Bill Kowalik says he doesn’t consider himself any kind of hero. He says he’s part of an active network of volunteers across Oregon seeking to preserve dark skies and diminish light pollution for the health, safety and well-being of all life.
“Blue light at night is a particular problem. And more and more people are putting out these white LED lights that have a lot of blue,” says Kowalik, board chair for DarkSky Oregon. “Blue light scatters preferentially through the atmosphere because of the short wavelength of blue with respect to the molecules in the air,” he continues.
Kowalik is on a mission to dim outdoor lighting for the health of humans and wildlife. The solution, he says, is to use LED lights which look amber or yellow and cover them, so they don’t blast upward into the atmosphere. He explains that light pollution impacts migrating birds, insects attracted to light and the health of humans.
He is a founding member of the Oregon chapter of the DarkSky International program, which began in 2019. He has three degrees in earth sciences, spending much of his life studying the ground. Now his attention is focused on the sky.
One of the darkest locations in Oregon is Hart Mountain. DarkSky Oregon has sky quality monitors across the state collecting data. It shows that cities in Central Oregon are five times brighter than Hart Mountain. The communities of Sisters and Sunriver are working to change that, each certified a DarkSky place. Prineville Reservoir is designated a DarkSky park.
Kowalik says the brightest offenders at night are large businesses, mostly along local highways, which keep lights on all night, often for security. “If we were progressively to switch to amber colored lights at night, we would eliminate a lot of light pollution problems, and people could still keep their lights on at night for safety, for security,” Kowalik says. Two businesses he says are doing it right are Home Depot and the Springhill Marriott in Bend. Eventually, DarkSky volunteers hope the city of Bend will update its light code with input and support from the local business community.
“You know, light pollution is truly a form of pollution, and most people were not aware of it,” Kowalik says. According to DarkSky International, artificial light at night contributes to health problems including certain cancers, heart disease, diabetes, mood disorders and insomnia.
Kowalik and other DarkSky members spend time educating the public. They’ll have a table with information and a limited number of free yellow bulbs at the Earth Day event in Bend as well as at Pole Pedal Paddle.
International DarkSky week is April 21-28. Volunteers in Bend are hosting a free lecture at Worthy Brewing, which is open to the public.
This article appears in Source Weekly April 17, 2025.
MAKE LOCAL JOURNALISM HAPPEN
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
