Monday, September 21, 2009
Light Pollution
There are many different types of light pollution, which is sometimes called luminous pollution or photopollution. But all of it is excessive and unnecessary light. Lighting consumes one quarter of all energy worldwide. Just in the U.S. alone, over-illumination consumes 2 million barrels of oil per day in absolutely wasted energy. Total commercial consumption for lighting alone in the U.S. is more than 5 million barrels per day. Public lighting in Australia is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions, possibly up to fifty percent, which increases global warming.
Medical research suggests that a wide range of adverse health effects may be caused by light pollution. These include breast cancer, anxiety, increased headache incidence, stress, fatigue and decreased sexual function. Even low level light used when sleeping at night can interfere with melatonin production resulting in continuous chronic sleep & hormonal disruption which can have long-term health risks.
Light pollution is a serious threat to wildlife, impacting both plants and animals, disrupting ecosystems. It prevents zooplankton from eating algae resulting in algal blooms that can kill off other plants and decrease water quality. Considering that most people get their water from reservoirs, this is yet another reason to prevent lightpollution. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service estimate that a minimum of 4-5 million migrating birds are killed each year because they fly into tall buildings which of course have lights on the tops to prevent aircraft from hitting them.
Amphibians & reptiles become disoriented because of disrupted melatonin levels which affects their breeding, physiology and behavior. It can also cause developmental disturbances such as retinal damage, decreased sperm count and genetic mutation.
Pilots get confused by all the light and sometimes mistake streets for runways. As a pilot myself, I can tell you that at night, it is impossible to tell the sky from the ground because of all the lights. This is the reason pilots have to fly with instruments at night.
Astronomers have trouble filtering out all the background light (from earth) in order to see into space. And some cities near large telescopes have had to change their lighting and lighting practices to accommodate them. Obviously it is necessary to have some light at night for our safety. But if we were all home in bed where we should be, we wouldn't need night lights for navigation.
The Hunza tribe of Pakistan have the longest lives of any group of people on the planet, frequently live 120-140 years and are in perfect health. They have no stress, no illness and no disease. They live without electricity, without lights. They go to bed when the sun goes down and do not arise until the sun comes up. They have no chickens or dogs to disrupt their sleep and are the most calm, peaceful people alive. Perhaps we should take after their example to be healthier. Save the earth, turn off the lights. Karen
Medical research suggests that a wide range of adverse health effects may be caused by light pollution. These include breast cancer, anxiety, increased headache incidence, stress, fatigue and decreased sexual function. Even low level light used when sleeping at night can interfere with melatonin production resulting in continuous chronic sleep & hormonal disruption which can have long-term health risks.
Light pollution is a serious threat to wildlife, impacting both plants and animals, disrupting ecosystems. It prevents zooplankton from eating algae resulting in algal blooms that can kill off other plants and decrease water quality. Considering that most people get their water from reservoirs, this is yet another reason to prevent lightpollution. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service estimate that a minimum of 4-5 million migrating birds are killed each year because they fly into tall buildings which of course have lights on the tops to prevent aircraft from hitting them.
Amphibians & reptiles become disoriented because of disrupted melatonin levels which affects their breeding, physiology and behavior. It can also cause developmental disturbances such as retinal damage, decreased sperm count and genetic mutation.
Pilots get confused by all the light and sometimes mistake streets for runways. As a pilot myself, I can tell you that at night, it is impossible to tell the sky from the ground because of all the lights. This is the reason pilots have to fly with instruments at night.
Astronomers have trouble filtering out all the background light (from earth) in order to see into space. And some cities near large telescopes have had to change their lighting and lighting practices to accommodate them. Obviously it is necessary to have some light at night for our safety. But if we were all home in bed where we should be, we wouldn't need night lights for navigation.
The Hunza tribe of Pakistan have the longest lives of any group of people on the planet, frequently live 120-140 years and are in perfect health. They have no stress, no illness and no disease. They live without electricity, without lights. They go to bed when the sun goes down and do not arise until the sun comes up. They have no chickens or dogs to disrupt their sleep and are the most calm, peaceful people alive. Perhaps we should take after their example to be healthier. Save the earth, turn off the lights. Karen
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