Think About Biodiversity Before You Flip That Switch

In response to the “Light Up the Skies” events on April 25, we have been reminded that light pollution is responsible in part for a loss of bio-diversity and affects human sleep patterns. Therefore we encourage people who participate in the Overpass Light Brigades to rethink the messaging and consider using “Let Your Light Shine For….”

And we urge you to read the materials below to learn more about this issue and what you can do about it and reducing our carbon footprint at the same time. Thanks! – Staff

We rarely stop to think that the night is necessary and good for life. Therefore, we do not realize that protecting the night sky is a valuable step to conserving bio-diversity. Most people think that, as we sleep at night, the rest of the species do the same, with a few exceptions, so it is of no concern if we send out a little light into the night time environment. A crass error. Naturalists know (and it would help if they said so more often) that the biological activity of our fauna is more intense at night than during the day and that this fauna needs the night for their normal activities.

— The Importance of Protecting the Night Sky Pere Horts  Deputy Chairman of Cel Fosc. Catalonia. Spain

Light Pollution Harms the Environment

For three billion years now, life on this Earth has existed with a regular and dependable day-night schedule to the illumination levels in the environment. This regularity has become ingrained into the DNA of species up and down the evolutionary tree. It regularizes basic and fundamental biological activities across species from plants to us humans. It is the height of apathetic ignorance and insanity that we expect other living organisms on this planet to just “adapt” to newly created lighting schedules of our convenience. The effects of light pollution on plants and animals in the environment are numerous and are becoming more known. In general, the most common action is that light pollution alters and interferes with the timing of necessary biological activities. But for approximately half of all life, those nocturnal species that begins its daily activities at sundown, our artificial lights at night seriously constrain their lives, exposing them to predators and reducing the time they have to find food, shelter, or mates and reproduce.

Unfortunately, it is far, far easier to setup a badly installed light outside than it is to understand the negative effects it casts down-light from it. U.S. roadways contribute a huge amount of waste light. All of that bad lighting could be redone by replacing the up-pointing 300W halogen bulbs with more efficient LED lights and by pointing the LEDs down, thus cost far less for the taxpayers with out causing a single change in the quality of information delivered to the traveler or to compromise their safety. However, white light sources, such as metal halides, CFLs or LEDs, must be used with caution! These lights emit high levels of bluish light that not only interferes with our night vision and our own health, but also with the well-being of animals. Other types of lighting produces high levels of reddish or even infrared light. Their spectra interferes with the well-being of many types of plants.

However, bad lighting does not stop just at the roads. Tiffany Saleh wrote a good article on the “Effects of Artificial Lighting on Wildlife” explaining this in the WildlandsCPR.org‘s web site.

This page will cover some of the impacts that light pollution has on species which have lived on this planet far longer than us “john-come-lately” humans. In the span of a mere one hundred years, our creation of the never-occurring night is having some real effects on the animals that were here before us. One reason is that the same melatonin suppression problems we have with lights at night, creates the same problems in animals. Melatonin is the chronobiotic hormonal regulator of neoplastic cell growth, meaning that it is just the hormonal signal of our biological clock, is used for similar functions in mammals worldwide. It is one of the oldest hormones known that basically signals to genes whether it is light out or not, hence light pollution effects animals as well. A mere glance at the articles in the Light pollution vs. Human Health pages easily confirms this fact as melatonin testing is done over and over on rat species. In fact, it is found in almost all organisms.

But melatonin is more than just some ancient hormone buried deep within us and the animals that is impacted. Night tells so many animals when to eat, when to sleep, when to hunt, when to migrate or even when to reproduce, it is estimated that half of all life on earth start their daily activities at sundown. Here is a brief, incomplete accounting of how light pollution harms those living outside our materialistic world.

– CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION –

And check out this video:

OUR VANISHING NIGHT

HERE’S WHAT YOU CAN DO:

On 2007 during the first International Starlight Conference, supported by IAC, UNESCO, IAU,UN-WTO, MaB, SCBD and CMs, it was agreed to promote annually the World Night in Defence of the Starlight as part of our cultural, scientific and environmental heritage. Every year on this date we remind ourselves of the need to preserve our right to view a dark night sky full of stars and to take steps to prevent its disappearance. This year, World Night in Defence of the Starlight falls within Astronomy Week 2010.

A whole range of organizations have unified their efforts and activities this year in April to raise awareness about defending our starry skies all over the planet.
The World Night is an opportunity to get actively involved in many ways:

• Organize events and ceremonies for the adoption of the Starlight Declaration.Claim and propose visitable places for observation, as well as parks and destinations under the stars.
• Promote public statements aimed to recover the vision of starry skies and limit light pollution.
• Switch-off unnecessary lights at night to recover the vision of stars, and at the same time save energy and slow down climate change.
• Organize artistic events or competitions on themes related with the vision of starry skies.
• Offer night sky viewing through telescopes.
• Provide media coverage and public talks by scientists, experts, and dark skies advocates related with all dimensions of the night sky.
• Promote the identification of local dark areas that warrant protection.
• Advocate for local dark sky ordinances.

And last, but not least, organize events in which children can participate.

Our capacity to maintain the right to observe stars is in their hands; it should be the right of future generations.

VISIT STARLIGHT: OUR COMMON HERITAGE FOR MORE INFORMATION.