In five years, will we be able to point at a sky full of stars?
How would you feel if you were to stand on top of a tall building at night and gaze at the city lights?
You’ll probably enjoy the view but here comes the problem though. These are not just glowing lamps. This is pollution, light pollution.
An article detailing the effects of light pollution was published in the Science magazine wherein it makes some quite troubling observations. Each year from 2011 to 2022, fewer stars were visible to the human eye, according to experts. Everything was dominated by artificial illumination, which made even the faintest stars hardly visible. They also noticed that the skies were getting around 10% brighter year.
Where does the problem arise?
Contrary to conventional study, which led us to believe that artificially brightened night skies only increased by roughly 2% year, this is true. And the skyglow, an increase in the brilliance coming from artificial lights—is an issue.
There is also the obvious economic effect. Keeping the lights on all night uses a lot of electricity. You could claim that humans require lighting at night. However, there are two types of lighting:
- lighting that is functional; and
- lighting that is aesthetically pleasing. And just to make our cities appear nice, we utilize a lot of lights.
Along with the evident environmental degradation from the extraction and burning of fossil fuels to generate this lost electricity, light pollution directly costs the US at least $1 billion dollars annually in wasteful electricity expenses.
For instance, at least 30% of outdoor light is wasted alone in the United States. Recent breakthroughs give optimism that we will use artificial light more wisely.
Mind you, these are only the direct costs. Nobody discusses the indirect effects apart from those that harm the economy. We are referring to the environmentally damaging factors.
The Environment Phenomena of Lights Harming the Ecology
For example, plants have photoperiods, which means that light controls how they develop and grow. Therefore, when we utilize artificial lighting, we interfere with this crucial process. It influences how they develop. Even earlier blooming is possible.
And while this might not seem like a bad thing initially, this shift in behavior can also mislead pollinators, such as bees, which has a knock-on impact.
Speaking of bees, the sole species of nocturnal bee in existence is the Indian Carpenter Bee. At night, they carry out their pollination activities. They are located in a sanctuary about 100 kilometers from Mumbai, an Indian city in the Maharashtra region. The issue with Mumbai is how well-lit it is at night. Well, it is this very skyglow that impacts the sanctuary and all the living beings inhabiting it.
Therefore, some researchers suggest that the light pollution may have an impact on their habitats and that the bee population may potentially become extinct.
Our ecosystem can disintegrate if nocturnal creatures like bees and other insects vanish. Even creatures and birds that consume specific nighttime insects will have difficulty finding food. Therefore, you can predict how the food chain would struggle to keep up.
Over 100,000 migratory birds are murdered each year in New York City, the “city that never sleeps,” when they crash into these brightly illuminated tall skyscrapers. Imagine that this is taking place everywhere.
Up Above the Sky
The predicted increase in low Earth orbit satellites from 5,000 to more than 100,000 in the following decade poses the greatest threat to our night skies. These mega-constellations have the potential to drastically change how humans view the stars.
They are so bright that they can be seen with the naked eye and can also blind the most powerful research telescopes in the world.
The idea that the sky is a natural resource that could be harmed gained prominence after SpaceX’s Starlink constellation of small satellites began to obscure views of the Earth from ground-based telescopes.
These instances made it clear that a global light pollution reduction treaty is required.
The night is really becoming brighter (skyglow) practically everywhere in the world despite authorities’ aggressive efforts to reduce light pollution around telescope sites, with substantial ecological, health, and cultural implications.
Conclusion
The US city of Pittsburgh made the decision to use black sky lighting in 2021. This means there will be more lights with motion sensors. Or replacing lights that were cooler, dimmer, and used less power thereby ensuring that lights had shields to protect them and divert the light downward to lessen pollution.
Australia has rules in place as well. They promote nighttime darkness whenever it is possible while also focusing low-intensity lights to only illuminate the desired area. To prevent surfaces from reflecting light, even paint them in darker colours. Additionally, they advise frequent light assessments. Just to make sure that these man-made lights aren’t harming sea turtles and migrating birds during the breeding season.
Therefore, one can observe that nations have started taking this seriously while also initiating policies and framework to reduce the impact of light pollution on the economy and the environment simultaneously.
