By: Kyndall P.
Light pollution is one of the most unknown and overlooked forms of pollution, so you may be wondering what it even is. According to the National Park Service, “Light pollution is the excess or inappropriate artificial light outdoors. Light pollution occurs in three ways: glare, light trespass, and skyglow.” Sky glow is the brightening of the night sky, light trespass is light spilling into unintended areas, and glare is excessive brightness causing discomfort.
Light pollution is increasing about 2.2% per year globally in both developed and developing countries. While light is necessary for the modern world we live in, light pollution has altered our ability to truly see the night sky and the natural pattern of darkness. The Earth’s naturally dark areas are shrinking. The natural pattern of darkness is Earth’s daily rotation, daytime and nighttime. The natural pattern influences all of wildlife’s circadian rhythms, including humans and even plants. The National Institute of General Medical Sciences says “Circadian rhythms include some of the physical, mental, and behavioral changes an organism experiences over a 24-hour cycle.” Night and day are the biggest factors that impact our circadian rhythms.
Our bodies know when it gets dark outside to start producing melatonin or when it gets light outside in the morning to wake up; it’s basically our internal clock. Light pollution disrupts our internal clocks by suppressing the production of melatonin, which helps our bodies regulate sleep. Eventually desynchronizing our internal clocks from the day-night cycle due to constant exposure to artificial light. The desynchronization is even linked to health issues such as behavioral changes like mood swings, sleep disorders and increased risk of chronic medical issues.
Moving on to more about wildlife. Light pollution disrupts our environment and the animals that live in it. Nocturnal animals and other animals rely on the stars or moon for direction; by having such bright artificial lights, they are distracted.
Animals over time have adjusted within the natural day-night cycle, our bright lights, and confusion. And sky glow makes it so they can’t properly see the night sky. One example is the firefly. “Artificial light impairs their unique use of light signals to communicate and the male’s ability to track female flashes. It essentially gets in the way of them being able to see each other, and if they can’t see each other, they can’t reproduce,” says the Firefly Conservation and Research. This is essentially why fireflies have been “disappearing”; their populations are going down due to confusion. I can personally agree that I have seen them disappear; there used to be a bunch of fireflies in my backyard during summer, but now I never see them. However, fireflies aren’t the only species being affected: bats, sea turtles, amphibians, birds, insects, and even coral reefs are being affected. Light pollution causes disorientation, collisions, disrupted migration, reproductive harm, changes in behavior, habitat loss, and even predator-prey imbalance.
Artificial light at night has terrible and even deadly effects on wildlife. Now, while this seems terrible, there are still things we can do to try and reduce the negative effects in our own homes. Firstly, we need to reduce air pollution, and this is not only because air pollution is bad but also because air pollution makes light pollution worse. Clouds reflect light back down and increase scattering. They increase the sky brightness about 1000 times compared to a clear night. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, “To reduce air pollution at home, increase ventilation by opening windows and using exhaust fans for cooking and showering, remove pollution sources like smoking, strongly scented products, and excess moisture to prevent mold, and reduce dust by vacuuming and dusting with damp cloths. You can also use HEPA air purifiers, replace HVAC filters regularly, and manage humidity levels”
Secondly, here are some things we can do at home according to DarkSky International, which is a nonprofit organization created in 1988 that is at the forefront of the global movement to reduce light pollution and to preserve the natural night sky.
1. Use LEDs and compact fluorescents (CFLs) can help reduce energy use and protect the environment, but only warm-colored bulbs should be used. Switching to LED lighting allows for reduced illuminance without compromising visibility.
2. Use dimmers, motion sensors, and timers can help to reduce average illumination levels and save even more energy.
3. Get outdoor lighting fixtures that shield the light source to minimize glare and light trespass help prevent light pollution.
4. Eliminate unnecessary indoor lighting—particularly in empty office buildings at night—should be turned off. This will help prevent leakage of interior light into the night sky.
6. Avoid the use of blue lights at night.
- Outdoor lighting with strong blue content is likely to worsen sky glow because it has a significantly larger geographic reach than lighting consisting of less blue.
- Blue-rich white light sources are also known to increase glare and compromise human vision, especially in the aging eye. These lights create potential road safety problems for motorists and pedestrians alike. In natural settings, blue light at night has been shown to adversely affect wildlife behavior and reproduction. This is particularly true in cities, which are often stopover points for migratory species.
- DarkSky recommends that only warm-appearing light sources be used for outdoor lighting. This includes low-pressure sodium (LPS), high-pressure sodium (HPS), and low-CCT LEDs.
- “Warm”-toned or filtered LEDs (CCT 3000 K or lower; S/P ratio 1.2 or lower) should be used to minimize blue
I hope this Real Talk opened your eyes to something you weren't aware of and what small things you can do to decrease light pollution for both humans and wildlife.
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