There are more stars in the universe than there are grains of sand on Earth, and yet, the stars that we see now are not enough to fill even a small pail of sand at the beach. The endless galaxy that was visible before our eyes has been drowned out, and the night sky, which used to appear as pitch-black, is now a shade of grey. But the sky is not lightening because the sun is rising- on the contrary, the sun is setting over the lives of animals and humans alike. Why is this happening, and why is nobody acting upon this issue? It’s time to shine the spotlight onto a form of pollution that has been overlooked for centuries. Light pollution, though harmless sounding, is not only affecting stargazers, but also causing the deaths of many creatures on this planet. Today I will be talking about this with three points of analysis- why this is happening, who this is affecting, and what you can do to stop this problem that is stopping us from seeing the stars.
First things first. Watt is light pollution? Though the literal “pollution of light” seems at first surreal and may even have a positive connotation, it’s important to remember that this is a real issue impacting many. Light pollution is produced with large areas of excess artificial lighting. In these areas, the lights glow so brightly that the stars and moon start to dim. This form of pollution can be separated into three categories- glare, clutter, and light trespass. Glare pollution is when excessive light causes visual discomfort. Clutter pollution happens in large, unnatural groups of lights, such as large cities and urban areas. Light trespass occurs when light extends into an area where it is not supposed to be.
Next, let’s look at who light pollution is impacting. The most obvious victims are astronomers and starwatchers, who find it hard to spectate, photograph, and record dimmer astronomical objects. In the words of Cornell University, often, astronomers want to take the spectra of an object, splitting the light from the telescope into its component colors. When you take a spectrum of fluorescing objects like galaxies, you see that the spectrum is not smooth, but made up of a number of lines. Each line is a unique indicator of the presence of a certain chemical. By studying the strengths of these lines, astronomers can deduce the chemical composition and temperatures of the objects they observe. In other words, light pollution impacts the scientific results of the studies of astronomers.
But outside the field of astronomy, many other creatures are impacted by this. For instance, when sea turtles are hatched from their eggs, they use the reflection of the moon on the surface of the ocean to find their way to the water. However, with an increase in light, the hatchlings may get confused and wander towards urban areas instead, which dramatically increases their chances of getting eaten by a bird, trampled or run over by a car or larger animal (like a human), or starvation and dehydration.
Additionally, migrating birds, like ducks, seagulls, and geese, use the north star and accompanying constellations to navigate at night. When light pollution drowns out one of their only senses of direction, they often get lost. According to the International Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals in 2022, millions of birds die from light pollution annually. Another factor that is causing these fatalities is the disruption of the birds’ biological clocks. According to the United Nations, birds may misinterpret artificial light at night as a longer period of daylight. This will lead them to believe that winter or summer has already arrived, so they will migrate earlier than is necessary. This means that the required resources may not be available for the birds.
But our feathered friends aren’t the only ones with disruptions in their internal timers. And while nobody on this website is a turtle or a bird, I’m sure that most of us can relate to this issue: sleep deprivation. According to Harvard University in 2020, the amount of light entering the eye is key in helping our brain distinguish times for wakefulness and times for sleep. This means that intense artificial lighting directly leads to sleep deprivation, but that’s not all. According to the National Library of Medicine, sleep pattern disruption is thought to interfere with cancer suppression genes, and can, according to the American Heart Association, triple the risk of cancer. As we can see, light pollution can be lethal to turtles, birds, and humans alike.
But with all of this in mind, is there anybody who doesn’t think that light pollution is a problem? Faced with all the facts, this particular conclusion seems impossible, but just like with any field of study, there are some doubters. The main reason why light pollution is so commonly overlooked is that most people tend to focus on more prominent types of pollution, like air, water, and land. Compared to the fatal trio, light pollution doesn’t seem like much of a problem, does it? Also, people have lately been losing interest in matters such as astronomy and stargazing. Well, even though it may be less well-known and though the other types of pollution are more destructive, that does not take away the implications of light pollution and its dangers. We have to shine light onto this issue so that we can finally see this for what it truly is- a serious issue.
But how do we shine light onto light pollution? Well, first, we have to reduce the amount of light that we emit. This can be as simple as closing your shades/blinds or pointing them downwards, or if you want to go all-in, setting your lamps and lights onto a timer/motion-sensing cycle and getting light switches with dimming settings so that you can adjust the brightness of each lightbulb. Besides that, though, light pollution is extremely underrepresented. You can help a lot just by reminding others, besides you, to turn off the light once in a while. Light pollution is a relatively modern problem, having started in the 20th century and escalated in tremendous amounts the past few years, and modern problems need modern solutions. Let’s not forget that we have a whole galaxy of life above us. We must reach for the sky, but we cannot do that without seeing the stars.
CITATIONS/LINKS
https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/light-pollution
https://www.vox.com/2016/6/10/11905390/light-pollution-night-sky
https://www.latimes.com/science/story/2022-09-20/what-you-can-do-to-reduce-light-pollution