THE DARK SIDE OF LIGHT
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The Dark Side—what does it mean?
The Dark Side—what does it mean?
The dark is a sacred force that has been desecrated by artificial light. The Earth requires a calm veil of darkness to continue at a natural pace. Excessive light has destroyed the balance between light and dark, and this disruption has torn away the balance of our entire ecosystem. From plants to animals to human beings, each thing residing on this globe is affected by the destruction of the dark.
Types of Light Pollution -
Glare: Excessive bright light that causes one's eyes discomfort, pain, or even temporary blindness.
Sky glow: Often times, the sky seems to have brightened when you are passing through inhabitated areas. This brightening of the sky above cities and clusters of buildings have a great role in stealing away the dark.
Light trespass: This is the unnecessary light that falls in patches over areas that do not need it.
Clutter: Similar to a cluster of objects, a cluster of light can be confusing, excessive and unwanted.
What causes this disruption?
Cities: If you were to be watching the Earth from the International Space Station (ISS), you would be surprised to find that city lights are brighter than the stars even in space. Our cities have been flooded with lights, each and every crevice is lit by light that we sometimes do not even need. It is time that the citizens of each city come together and conserve light.
Outdoor lights: One streetlamp is 500 times brighter than the moon. Now, the battle between the 304 million streetlamps of our world against one moon, how can we possibly expect the moon to endure?
Electronic Advertising: The rise of AI has brought many changes into our world- including electronic advertising. These large pixel screens are kept on all throughout the night, especially in large cities. Have you ever stopped to think about what effect they have on our globe?
Greenhouses- The light produced by greenhouses is sent upwards into the sky, which forms unusual light variations in the air. The government is yet to address this pressing issue, but if delayed, the sky will keep filling with unnatural tones of this lighting.
Factories and industries- Industries are crucial for our economy, but they are constantly swallowing the dark. Every time one passes through an industrial area, one can clearly see lights blinking everywhere, and this needs to be controlled.
Oil and Gas production- Satellites have shown massive areas affected by light pollution because of oil and gas flares. We mustn't let this process of production threaten the safety the dark sky provides.
Satellites- Scientists have recently found that objects (such as satellites) that orbit the Earth elevate the brightness of the sky by 10 percent. This is highly concerning for our planet, and we must take action to save our dark from this growing menace of light.
How much light is too much light?
How much light is too much light?
Click on the subtopics below for a detailed insight into the affects of artificial light on our world.
How do we get our skies back?
How do we get our skies back?
Like most global issues, overcoming light pollution will require unity- a shared understanding of the gravity of the problem. More than eighty per cent of the world is affected by light pollution, but barely anyone knows what light pollution really is. We need to help people understand the seriousness of this growing issue. Let us begin this crucial conversation that will awaken the world to the importance of the dark.
If we all make a conscious effort to replace artificial lighting in our homes and workspaces with natural lighting as much as possible, light pollution would significantly decrease. We simply need to understand that we hold the power within our own hands, a few small efforts can go a long way.
A large part of this issue stems from a negative belief- a fear of the dark. Our poets, musicians, astronomers, scientists, environmentalists, and artists need to come together and free our world from this fear of the dark. We must learn to embrace the lighting that celestial bodies such as the Moon provide.
Lights also have different types, some radiate a warm yellow glow, while others are sharp, white and cold. Different types of lighting are suitable for different species because light isn’t a ‘’One size fits all’’. So how can we select lighting that is most suitable for us and the natural world that surrounds us?
In order to choose suitable lighting, we must understand light and how it works. Bulbs have evolved from Incandescent to CFL’s to LED’s. Most of the modern world depends on LEDs as a major source of light, but are they truly good for us?
Reports show that numerous people have experienced headaches, eye aches, migraines and nausea in the presence of LED and CFL lighting. But these effects are much rarer when it comes to the warm glow of incandescent bulbs. This shows that white light, leaning towards the blue shades of the light spectrum, is provoking something within our bodies which creates this sense of pain and discomfort. That simply shows that they are not good for us, but still, we choose to ignore the headaches and go on utilizing this light that has slowly rubbed away at our ability to think, function and view things clearly.
LED lighting, of course, is a lot more energy efficient. But the light emitted from them belongs to the short wave, high-energy blue and violet end of the light spectrum which can cause retinal changes, even if there is high exposure during a short period of time. These lights may use less energy, but the warm glow of incandescent bulbs is much healthier for our light-sensitive bodies. Such effects are extremely rare when it comes to incandescent bulbs, which is precisely why we need to switch back to this warm source of lighting or help our inventors create a bulb which radiates a warm light while also being energy efficient. But In the end, it all comes down to utilising light wisely and appreciating it as a force that needs to only be used when necessary.
Let us look at the different species of plants and animals that surround us. Studies have been conducted to observe the behaviour of certain animals under certain coloured light conditions. After conducting a study with bats under white and red lighting, it was found that bats behave more naturally in the presence of red light. Similarly, many other mammals find it easier to see clearly in red lighting than compared to other light spectrums (their eyes are not saturated by the red light- it is warmer and less harsh). If we study and observe the behaviours of different animal species under a wide range of light conditions, we can carefully pick the most suitable lighting for the animals of our planet, and design our environmental lighting in a way that causes the least amount of harm to all the beings that coexist in it.
The same cannot be done for plants, because artificial lighting in any form or colour will be harmful to plants, which is why we need to make sure that street lamps and other sources of ALAN are placed at a distance from plants. And if lights are placed near plants, they need to be dim or soft.
Light is a force that governs this world, and when we allow such a crucial force to grow so rapidly, we are handing over our fates to it, to drag us away towards doom. Let us restore the balance that has been stolen. We can not let them steal the skies from us.
Something greater than ourselves
Something greater than ourselves
All earthly beings need light to live; we embrace light as we embrace water or air. But when we learned that something so natural, something illuminating and seemingly harmless, was causing so much harm to our planet, we were appalled.
It is not that light is bad for our world, but that it has been completely blown out of proportion, for which we are entirely at fault.
The Earth and its inhabitants require only the light radiating from the sun and the moon, but now our world is full of dazzling white bulbs that are ruining the balance between light and dark, and nobody is doing anything about it.
Each year, the issues that engulf our planet worsen. This is nothing new. Every year, there are protests, authors write books to spread awareness, scientists research and warn us of looming threats, laws are made, schoolchildren make charts and posters, conversations are initiated, and meetings are held. However, does anyone ever dare to take true action?
We must not let ignorance cage us; our world needs us to break free.
Knowing all this deeply concerns us.
We hope that after having read what we have to say, you share the same feeling.
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