Light pollution is more than an astronomy problem
Many people are under the mistaken impression that light pollution is an issue that only concerns astronomers. While astronomers were among the first to complain about the growing effects of light pollution, they are not the only one suffering its affects. Most human beings... and even a large percentage of the creatures that inhabit the earth are also affected. Let's take a moment to see how.
Starting with the most obvious problem... light pollution is an incredibly wasteful problem. Think about it. Any light which is shining up into the night sky is certainly not accomplishing its intended task. Huge quantities of our declining energy reserves are consumed for absolutely no benefit whatsoever. The costs associated with this wasteful practice are simply staggering. $5-10 billion annually for the US alone... and this is only that portion which is shining straight up into the night sky. This doesn't even make a dent in the larger pie... lights which are shining down or sideways... but which are on all night long... even though the homeowner is not expecting company... or the business is closed. This number is many times larger. Anyway... back to light pollution.
Besides light shining up into the night sky... a major cause of sky glow... light pollution also takes the form of glare and light trespass. Glare is light shining in our eye making it difficult for us to see as we drive at night. The very lights that we turn on to enable us to see are actually making it difficult for us to see.
As bad as glare is, light trespass just might be worse. Light trespass is light shining across property lines. Sounds harmless enough, right? Wrong. Light trespass invades our privacy... it makes it hard for us to sleep. Light trespass just might be killing us too. This is no joke. Light at night has been linked to numerous human ailments including certain forms of cancer. Light Pollution and Human Health have been getting a lot of coverage lately in the media, and rightly so. Recent studies have shown that light at night reduces the bodies production of melatonin... the bodies number one cancer fighting component. This has been shown as a direct link to increased risk of cancer. The finding proved that melatonin rich blood fights cancer cells and melatonin depleted blood promotes the growth of cancer cells. Think about that the next time your neighbors lights are shining into your bedroom window.
As if all of this weren't bad enough, light pollution is also a threat to wildlife. Numerous species are having serious difficulties coping with the increasing amounts of light we humans are shining into their habitats. Very high up on the list of affected creatures are sea turtles. Light Pollution and Sea Turtles simply don't mix well. All species of sea turtle that call Florida home are either threatened or endangered... and light pollution has been shown to be a major contributing factor. Let me explain further. Female sea turtles return to the same beaches to next year after year. If they return and find bright condos have been built on their nesting beaches, one of two things generally happens. 1) The female chooses not to lay eggs here... and is basically taken out of the breeding population. 2) The female lays her eggs, but... the odds of survival for the hatchlings are dramatically reduced. The reason for this is fairly simple (though perhaps not overly obvious). Sea turtle hatchlings generally hatch at night. Then, under cover of darkness, they look for the brightest horizon. This is generally the ocean with moonlight or starlight reflecting off of it. If, however, the inland horizon is brightest... because of light pollution from improperly lit coastal development, the hatchlings follow their instincts... and head away from the ocean. These hatchlings are then either run over by cars... eaten by predators... or die of exhaustion or heat exposure when the sunrises.
Sounds like a serious problem now, huh? Good. Fortunately, the solution is fairly simple and straighforward (whew!) By choosing to install only night sky friendly / sea turtle friendly outdoor lighting products... you can dramatically reduce the effects that a given fixture will have on the night sky, your health... and the wildlife around you. Night sky friendly lighting is wildlife friendly lighting is sea turtle friendly lighting. The characteristics that make a light night sky friendly also make it sea turtle friendly.
Night sky friendly outdoor lights put all their light output down on the ground beneath them. They do not shine light directly up into the sky... greatly reducing sky glow. They also prevent their light output from crossing property lines... preventing them from shining into a neighbors windows... or into a sensitive wildlife area... like sea turtle nesting grounds. A simple way to determine if a light is "friendly" is to look at it when its turned on after dark. If you can see the light source (bulb), the light is not friendly. If you're just evaluating a fixture that's not yet installed.. you can make the same check. If the bulb is visible from any angle that's not beneath the fixture... the bulb is not friendly.
Night sky friendly outdoor lights used to be fairly difficult to find... but not any more. Night sky friendly lighting retailer, Starry Night Lights was founded this past year with one simple goal... to make night sky friendly outdoor lights as readily available as their less friendly counterparts. Simply point your web browser to www.StarryNightLights.com and checkout the largest selection of ordinance compliant, night sky friendly outdoor lighting products anywhere. Once you've found something that you like... you're only a point and a click away from having them delivered (for free) to your front door. How much easier can it get?
Starting with the most obvious problem... light pollution is an incredibly wasteful problem. Think about it. Any light which is shining up into the night sky is certainly not accomplishing its intended task. Huge quantities of our declining energy reserves are consumed for absolutely no benefit whatsoever. The costs associated with this wasteful practice are simply staggering. $5-10 billion annually for the US alone... and this is only that portion which is shining straight up into the night sky. This doesn't even make a dent in the larger pie... lights which are shining down or sideways... but which are on all night long... even though the homeowner is not expecting company... or the business is closed. This number is many times larger. Anyway... back to light pollution.
Besides light shining up into the night sky... a major cause of sky glow... light pollution also takes the form of glare and light trespass. Glare is light shining in our eye making it difficult for us to see as we drive at night. The very lights that we turn on to enable us to see are actually making it difficult for us to see.
As bad as glare is, light trespass just might be worse. Light trespass is light shining across property lines. Sounds harmless enough, right? Wrong. Light trespass invades our privacy... it makes it hard for us to sleep. Light trespass just might be killing us too. This is no joke. Light at night has been linked to numerous human ailments including certain forms of cancer. Light Pollution and Human Health have been getting a lot of coverage lately in the media, and rightly so. Recent studies have shown that light at night reduces the bodies production of melatonin... the bodies number one cancer fighting component. This has been shown as a direct link to increased risk of cancer. The finding proved that melatonin rich blood fights cancer cells and melatonin depleted blood promotes the growth of cancer cells. Think about that the next time your neighbors lights are shining into your bedroom window.
As if all of this weren't bad enough, light pollution is also a threat to wildlife. Numerous species are having serious difficulties coping with the increasing amounts of light we humans are shining into their habitats. Very high up on the list of affected creatures are sea turtles. Light Pollution and Sea Turtles simply don't mix well. All species of sea turtle that call Florida home are either threatened or endangered... and light pollution has been shown to be a major contributing factor. Let me explain further. Female sea turtles return to the same beaches to next year after year. If they return and find bright condos have been built on their nesting beaches, one of two things generally happens. 1) The female chooses not to lay eggs here... and is basically taken out of the breeding population. 2) The female lays her eggs, but... the odds of survival for the hatchlings are dramatically reduced. The reason for this is fairly simple (though perhaps not overly obvious). Sea turtle hatchlings generally hatch at night. Then, under cover of darkness, they look for the brightest horizon. This is generally the ocean with moonlight or starlight reflecting off of it. If, however, the inland horizon is brightest... because of light pollution from improperly lit coastal development, the hatchlings follow their instincts... and head away from the ocean. These hatchlings are then either run over by cars... eaten by predators... or die of exhaustion or heat exposure when the sunrises.
Sounds like a serious problem now, huh? Good. Fortunately, the solution is fairly simple and straighforward (whew!) By choosing to install only night sky friendly / sea turtle friendly outdoor lighting products... you can dramatically reduce the effects that a given fixture will have on the night sky, your health... and the wildlife around you. Night sky friendly lighting is wildlife friendly lighting is sea turtle friendly lighting. The characteristics that make a light night sky friendly also make it sea turtle friendly.
Night sky friendly outdoor lights put all their light output down on the ground beneath them. They do not shine light directly up into the sky... greatly reducing sky glow. They also prevent their light output from crossing property lines... preventing them from shining into a neighbors windows... or into a sensitive wildlife area... like sea turtle nesting grounds. A simple way to determine if a light is "friendly" is to look at it when its turned on after dark. If you can see the light source (bulb), the light is not friendly. If you're just evaluating a fixture that's not yet installed.. you can make the same check. If the bulb is visible from any angle that's not beneath the fixture... the bulb is not friendly.
Night sky friendly outdoor lights used to be fairly difficult to find... but not any more. Night sky friendly lighting retailer, Starry Night Lights was founded this past year with one simple goal... to make night sky friendly outdoor lights as readily available as their less friendly counterparts. Simply point your web browser to www.StarryNightLights.com and checkout the largest selection of ordinance compliant, night sky friendly outdoor lighting products anywhere. Once you've found something that you like... you're only a point and a click away from having them delivered (for free) to your front door. How much easier can it get?
posted by Anthony at 3:50 PM
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