12wonderY
Artificial light can cause a multitude of biological problems, as well as deprive us of our birthright to see the universe. Discuss.
Here's the Bortle scale.
On my Kentucky ridgetop, I've probably got 3.5 - my only visible neighbor has a security light that stampedes across my property line. We spend night hours on the side of the house opposite the light and it's pretty good sky viewing.
In town, on the Ohio River, fairly small town, the Bortle rating is between 7 and 8. Across the river, the small town there must have lighting codes. It's not obvious until you start comparing, but there is much less glare.
Here's the Bortle scale.
On my Kentucky ridgetop, I've probably got 3.5 - my only visible neighbor has a security light that stampedes across my property line. We spend night hours on the side of the house opposite the light and it's pretty good sky viewing.
In town, on the Ohio River, fairly small town, the Bortle rating is between 7 and 8. Across the river, the small town there must have lighting codes. It's not obvious until you start comparing, but there is much less glare.
3aspirit
Here's a link to the Dark Site Finder Map.
http://darksitefinder.com/map/
Does anyone hand recommended reading for the health risks of artificial light? I've seen that blue LEDs can damage retinas, CFLs can trigger migraines (in humans), and incandescent lights have a long history of starting fires. What about the rumor that light pollution is associated with cancers? What are the concerns for wildlife?
http://darksitefinder.com/map/
Does anyone hand recommended reading for the health risks of artificial light? I've seen that blue LEDs can damage retinas, CFLs can trigger migraines (in humans), and incandescent lights have a long history of starting fires. What about the rumor that light pollution is associated with cancers? What are the concerns for wildlife?
42wonderY
Catherine Rich and Travis Longcore gathered much of the material you want.
52wonderY
Another (free) resource is Artificial Light in the Environment, completed in 2009. You can download the entire work from here:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attac...
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attac...
6John5918
Light pollution is key 'bringer of insect apocalypse' (Guardian)
Light pollution is a significant but overlooked driver of the rapid decline of insect populations, according to the most comprehensive review of the scientific evidence to date.
Artificial light at night can affect every aspect of insects’ lives, the researchers said, from luring moths to their deaths around bulbs, to spotlighting insect prey for rats and toads, to obscuring the mating signals of fireflies...
However, unlike other drivers of decline, light pollution was relatively easy to prevent, the team said, by switching off unnecessary lights and using proper shades. “Doing so could greatly reduce insect losses immediately,” they said...
Light pollution is a significant but overlooked driver of the rapid decline of insect populations, according to the most comprehensive review of the scientific evidence to date.
Artificial light at night can affect every aspect of insects’ lives, the researchers said, from luring moths to their deaths around bulbs, to spotlighting insect prey for rats and toads, to obscuring the mating signals of fireflies...
However, unlike other drivers of decline, light pollution was relatively easy to prevent, the team said, by switching off unnecessary lights and using proper shades. “Doing so could greatly reduce insect losses immediately,” they said...
82wonderY
DOE papers on street lights:
https://www.energy.gov/eere/ssl/street-lighting-blue-light-and-light-night
https://www.energy.gov/eere/ssl/street-lighting-blue-light-and-light-night
92wonderY
A British study:
Light pollution from street lamps linked to insect loss https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-58333233
Light pollution from street lamps linked to insect loss https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-58333233
102wonderY
One of my associates in the Climate Action group mentioned that his wife has written about light pollution. I googled and found this article:
https://hoptownchronicle.org/seeing-the-stars-small-towns-and-rural-parks-pursue...
https://hoptownchronicle.org/seeing-the-stars-small-towns-and-rural-parks-pursue...
11margd
Christopher C. M. Kyba et al. 2023. Citizen scientists report global rapid reductions in the visibility of stars from 2011 to 2022. Science 19 Jan 2023 Vol 379, Issue 6629 pp. 265-268. DOI: 0.1126/science.abq7781
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abq7781
The night sky is rapidly getting brighter
Artificial lighting that escapes into the sky causes it to glow, preventing humans and animals from seeing the stars. Satellites can measure the light emitted upward, but they are not sensitive to all wavelengths produced by LED lighting or to light emitted horizontally. Kyba et al. used data from citizen scientists to measure how light pollution is affecting human views of the stars worldwide (see the Perspective by Falchi and Bará). Participants were shown maps of the sky at different levels of light pollution and asked which most closely matched their view. Trends in the data showed that the average night sky got brighter by 9.6% per year from 2011 to 2022, which is equivalent to doubling the sky brightness every 8 years. —KTS
Abstract
The artificial glow of the night sky is a form of light pollution; its global change over time is not well known. Developments in lighting technology complicate any measurement because of changes in lighting practice and emission spectra. We investigated the change in global sky brightness from 2011 to 2022 using 51,351 citizen scientist observations of naked-eye stellar visibility. The number of visible stars decreased by an amount that can be explained by an increase in sky brightness of 7 to 10% per year in the human visible band. This increase is faster than emissions changes indicated by satellite observations. We ascribe this difference to spectral changes in light emission and to the average angle of light emissions.
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abq7781
The night sky is rapidly getting brighter
Artificial lighting that escapes into the sky causes it to glow, preventing humans and animals from seeing the stars. Satellites can measure the light emitted upward, but they are not sensitive to all wavelengths produced by LED lighting or to light emitted horizontally. Kyba et al. used data from citizen scientists to measure how light pollution is affecting human views of the stars worldwide (see the Perspective by Falchi and Bará). Participants were shown maps of the sky at different levels of light pollution and asked which most closely matched their view. Trends in the data showed that the average night sky got brighter by 9.6% per year from 2011 to 2022, which is equivalent to doubling the sky brightness every 8 years. —KTS
Abstract
The artificial glow of the night sky is a form of light pollution; its global change over time is not well known. Developments in lighting technology complicate any measurement because of changes in lighting practice and emission spectra. We investigated the change in global sky brightness from 2011 to 2022 using 51,351 citizen scientist observations of naked-eye stellar visibility. The number of visible stars decreased by an amount that can be explained by an increase in sky brightness of 7 to 10% per year in the human visible band. This increase is faster than emissions changes indicated by satellite observations. We ascribe this difference to spectral changes in light emission and to the average angle of light emissions.
122wonderY
Perhaps this is why my front yard fruit trees flower too early in the spring:
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C0Pl0B8xJzN/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C0Pl0B8xJzN/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
13margd
All-night streetlights make leaves inedible to insects, study finds
Helena Horton | 5 Aug 2024
... extended photosynthesis ... “We noticed that, compared with natural ecosystems, tree leaves in most urban ecosystems generally show little sign of insect damage. We were curious as to why,” said the study’s author, Dr Shuang Zhang of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. “In two of the most common tree species in Beijing, artificial light at night led to increased leaf toughness and decreased levels of leaf herbivory.” ...
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/aug/05/all-night-streetligh...
---------------------------------------
Yu Cao et al. 2024. Artificial light at night decreases leaf herbivory in typical urban areas. Front. Plant Sci., 04 August 2024 Sec. Plant Abiotic Stress
Volume 15 - 2024 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2024.1392262 https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2024.13...
...This study aimed to assess how ALAN (artificial light at night ) influences leaf functional traits and herbivory in two prevalent street tree species (Styphnolobium japonicum (L.) Schott {Japanese pagoda tree} and Fraxinus pennsylvanica {green ash}) through field surveys and paired experiments in the urban areas of Beijing, China. We found that ALAN led to increased leaf toughness and decreased levels of leaf herbivory. Additionally, ALAN showed species-specific effects on leaf nutrients, size as well as defense substances. The findings illustrate that ALAN can significantly alter some key functional traits and ecological processes (nutrient cycling, energy flow). In general, we suggest that high ALAN intensity will be detrimental to the energy flow from urban plants to higher trophic levels, posing a potential threat to the maintenance of biodiversity (e.g., arthropod diversity, bird diversity) in urban ecosystems.
Helena Horton | 5 Aug 2024
... extended photosynthesis ... “We noticed that, compared with natural ecosystems, tree leaves in most urban ecosystems generally show little sign of insect damage. We were curious as to why,” said the study’s author, Dr Shuang Zhang of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. “In two of the most common tree species in Beijing, artificial light at night led to increased leaf toughness and decreased levels of leaf herbivory.” ...
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/aug/05/all-night-streetligh...
---------------------------------------
Yu Cao et al. 2024. Artificial light at night decreases leaf herbivory in typical urban areas. Front. Plant Sci., 04 August 2024 Sec. Plant Abiotic Stress
Volume 15 - 2024 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2024.1392262 https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2024.13...
...This study aimed to assess how ALAN (artificial light at night ) influences leaf functional traits and herbivory in two prevalent street tree species (Styphnolobium japonicum (L.) Schott {Japanese pagoda tree} and Fraxinus pennsylvanica {green ash}) through field surveys and paired experiments in the urban areas of Beijing, China. We found that ALAN led to increased leaf toughness and decreased levels of leaf herbivory. Additionally, ALAN showed species-specific effects on leaf nutrients, size as well as defense substances. The findings illustrate that ALAN can significantly alter some key functional traits and ecological processes (nutrient cycling, energy flow). In general, we suggest that high ALAN intensity will be detrimental to the energy flow from urban plants to higher trophic levels, posing a potential threat to the maintenance of biodiversity (e.g., arthropod diversity, bird diversity) in urban ecosystems.
142wonderY
>13 margd: Wow! That seems a breakthrough finding.
152wonderY
Maine's first law to battle light pollution goes into effect this year
https://www.mainepublic.org/environment-and-outdoors/2026-01-12/maines-first-sta...
Maine Rep. Laurie Osher, an Orono Democrat who sponsored the bill, said even though it only pertains to public lighting, the new law may provide guidance for private owners interested in limiting their own light pollution
https://www.mainepublic.org/environment-and-outdoors/2026-01-12/maines-first-sta...
Maine Rep. Laurie Osher, an Orono Democrat who sponsored the bill, said even though it only pertains to public lighting, the new law may provide guidance for private owners interested in limiting their own light pollution
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