lighting and fully shielded light fixtures have been required by ordinance since 1991. It received Dark Sky accreditation in 2024. Bettymaya Foott
Nearly 300 areas in 22 countries are now accredited. Pictured, a stargazer observes the Milky Way in Goblin Valley State Park, Utah, a Dark Sky Park. The Park, located in a remote corner of the Colorado Plateau, is known for its thousands of pinnacle-shaped rock formations, locally known as 'goblins.' Bettymaya Foott
The Milky Way over the Grand Canyon National Park, a Dark Sky Park that attracts millions of visitors every year. In 2019, the park completed a project to change all its 5,000 light fixtures to comply with DarkSky's requirements. It was awarded full status in June that year. Royce Bair
Night sky over Bamburgh Castle, near Northumberland National Park, UK, a Dark Sky reserve. Just south of Hadrian's Wall, the Park is one of the darkest locations in England, according to Dark Sky International. Mark McNeill
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Forbes
a minute ago
- Forbes
Fei-Fei Li Challenges Silicon Valley's Obsession With AGI
Dr. Fei‑Fei Li sees AI not as a runaway superintelligent force but as a partner in human potential. Speaking with CNN's Matt Egan at the Ai4 conference in Las Vegas, she sketched a future where learning, spatial reasoning, and immersive digital worlds grow together. Empathy, curiosity, and responsibility, she said, should be the drivers. That's a very different tone from Geoffrey Hinton, who told the same audience just a day prior that our survival might one day depend on giving AI something like a mother's protective instinct. Li's focus stays on human decision-making, not on machines 'caring' for us. Reframing the Discussion of Superintelligence For Dr. Li, the quest for the superintelligent machine, or AGI, is not really separate from the concept of AI. She explained, 'I don't know the difference between the word AGI and AI. Because when Alan Turing and John McCarthy and Marvin Minsky, the founding fathers and thinkers of AI, when they dared humanity with this possibilities of machines that they can do, in my opinion, they didn't say that machines that think narrowly and non-generally. They literally just had the biggest imagination." To Li, AI isn't a race or a looming contest of strength. It's another step in building systems that work alongside people and protect the things we value. Hinton, in contrast, warns that machines could surpass human intelligence within a couple of decades and that keeping control will be nearly impossible. His proposal is to design them with an ingrained sense of care, modeled on a parent's concern for a child. However, Li doesn't think safety comes from simulating affection. For her, the safer path is to build strong oversight, good design, and values that put people first. Hinton often frames the challenge in terms of survival: keeping a powerful AI from harming or leaving us behind. Li puts her energy into making sure it improves the spaces we live and work in. Her concern is less about keeping pace with an adversary, more about shaping a collaborator. Hinton is less certain that human control will be possible at all if AI reaches superintelligence. That's why he argues for programming in care instincts from the start. Li's answer is to shape an AI's goals early, through design, oversight, and a clear sense of its role in serving people. Education as a Living Conversation Li reframed AI's role in education as an extension of the Socratic method, urging educators and parents to champion curiosity over shortcuts. Li talks about AI in classrooms the way some teachers talk about Socrates: a tool for asking questions that make you think harder. She wants students encouraged to probe and explore, not to lean on AI for quick answers. 'Prompting' in her view should be the start of an investigation, not the end of it. She pushes back against the reflexive link between AI and academic dishonesty. Too much energy, she says, goes into banning and blocking, and not enough into asking how the technology could make people better learners. Clear-Eyed About the Risks Li's optimism doesn't mean blind faith. She worries about AI being used to spread false information, the disruption of jobs, the huge amounts of energy needed to train the biggest models, and the risk that only a few benefit from gains in productivity. She doesn't think those outcomes are inevitable. They're problems to be solved starting with how we set goals, who gets to decide them, and how they're carried out. In her view, it's not enough to 'teach' AI to care. What matters is aligning its purpose with strong governance, fair access, and uses that make life better for people. That means designing from the ground up with those aims in mind. Through her startup World Labs, Li is working on what she calls 'spatial intelligence', which is AI that understands and creates three-dimensional spaces. The uses range from surgical teams working with greater precision to far-flung families celebrating together in virtual rooms. These aren't just fantasy backdrops. They're designed to improve real-world life by blending the physical and the digital in ways that feel natural. For Li, the point of technology is to give people more control over their own choices. AI, she says, should make decisions more transparent, not less. She believes everyone should keep their dignity and their right to question what they're told. Li talks about AI as a piece of global infrastructure, something that could change how we learn, create, and connect. She wants the story of this century to include the ways AI helped expand creativity, rethink education, and keep people at the center of the story, not just the ways we avoided catastrophe. Her vision casts AI as a partner in curiosity and progress, not as a ruler. It's aimed at building immersive worlds, richer conversations in classrooms, and tools that fit into human lives with respect for our choices. Dr. Li and Hinton have known each other for decades. She would agree with him on one point: intelligence, human and machine, will grow. Where they part ways is in the plan for that future. He would give AI the instincts of a caregiver. She would anchor it in the creativity, care, and shared purpose that humans bring. And she keeps coming back to the same idea: we decide how to live in the world we're building.
Fox News
9 minutes ago
- Fox News
Popular weight-loss drugs linked to sudden vision loss, research suggests
New research has discovered certain weight-loss medications could be associated with an increased risk of serious eye conditions, and even vision loss. Two studies, published in JAMA, analyzed how semaglutide and tirzepatide — which include popular drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro and Zepbound — impacted eye health in Americans with type 2 diabetes over a two-year period. One study found a modest risk of developing non-arteritic anterior ischaemic optic neuropathy (NAOIN) – a rare eye condition that can lead to sudden vision loss due to lack of blood flow – in association with semaglutide and tirzepatide. Out of more than 159,000 study participants with type 2 diabetes, 35 developed NAION, compared to 19 people in the comparison group. The Ohio-based researchers also noted an increased risk of developing "other optic nerve disorders," identified in 93 patients. Although the second study did not observe a "statistically significant difference" in NAION in GLP-1 drug users, there was a small increase in diabetic retinopathy, an eye disease that can damage the retina. While individuals with type 2 diabetes on GLP-1s showed a modestly increased risk of diabetic retinopathy, the researchers concluded that fewer patients experienced sight-threatening complications from the disease. "These findings suggest that all patients with type 2 diabetes treated with GLP-1 RAs, regardless of preexisting diabetic retinopathy, should be regularly screened and monitored for potential complications," the study authors concluded. Sue Decotiis, M.D., a medical weight loss doctor in New York City, said she believes more studies are required to confirm the association between these drugs and vision loss, as these studies report some conflicting results. "NAION is a rare condition of the optic nerve that, although serious, has not really been shown to be increased by these studies," Decotiis, who was not involved in the research, told Fox News Digital. "We need more studies for certain." Diabetic patients already face a high incidence of eye disease related to blood flow and nerve damage, the expert noted. "Eye complications are often directly related to the degree or lack thereof of diabetes control." In most cases, GLP-1 drugs reduce the severity of type 2 diabetes, therefore reducing the incidence of eye diseases, Decotiis noted. These drugs have also been shown to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, like hypertension, and to improve circulation, which can improve eye health. For diabetics who are starting a GLP-1, Decotiis recommends having an exam done by an ophthalmologist and scheduling follow-up exams throughout treatment. "We should take precaution with methodical ophthalmic care for diabetics on these drugs," Decotiis said. "However, let's not throw the baby out with the bath water." For more Health articles, visit Novo Nordisk, maker of Ozempic and Wegovy, provided the following statement when contacted by Fox News Digital. "Patient safety is a top priority for Novo Nordisk, and we take all reports about adverse events from the use of our medicines very seriously. NAION is a very rare eye disease, and it is not an adverse drug reaction for the marketed formulations of semaglutide (Ozempic, Rybelsus and Wegovy) as per the approved labels in the U.S." "Novo Nordisk, on its part, has conducted an analysis across randomized controlled clinical trials with GLP-1 receptor agonists, including a blinded ophthalmologist evaluation to confirm NAION diagnoses. Our current assessment is that these data do not suggest a causal relationship between GLP-1 RA use and NAION events."
Forbes
an hour ago
- Forbes
STEM Toys: Higher Education Becomes Child's Play
Growing up in mid-century America school was about work, often drudgery. Play happened on playgrounds except for those of us 'visiting' the principal's office. Today, with the advent of STEM learning, play found its way into classrooms and after class clubs. STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) and STEAM (adding Arts) has a rich and fascinating history that reflects shifts in education, technology, and cultural values, and traces back to the Morrill Act of 1862. The STEM movement gained thrust in the 1950's with the advent of the 'space race' and inauguration of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in 1958. The scientific achievements of the next three decades from the moon landing, the artificial heart, personal computing, and cell phones all yielded a call for enhanced science education. From SMET to STEM to STEAM The call was answered by the National Science Foundation (NSF) which established guidelines for the teaching of science, math, engineering, and technology in grades K-12, introducing the acronym SMET. However, educators and policymakers found the term awkward and unappealing — even suggesting it sounded like 'smut.' So, in 2001 the NSF officially rebranded the initiative STEM, and more recently STEAM, as 'Art' was added. The early twentieth century spawned three iconic toys promoting interest in engineering including the Erector Set (1913), Tinker Toys (1914), and Lincoln Logs (1916). The latter, invented by John Lloyd Wright, son of the architect Frank Lloyd Wright, were among the first toys to be marketed to both boys and girls selling over one hundred million sets worldwide. By the 1950's plastics began to populate the toy chest expanding access to educational play, aka 'edutainment.' This was brought home, both literally and figuratively, when my captivation over my first haircut led my father to a failed search for a toy-like barbershop kit. This set the stage for midwestern entrepreneurs and twin-brothers Al and Lou Stein (my father and uncle) to file patent and trademark application for 'Hippity Hop Barber Shop,' a life-like six-piece plastic barber shop play kit. In 1951, Hippity Hop debuted at the New York Toy Fair and was featured as an 'Educational Toy for Children from Two to Twelve.' The red-white-and blue packaging boasted the toy's 'Durable, Pliable, Acetate Plastic' while stating 'HARMLESS…WILL NOT CUT HAIR.' In 1958, a relatively unknown maker of wooden toys from the town of Billund, Denmark patented and introduced modular plastic building blocks inspiring problem solving through construction. Now, 1.1 trillion 'bricks' later, LEGO is considered the most valuable toy brand on the planet while also becoming the leading STEAM product producer. It is estimated that between 20-30 percent of LEGO's over $10 billion annual sales comes from educational products widely used in classrooms, competitions, and home learning. STEAM kits began making their way into K–12 classrooms in the early 2000's. But their widespread adoption accelerated around 2010–2015, driven by federal initiatives like Educate to Innovate (2009) and 'Race to the Top' which encouraged schools to invest in STEAM resources. Besides LEGO, companies like Sphero and Thames & Kosmos began tailoring products for classroom use. Next, makerspaces and project-based learning gained traction bringing STEAM toys into elementary schools. In 2024 the market size for STEAM toys and kits was estimated to be $6 billion and is expected to more than double in a decade. The drivers behind this growth include smart STEAM kits using AI and machine learning, subscription models, and online retail. With continued STEAM market maturation, category segmentation, and broad user age range it is difficult to predict which brands will become tomorrow's leaders or laggards. That said, here's an overview of the key product categories along with STEAM sector standouts: Besides the major players, STEAM toys, kits, and teaching methodologies have spawned countless smaller niche manufacturers worldwide. Yet, 70 to 80 percent of the world's toys are still being manufactured in China, as China's infrastructure and expertise make it the go-to hub for toy manufacturing. Within China's Guangdong Province, Shenzhen is known as the 'maker's dream city' housing over 5,000 toy factories — the largest such concentration in China. The city specializes in electronic toys, STEAM kits, plush toys, and custom collectibles, serving both domestic and global markets. Some began as 'cottage industries' in homes selling to schools and school systems before gaining traction and developing wholesale distribution. I was recently introduced to one such Shenzhen based STEAM kit brand, ACEBOTT, which has a particularly fascinating backstory and one I found somewhat reminiscent of my own family's 'Hippity Hop' gambit, albeit from a more principled origin. The journey into STEAM education for ACEBOTT founder and CEO Ring Huang began with deep personal motivation. As both a mother and an educator Ring Huang was frustrated by the lack of engaging, accessible tools to instruct her students about coding and technology. That frustration sparked a mission: to create hands-on kits that would make learning STEAM fun, intuitive, and empowering for kids everywhere. Ring Huang launched ACEBOTT in 2013 with a vision of helping young learners explore the 'Code Forest'—a metaphor for the vast adventurous world of coding and innovation. Under her leadership, ACEBOTT has grown into a global brand with strong presence in classrooms, maker spaces, and homes around the world. ACEBOTT tout's a curriculum-first approach, supported by the fact that their R&D team is comprised of engineers with strong STEAM education backgrounds. Ring Haung states 'We design products from a teacher's perspective, building around what students need to learn, not just what's fun to build.' ACEBOTT offers three distinct product lines each targeting a specific audience: Their curriculum-focused education series offers a 6-year progressive STEAM system designed to align with real-world applications such as Smart Home, Transportation, and Factory, making it easy for schools to adopt. I found ACEBOTT's eco-friendly wooden materials used in their STEAM kits to be a refreshing brand differentiator. This is depicted in an online case study of a German elementary school using ACECode Blockly to explore key smart home systems in a beginner-friendly visual programming platform. ACEBOTT has a growing client base in Europe and is continuing to expand globally. STEAM brands and products are being sourced online, in big boxes stores like Walmart and Target, and through a vast network of specialty toy stores, worldwide. However, it's my belief that independent specialty toy retailers are particularly well suited to prosper in the category given their emphasis on customer service and devotion to staff training. And ASTRA can become their North Star. The American Specialty Toy Retailing Association (ASTRA) focuses on independent toy retailers and specialty manufacturers and promotes creative play and educational toys. It also offers networking, trade shows, and advocacy. Additionally, Women in Toys, Licensing & Entertainment (WIT) supports women across the toy, licensing, and entertainment industries and offers mentorship, leadership development, and industry recognition. Additionally, The Toy Association, founded in 1916 as the Toy Manufacturers of America, Inc., publishes detailed reports like 'Decoding STEAM' to help manufacturers, educators, and parents understand and promote STEAM learning through play. This makes The Toy Association not just a general industry body, but a strategic ally for companies like ACEBOTT that are deeply invested in educational impact and hands-on learning.
