Light Pollution: The Lessons the Stars Teach Us
- The Delphi
- Jul 7, 2022
- 3 min read
Updated: Aug 6, 2024
National Geographic describes light pollution as “the excessive or inappropriate use of outdoor artificial light.” This is a topic that not many people talk about because other forms of pollution outweigh the dangers of light pollution. However, it can affect wildlife, our ability to view celestial objects, and even human health.
Today, 80% of the world lives with polluted skies and if we are to really protect Earth from climate change and other environmental disasters, we must understand light pollution as well. Due to our waste of 50% percent of light, 21,000,000 tons of carbon dioxide are released into the atmosphere. This greatly contributes to global warming and CO2 emissions. Light pollution is also known to throw off the tree's seasonal cycle and is responsible for the death of many migratory birds. If this doesn’t seem like enough damage, wait until you hear what light pollution does to the human body!
You might have already heard that artificial light, especially at night, can hurt and damage our eyes. However, it also confuses the circadian rhythm. In simple terms, the circadian rhythm is a 24-hour cycle that controls our sleep and wake cycle. Using lots of light at night can make your body believe it is actually daytime. This will lower the amount of melatonin
- sleep chemical - production. This causes severe sleep deprivation which leads to fatigue, headaches, stress, and anxiety. Some studies have even shown a possible connection between low melatonin and cancer. Astronomers have also found it difficult to observe celestial objects such as stars. Light pollution competes with the stars and diminishes the natural beauty of the night sky. It washes out the fainter stars and has forced astronomers to adapt in order to make their observations.
Many of us - myself included - have not seen stars in their true form. The light from our world has always masked them to the point you can only see a handful of stars in the sky. However, I was recently blessed enough to see what the sky used to be. Not too long ago, I found myself on a plane miles above the effects of light pollution. I looked up at the night sky through the small window near my seat, and I saw millions of stars, bright and twinkling stars, so close I could have touched them. Then, I looked down and saw a reflection of these stars, but the reflection was really just a city on the ground. As I looked back up at the stars and back down at our world, it hit me. Before bustling cities rose, we would just look at the sky with her stars and admire their beauty. Eventually, we wanted the star's magnificence for our own, so we copied, mimicked, and reflected the stars with our own beautiful cities. Although we meant no harm, the stars began losing their beauty with every drop of it we gained.
The same thing happens every day when we admire each other’s beauty with envious eyes. We constantly desire each other’s allure, and we fail to acknowledge our own. Intentionally and unintentionally we copy, mimic, and reflect. If one were to look at it with a negative connotation, we steal. And slowly the ones we once admired lose their beauty as we gain it. We stole the stars for ourselves, and we continue to steal without truly seeing that our own beauty was perfect, to begin with.
So I implore you to see your own beauty before you steal it from others. You might believe it is too late for the stars. Perhaps the light pollution we caused has already doomed them, but we mustn’t lose hope yet. There are many ways to reduce the damage that has already been done.
Use LEDs and CFLs to reduce the amount of energy used
Use outdoor lights that have shields that protect the sky from light pollution
Turn off all unnecessary indoor lights at nighttime
Visit this site for more information on what you can do to help:
Work Cited
“5 Appalling Facts about Light Pollution - International Dark-Sky Association.” International Dark-Sky Association, 29 July 2016, www.darksky.org/5-appalling-facts-about-light-pollution/#:~:text=Light%20 Population%20 unnecessarily%20contributes%20to%20climate%20change.&text=Unfortunately%2C%20up%20to%2050%20percent,plant%20875%20million%20trees%20annually.. Accessed 28 June 2022.
Kerss, Tom. “Can You See Stars in Light Polluted Skies?” Space.com, Space, 25 Jan. 2022, www.space.com/stars-in-light-polluted-skies. Accessed 28 June 2022.
“Light Pollution Solutions - International Dark-Sky Association.” International Dark-Sky Association, 10 Oct. 2018, www.darksky.org/light-pollution/light-pollution-solutions/#:~:text=Dimmers%2C%20motion%20 sensors%20and%20 timers,and%20save%20even%20more%20energy.&text=Switching%20to%20 LED%20lighting%20 allowed,empty%20office%20 buildings%20at%20night.. Accessed 28 June 2022.
“Light Pollution | National Geographic Society.” Nationalgeographic.org, 2016, education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/light-pollution. Accessed 28 June 2022.
“Nighttime Light Pollution Covers Nearly 80% of the Globe.” Science.org, 2021, www.science.org/content/article/nighttime-light-pollution-covers-nearly-80-globe#:~:text=The%20new%20 atlas%20shows%20that,99%25%20of%20Europeans%20and%20Americans.. Accessed 28 June 2022.
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