Glowing nights: understanding the impact of light pollution

Hi everyone,

Have you ever noticed how city lights drown out the stars, turning the night sky into a fuzzy glow? Today we're talking about light pollution and how it affects us and nature.

Firstly, let's go into the basics of light pollution, which comes in three different types. Glare, characterized by excessively bright and uncomfortable light, is akin to having a blinding torch directed into your eyes. Clutter, as the name suggests, results from light coming from multiple sources simultaneously, often leading to disorientation and confusion. Trespass light, is when light pollution extends into areas where it shouldn't be; for instance, office lights illuminating not only the office but also neighboring apartment blocks or street lights intruding into bedrooms and the night sky.

Light pollution is emitted from various sources, including buildings and offices, where interior and exterior lighting can contribute to the problem. Events like fireworks and light displays can also be sources of light pollution. Street and security lights, designed for better visibility, often spill excessive light into unintended areas. The constant activity at traffic intersections and airports contributes to the pervasive glow, that is so typical for cities. Even decorative lights, intended to bring make a house seem more homely or welcoming, can add to light pollution. The fuzzy glow observed in the night sky, that I mentioned earlier, is called "skyglow." It can be witnessed at a considerable distance from the source of light pollution, extending beyond the boundaries of towns or cities.

Light pollution is a big problem for animals. Birds living in city centers have developed to have smaller eyes than individuals of the same species living in the countryside. Smaller eyes are much better suited to the excessive light in cities. This means that the light pollution we produce is actively changing the evolution of our neighbours. Migratory birds aren't safe either. Like turtles, they often rely on the moon and stars to navigate on their long journeys across the globe. With human lights interfering, many get lost and starve. Light pollution is now considered a major factor in the decline of migratory birds.

Another problem is insects. They are drawn to light sources and often die upon impact with these. This has lead to irregularities in certain insect populations which in turn affects the entire food web. Blackbirds wake up and start their morning call up to five hours earlier in cities than in the countryside, because their natural 24 hour body clock relies on it getting dark at dusk and only getting light again at dawn. Marine ecosystems are also disturbed by underwater light pollution from ships and harbours. Even national parks aren't safe. Light pollution is present within most national parks.

Even humans are affected by light pollution. The fact that it never really gets dark for 80% of the world's population interrupts our circadian rhythm. This means that our melatonin production is affected. Melatonin is a hormone that is released when it gets dark and causes us to feel tired and eventually fall asleep. Irregular melatonin production can lead to sleep deprivation and fatigue. This then leads to headaches and increased stress and anxiety. There are also correlations between lower melatonin levels and cancer because our immune systems are severely weakened by a lack of sleep. The blue light from screens and LEDs is particularly bad.

We hope you found this week's post interesting. Here's the link to the vote for next year's monthly series. See you next week!

Your Green World Blog Team💚

Sources:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/09/230920111200.htm
https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/light-pollution/
https://www.britannica.com/science/light-pollution
https://www.darksky.org/light-pollution/types-of-pollution/
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/news/light-pollution.html

Images:
City Lights Pano, owned by Keith Burton (on flickr.com), is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
City Lights, Auckland, New Zealand, owned by Sue (on flickr.com), is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

Comments

Green Pets || easy house plants to get you started // best house plants for beginners

Hi Everyone! Today I wanted to talk to you about some easy house plants you could look after to get you started on your green pets journey. These are plants that are easy to look after and that I recommend for an introduction into caring for house plants. If you are a beginner or want to look after some plants, then this is the post for you! 1. Cacti - moon cactus I don't actually have a cactus, but they are the obvious place to start. They need little water and thrive in warm conditions; they are described as "low maintenance". I have done some research and it looks like the moon cactus (Gymnocalycium mihanovichii) is the best one in terms of not being too fussy with needing minimal water and tolerates lower light levels. I would like a cactus at some point, but if you are just starting out wanting to care for some house plants, then this is the one to start with! 2. Aloe Vera One of my first house plants, this is one that is rela...

The life of ... an alcon blue butterfly

Hi everyone, Today we are going to be looking into the life of an alcon blue butterfly (Phengaris alcon). After mating, the females lay their eggs on marsh gentian, a blue-coloured wildflower. The eggs can only be laid on these flowers, as this is what the newly hatched caterpillars will eat. Although in some alp regions, they can also be found on willow gentians, a close relative of the marsh gentian. Once the caterpillars have hatched from the eggs, their main predator and danger are the ants that swarm below. But high on their plant homes, the caterpillars are safe. However, this isn't where the alcon blue caterpillars are going to stay forever. Eventually, they drop down to the ground using silk strings. With no protection, they are soon dragged off by the ants. The most amazing part is, the alcon blue caterpillars give off the same scent and chemicals as the ant larvae. So the ants take the caterpillars back to their brood chamber, wher...

April Top Tips: ten tips for environmentally friendly travel

Hi Everyone! We haven't been very present on the blog again recently but we are back today with ten top tips for environmentally friendly travel. Most forms of travel over long distances (unless you are willing to put in a lot of physical effort) use fossil fuels and are generally not good for our planet. So today we will be giving you a few tips which although won't mean that your travel is 100% planet friendly, will be a good start to doing as much as you can. Your Green World Blog Team💚 1. Use trains and boats rather than planes where possible Planes are awful for the environment. They are, however, extremely practical and so easy to use, cheap...It's hard to avoid them! They are so quick too so you don't have to spend as much time travelling. However, they are really bad for the environment. For example, you could fly once to Edinburgh from Heathrow for the same carbon dioxide levels as driving to Edinburgh 336 times! 2. Fly...

Photo Essay | dolphin spotting boat ride

Hi Everyone! Quite a while ago now, me and my family went on a dolphin spotting boat ride, and I've been meaning to share some photos for ages now! We saw so many dolphins very close up and we managed to get some good shots, although it can never be as magical as in person! All photos in this post were taken by me or my family. They were so close to the boat! This photo is stunning! It's under the water! Again - under the water! It was so hard to capture them jumping! This was the boat.... ...

Ecotourism: what it is, the advantages and the disadvantages

Hi Everyone! Today we wanted to talk about the idea of ecotourism, including the advantages and disadvantages of this concept. If you are looking to reduce your environmental and social impact when travelling, then this is the post for you! Ecotourism is a form of tourism which limits the damage to the environment and local community. It can involve helping in community projects such as planting trees, as well as taking part in local customs and festivals. It helps to keep the local culture alive, while preserving the natural environment. The advantages are abundant. By helping in a project conserving the environment, tourists gain a new understanding and appreciation for the natural world and may be inspired to make changes in their "real" life to live more sustainably. It provides a valuable insight to a country and community, perhaps also inspiring more respect for different people and the lives they lead. The projects also provide sustainable income sources for locals, h...

Ozone layer

Hi everyone, What even is ozone? And the ozone layer? Where does the hole in the ozone layer come from and what does it mean? Is it dangerous? What can be done? Often the ozone-talk can be complicated and confusing, keeping an overview is hard and understanding all the problems always difficult. Let us break it down a bit for you: What is the ozone layer? We'll start with the basics: The ozone layer is part of the stratosphere, which is the second layer of the Earth's atmosphere, between 10 and 50 km above the Earth's surface and made up of protective gases. One of these protective gases is ozone. There is not much ozone in the atmosphere, only 0.3 molecule of ozone per 1 million molecules of air. This is because ozone is chemically unstable and only forms when ultra violet radiation (UV light) hits oxygen and breaks the bonds between the atoms. It fact it is so unstable that even when it has formed, it breaks down again relatively quickly. This leads to ozone turning back ...

Animals 21-25 in our '50 incredible animals' series

Hi Everyone! Here are the next five animals in our current series! We hope you learn something from this. 21. Stick insect Stick insects are masters of disguise. They look like twigs or leaves. This strange appearance makes them hard to spot when stationary. Stick insects are herbivores, feeding on leaves, and can live for up to three years. Their habitat includes most tropical and subtropical regions, but there are a few species that live in temperate areas as well. There are roughly 3 000 different stick insect species! Not much more is known about them, because they are difficult to find. The two main threats to their populations are the pet trade and people killing them so as to frame their carcasses, like butterflies. Their conservation status ranges from critically endangered to least concern - so basically every category that is on the list! 22. Glass frog The glass frog is, well, see through. You can literally ...

Coral reefs

Hello! We would love to introduce you to the topic of coral reefs and especially coral reef bleaching, as it is a greatly ignored but certainly significant topic. Have fun! 5 coral reef facts 1. The Great Barrier Reef is the largest living structure on the planet and is 2300 km long! 2. Less than 0.1% of the world's ocean surface is covered in coral reefs. 3. At least 25% of all marine animals live there. 4. Coral reefs are often known as the rainforests of the ocean. 5. In 1 square kilometre of coral reef, up to 35 tons of fish can be 'produced'. The 5 biggest coral reefs in the world 1. Great Barrier Reef (near Australia) 2. Red Sea Coral Reef (near Egypt, Israel and Djibouti) 3. New Caledonia Reef (Pacific Ocean near New Caledonia) 4. The Mesoamerican Barrier Reef (near Mexico, Belize, Guatemala and Honduras) 5. Florida Reef (Atlantic Ocean/Gulf of Mexico near Florida) What is coral? Coral is actually made up of small anim...

10 Animals on the Edge of Extinction No. 10- The Javan Rhino

The Javan rhino is listed as the 1st animal on WWF’s list of the 10 world’s most endangered animals, and I for my part, had never heard of it! If you hadn’t either, we’re changing that now. A bit about the rhino’s lifestyle The Javan rhinos are now exclusively found on the island of Java in Indonesia, but were once found in vast regions of northeast india and Southeast Asia. They have a dark grey colour which looks almost black when wet, and their (often pink) skin folds look a bit like plated armor. Both males and females have lower incisors which resemble tusks that they use to fight. Males have one relatively short horn of about 25 cm (10 inches). Javan Rhinos live in tropical forests, marshy areas and in the thick bush. They are mainly browsers and eat over 100 plants species they find in the forest, weigh between 900 and 2300 kg (1984-5071 pounds) and are between 3 and 3.2 meters (10- 10.5 feet) long. How endangered are we talking? Javan rhinos are the most ...

Heatwaves - what's so bad about them?

Hi everyone, Today we’re talking about heatwaves and what effects they have on us and the environment. Heatwaves are becoming ever more common, with 2023 breaking multiple world records. In China, 52.2°C were recorded at one point and the coastal waters near Florida, USA, were as warm as a hot tub. This is because of the combination of climate change and El Niño , both of which make the effects of the other worse. But we can’t push the blame onto El Niño. When analysed it became clear that without human made climate change the USA heat records would have been almost impossible. So what exactly are the effects of such high temperatures. A study in Europe found that the 2022 heatwave possibly caused over 70 000 heat related deaths. Although it is sometimes hard to tell whether or not someone died from the heat or from something else, after analysing the data the team found that their original estimate of 62 000 people (which is still a lot) was probably ...

Green World

Search This Blog