In Defence of Darkness

What are the effects of all this artificial light on humans, animals, and every living organism?

The wintertime in Norway is long and dark. Or is it? Two-thirds of the inhabitants of this far-northern land – and 80 per cent in North America can no longer see the Milky Way, our galaxy, at night. Increasingly more street lamps, buildings, and, screens light up the sky.

For as long as she can remember, Sigri Sandberg has been afraid of the dark. To discover the roots of her fear and probe the darkness, she undertakes a solo voyage to the mountains in the dead of winter. As she journeys, Sandberg introduces us to another woman, Christiane Ritter, who spent a long winter in a trapper’s hut on Svalbard in 1934.

Sandberg writes about what happens to the body at night. She touches on sleep, stars, black holes, northern lights, and the global struggle to maintain a night sky. Could it be that the darkness Sandberg has always feared, is much more important than we may have thought?