Satellite views of global and US light pollution.
Credit: US Air Force DMSP Satellite | ©US Department of Commerce, NOAA NGDC
There are numerous reasons why light pollution (also known as up-light and light trespass) is a significant problem, and over 99% of the United States and European Union countries suffer some degree of it. Two-thirds of the rest of the planet endure a measure of light pollution as well. It is a problem because the light escaping into the sky wastes money and energy, around $2 billion per year in the US alone. This translates into an enormous amount of coal used to generate the electricity necessary to produce that light, wasting natural resources and polluting the air as well.
Light pollution is directly harmful to wildlife, altering the habits and disturbing the behavior of creatures who can no longer tell when dawn and dusk occur. Up-light makes it difficult for observatories and amateur astronomers - including your family - to see the stars. It is also thought that exposure to light at night decreases your body's production of melatonin by disrupting your internal clock. This means that your body is less able to fight the spread of cancer and destroy free radicals. The good new is that there are ways that you can help to fight light pollution.
Look around your own home to find ways to reduce the up-light you are producing. When evaluating your outdoor lights, remember that too much light, like floodlights, can make it harder to see instead of helping. The eye adjusts to the level of light and things outside of the glare are difficult to see. Putting your lights higher and aiming them downward at a steep angle helps to minimize such glare, as well as reducing the amount of light lost.
Try installing a few fixtures with lower intensity rather than trying to light your entire front walk with one blinding bulb. Install motion detectors, so that the lights are only on when they are needed. Also, use fixtures with frosted or white glass, to diffuse the light and soften any glare. That goes for inside your home as well as outdoors. Close your shades or blinds at night to keep the light inside.
Light pollution is directly harmful to wildlife, altering the habits and disturbing the behavior of creatures who can no longer tell when dawn and dusk occur. Up-light makes it difficult for observatories and amateur astronomers - including your family - to see the stars. It is also thought that exposure to light at night decreases your body's production of melatonin by disrupting your internal clock. This means that your body is less able to fight the spread of cancer and destroy free radicals. The good new is that there are ways that you can help to fight light pollution.
Look around your own home to find ways to reduce the up-light you are producing. When evaluating your outdoor lights, remember that too much light, like floodlights, can make it harder to see instead of helping. The eye adjusts to the level of light and things outside of the glare are difficult to see. Putting your lights higher and aiming them downward at a steep angle helps to minimize such glare, as well as reducing the amount of light lost.
Try installing a few fixtures with lower intensity rather than trying to light your entire front walk with one blinding bulb. Install motion detectors, so that the lights are only on when they are needed. Also, use fixtures with frosted or white glass, to diffuse the light and soften any glare. That goes for inside your home as well as outdoors. Close your shades or blinds at night to keep the light inside.
Comments
mavic lingan
(Guest)
(Guest)
08/03/2008
its only now that i knew there is such a light pollution.
Great information and tips. Thanks. :)
Some communities here in Ohio are addressing the problems of light pollution and are not allowing as many lighted signs. Good article.
I sometimes and forget to turn off our porch light. Now I'll be more careful on that. Very interesting article.
I've known about the effects on astronomy, but this article presented a much broader picture of the problem. I could just feel the overstimulation from never getting away from light, and I have certainly seen the difference, now that I think about it, when it was cloudy at night and the clouds reflected the light back. Thanks!
I never thought of light as pollution either. Interesting article.
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