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Alisha Huber

Science

How 'light pollution' has turned looking at a night sky into an incredibly rare luxury

It used to be something that everyone saw any evening when they walked out their door.

Photo by Warren Wong on Unsplash

When the light is getting in the way of the night.

Wow. I never thought about how rare this is before, but many people literally can go their whole lives without experiencing the vastness of space and their own smallness.

It used to be something that everyone saw any evening when they walked out their door.

It used to be that when you looked up at the night sky, you would see deep into the farthest reaches of space and time, but now...

Nope.


Not anymore. We're lighting up our cities like never before.

Over 99% of Americans in the continental U.S. live in areas that are considered light polluted.

Most of them have no idea what the night sky is even supposed to look like.

Looking up at the night sky helps us remember how tiny we are. The sight of the Milky Way stretching out into the deep distance has inspired philosophy, science, and poetry for literally all of human history. Until really recently.

Luckily, something as simple as flipping a switch can instantly end light pollution. Even using different kinds of lights can help.

Here's how Los Angeles decreased its light pollution by switching to LEDs.

Are you scared of total darkness?


This article originally appeared on 02.12.15

Sesame Street/YouTube

Jesse Jackson talks to children on Sesame Street

Sesame Street is a national treasure.

I think we can all agree on that.

Sesame Street invented the idea that television could teach children, not just entertain them.

It taught kids letters and numbers and introduced them to talented and famous people, from Savion Glover to Kofi Annan.


But the curriculum on the Street was always bigger than counting and Weimaraners. From very early on, its creators showed the world as they dreamed it could be. Black people, white people, and furry blue monsters lived in the same neighborhood. At a time when people with Down Syndrome were regularly institutionalized, Jason Kingsley was a frequent guest. Moms breastfed their babies in public, and all anyone had to say about it was, "That's nice." The whole neighborhood knew enough sign language that they could talk with Linda. They welcomed a new neighbor with a song about how happy they were to have a new friend.

The most important message Sesame Street sent to its millions of young viewers was this: You matter. You are an important person. You are valuable.

In 1971, a young Jesse Jackson stood on the steps of 123 Sesame Street and got a bunch of kids to chant "I Am — Somebody," a poem by civil rights activist Rev. William Holmes Borders Sr.

These kids chant a message that we should give to every kid on earth.

Did I say kid? I mean human.

I may be poor. But I am Somebody!
I may be young. But I am Somebody!
I may make a mistake. But I am Somebody!
I must be respected, protected, never rejected.
I am God's child.
I am Somebody!

So say it loud. And pass it to someone who needs a reminder that they are Somebody.

P.S. Are you dying to learn a thousand wonderful facts about Sesame Street's origin story? I highly recommend "Street Gang: The Complete History of Sesame Street" by Michael Davis. I'll never watch the show the same way again.

This article originally appeared on 04.27.15


More

Her baby had a secret. She learned it on the day she died.

Congenital heart defects are the most common birth defect, affecting 1 in 110 babies. Many of them don't show up on an ultrasound. Pulse ox screening could help doctors discover and repair heart defects before they turn deadly. Sounds like a good idea to me. Warning: This is the tragic story of a baby who died. It includes an image of her shortly before her death.

This article originally appeared on 02.07.15


Taryn looked perfectly healthy when her parents brought her home. She was growing — thriving, even.

Then one day, the baby made a strange sound. Her breathing became difficult. Her mom called 911 and started CPR.

Taryn died that night in the hospital. She had a heart defect, but no one had thought to check her heart before it stopped working.


Less than 50% of congenital heart defects are diagnosed before birth.

A baby who appears healthy might have a heart that is moments away from stopping.

Luckily, there is a simple, inexpensive, and non-invasive screening called pulse oximetry.

A pulse oximeter shines a red light through the baby's toe, and reports the oxygen levels in the blood. Low levels are cause for further investigation. Practically all hospitals have pulse oximeters on hand.

In 2011, New Jersey became the first state to require pulse ox screening as part of the standard tests a newborn receives. As a result of this screening, over the following three years, 13 babies were diagnosed with a heart defect that could have been fatal if left undetected.

Since 2011, many states have added pulse ox to their newborn screening protocol. Here's a handy map to see if yours is one of them. If you live in one of the seven states that doesn't have a law requiring it, pulse ox should still be available to you in most hospitals. Ask your doctor.

If a law like this could save families from preventable heartbreak at minimal cost, it seems like common sense to me.

Feb. 7-14, 2015, is Congenital Heart Disease Awareness Week.

I don't want you to freak anyone out, but could you maybe spread the awareness by sharing this? You never know whose life you could be saving.

Warning: The auto-generated captions on this video are awful and in some cases upsetting. Upworthy neither makes them nor has the ability to control them. However, if you scroll down below the video and click "Show Transcript," you'll see an Upworthy-created version that is much better.




Heroes

What is the role of climate change in the conflict in Syria?

This comic shows how drought may have been an unhinging factor for Syria in 2011, and what happened over the following year.


That warning has become a global alert. Since the uprising against Assad in March 2011, over 240,000 people have been killed, 4 million Syrians have fled their country, and over 7 million have been displaced.

The headlines are full of the heartbreaking stories of these refugees — including young children — who have died trying to reach safety in other countries. The story of these refugees is deeply tied to the effects of climate change.

"We are experiencing a surprising uptick in global insecurity ... partially due to our inability to manage climate stress." That's how Columbia University professor Marc Levy (who also does studies for the U.S. government) summed it up.

What's happening in Syria and across Europe is part of a larger story that affects us all.