Topic: Light Pollution

I've done a little research on light pollution with some interesting results. Much of it is the result of poorly designed outdoor lighting fixtures. Anything that radiates light above the horizon line, as most streetlights do, is pretty much wasting that light. A lot of energy and light pollution can be saved by simple adjustments to light design. Some of the worst examples are that of architectural, spotlight, or billboard lighting fixtures which point from the ground up into the sky. The effects on the visibility of the night sky are huge:

The pictures above show the same constellation of stars with different amounts of light pollution in the sky. The differences are astounding, especially for me as I draw much inspiration from the night sky.

The excessive amounts of light have been found in cases to lead to stress, fatigue, headaches, decreased sexual function, elevated blood pressure, anxiety, sleep disruption, and even breast cancer. The reasons vary, and some pertain to certain types of light, but I believe the biggest argument is a simple case of offsetting the natural day-night cycle that has been lived by forever. The implications on natural ecosystems is even more obvious. Many nocturnal animals that had adapted to see at night become blinded by artificial lights, disrupting their living and hunting patterns. Insects that navigate using the stars or the moon become disoriented, including those that are necessary for pollinating certain flowers. Just as they do with clear glass panes, migrating birds often blindly fly into brightly lit buildings. Another sad case are that of sea turtle hatchlings. To find the sea, they travel away from the darkness of the sand dunes, thus are confused when artificial light is thrown into the picture, a heartbreaking addition to the already huge number of natural and artificial dangers they face.

Basically, it seems as if our use of light is much too lackadaisical, overlooking many negative implications. A transition to energy-efficient bulbs is a huge step, but the actual fixtures need reworking as well. At least as a photographer I can use my camera to "recycle" these stray light rays into my pictures, something I talk more about in this post I made last summer.

light pollution: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light_pollution