Lesson 5 Green Lifestyle

More is Not Always Better!

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What an amazing sight! But can you imagine how much electricity it wastes every night? Over the last few decades, we have made our night skies brighter and brighter. Cities now glow so much at night that it is often impossible to see the stars, planets or other nighttime treasures. This is just one effect of light pollution, which is now considered to be as dangerous to humans and the environment as other forms of pollution. Light pollution is continually worsening along with increasing urbanization, and it is now becoming difficult to see the stars, even in rural areas.

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Sources of Light Pollution

Light pollution can generally be understood as excessive, unnecessary lighting. It comes from a variety of sources, including street lighting, advertising and display lighting, commercial lighting, lighting for sports events, and so forth. In most of these cases, the typical lighting fixtures chosen deliberately allow light to shine upwards rather than downwards. The consequence is unnecessary upward lighting which increases both light pollution and energy usage, negatively affecting both humans and the environment.

Effects on Human Health

Apart from the obvious disturbance to people’s sleep which results from outdoor lights shining into bedroom windows, there is growing suspicion among medical researchers that nighttime lighting may have a more serious impact on human health.

The human body is naturally suited to a daily cycle of sunlight followed by several hours of total darkness. But in modern life, total darkness is rarely available. Our cities are brightly lit 24 hours a day, and this artificial routine reduces the human body’s production of melatonin. Melatonin, an important hormone produced only in darkness, is vital in regulating the body’s sleep patterns, immune system and organ functions. A lack of it can lead to diseases such as chronic fatigue and depression. It may even, scientists are now suggesting, be a significant cause of cancer in cities.

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Impact on Ecosystems

Because plants use darkness and night length to regulate their metabolism and development, artificial light seriously disturbs their growth and reproductive patterns. Light pollution even “tricks” some trees into keeping their leaves throughout the fall. As a result of being unprepared for winter, these trees are stressed. This stress makes them more vulnerable to severe winter weather and shortens their lifespan.

Light pollution also threatens wildlife by disrupting natural biological rhythms, in particular those of nocturnal insects and animals. Nocturnal birds, for example, use the moon and stars for navigation. But when they fly through brightly-lit areas, they quickly become disoriented. As a result, birds often crash into brilliantlylit broadcast towers or buildings, or circle them until they drop from exhaustion.

In the case of sea turtles, newly hatched turtles use the moon to guide them towards the sea. However, bright lights from beach bars and hotels lure them away. Searching in vain for the water, baby turtles crawl inland or along the beach, sometimes until dawn, eventually becoming food for predators.

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A Big Waste of Energy

If water were leaking from a faulty tap, it would be repaired immediately to avoid wasting money. Why isn’t the same action taken for the leakage of light? It is estimated that one-third of all lighting in the U.S.A. is wasted, at a cost of $2 billion every year. Moreover, to produce the necessary energy required for this amount of lighting, we consume 8 million tons of coal and 30 million barrels of oil. The burning of these fossil fuels releases huge amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, steadily increasing the effects of global warming. In essence, light pollution is responsible for huge economic and environmental costs.

How to Solve the Problem

It is evident that light pollution is a problem with extremely negative consequences. Fortunately, however, it also has several possible solutions. One is to shield nighttime lighting and direct it correctly so that all the light shines down where it is needed rather than up into the sky. By doing this, lights with a lower wattage could be used and a significant amount of energy and money could be saved.

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Another solution is to simply reduce the number and brightness of lights used. It is often argued that this would reduce security, but research has shown that when installed evenly, dimmer lights can actually increase visibility and safety by reducing both glare and dark shadows.

Finally, replacing outdated, inefficient fixtures with modern, energy-efficient ones, along with installing buildings with more motion-sensors and timers, would certainly help to save energy and reduce the amount of light wasted. Such devices switch on the lights only when people need them, and automatically switch them off when nobody is around.

Efforts to Reduce Light Pollution

Austria has raised awareness of light pollution by having a nationwide star counting activity.

Australia has national standards for lighting, including the control of obtrusive lighting.

Belgium has an annual National Light Pollution Awareness Day to promote a better nighttime environment.

Greece has an extensive educational effort within its schools regarding light pollution.

The United States now has a number of state laws dealing with nighttime lighting, with more in the pipeline.

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