"Ian Cheney had no idea that artificial light at night could be unhealthy when he began filming his new documentary, 'The City Dark.' His interest in what many call 'light pollution' stemmed purely from a passion for astronomy, he said, and a question: 'What do we lose when we lose the night sky?'
Inner-city Boy Scouts express this concern early in the film. Looking up at the night sky during a troop trip outside of the city, one kid says, 'I've never seen the Milky Way.'
Yet Cheney, who grew up under the dark skies of rural Maine before moving to the bright lights of New York City, notes that he quickly stumbled upon a growing body of evidence that suggests a possible connection between decreased nighttime darkness and increased risks of certain cancers and other health problems."
Lynne Peeples reports for Huffington Post August 2, 2012.