Video: Global Light Pollution: Danger, Scope and Consequences
2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55
Light pollution, the excessive use of artificial light, a phenomenon that is still poorly understood, but it seems that its effect on the nature of the Earth is much more dangerous than it seemed before.
A report in the journal Nature clearly shows the degree of impact that incredible amounts of light have on everything around. And no, it's not just that we now don't see the stars.
Artificial light has appeared on Earth on an industrial scale since the second half of the 19th century, but the world is getting brighter and brighter every year. Artificially lit areas grow by 2.2% from 2012 to 2016, and the level of light brightness grows by 1.8% annually. The key factor in this was the global transition from conventional light bulbs to diode, energy efficient, long lasting and bright.
Animals, from insects to turtles and bats, begin to suffer from all this light. It has an effect even on songbirds that stop sleeping at night, significantly shortening their lifespan.
But it's not just the animals. A 2017 study from Illinois found that light pollution, for example, alters the growth rate of soybeans. The light slows both the height and maturity of the plants for 2 to 7 weeks, and this is not some directional light, but simply an effect from the nearby highway.
But it's not just the amount of light, but also the glow of the sky reflected from clouds and aerosols in the atmosphere. Humans don't notice it, but according to recent studies, it may affect 30% of vertebrates and 60% of nocturnal invertebrates. And the long-term effects of all this light on species have yet to be explored.
Measures to reduce light pollution have so far been sporadic and disorganized. The United States has created the world's first dark sky reserve, where the number of light sources is regulated. Highways in Norway are currently experimenting with dynamic lighting, dimming when there are no cars on the road. But on the whole, the problem has been posed, but it is extremely difficult to solve it, although we can see certain consequences from it already now.
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