The Darkness Manifesto (Johan Eklöf)

** An FT Book of the Year and Winner of the Penn Libraries Book Prize for Sustainability**

The Darkness Manifesto urges us to cherish darkness for the sake of the environment, our own wellbeing, and all life on earth. To ensure a bright future, we must embrace the darkness.

Entire ecosystems rely on natural darkness to flourish, from bats and keen-eyed owls capering across the starry sky to the bioluminescent creatures of the deep. But constant illumination has made light pollution a major threat. By extending our day, humans have disrupted the circadian rhythms necessary to sustain all living things.

The Darkness Manifesto lifts night's veil to reveal the domino effect of damage we inflict by keeping the lights on: insects failing to reproduce, plants left unpollinated, countless hunting and migratory patterns eroded. Eye-opening and ultimately encouraging, this book offers simple steps that can benefit ourselves and the planet.

'Powerful ... A clarion call for change' New Statesman

'A pleasure to read ... A paean of praise for natural darkness' Financial Times, Book of the Year

'A must-read for all who have an interest in the health of our planet' Russell Foster, author of Life Time

Johan Eklöf, PhD, is a Swedish bat scientist and writer, most known for his work on microbat vision and more recently, light pollution. He lives in the west of Sweden, where he works as a conservationist and copywriter.

Johan has studied bats for almost twenty years and now has his own consultancy company, hired by authorities, wind companies, municipalities, city planners and environmental organizations as an expert on bats, night ecology, and nature-friendly lighting. The Darkness Manifesto is his first book to be translated into English.