Who doesn’t
appreciate the beauty of a starry sky? The quiet light of stars and planets and
the serenity of the moonlight evoke a sense of mystery and wonder. For many living beings, however, the light
from the stars and the moon is a guide and a resource required for
survival. On the other hand, the artificial lights that humans infuse into the night erase the delicate nature
of the night sky.
The abusive use of garish human lights confuses
insects, birds and various living beings who depend on the moon and the
stars to get food, mate and thrive.
Life is
regulated by rhythms. Both day and night form the natural rhythm of the world,
and respecting this balance supports human health. I appreciate how Johan Eklof details the effects of darkness on the way the human body functions. The hormone fluctuations that result from respecting
the natural cycles of light and darkness support the quality of sleep,
restoring and bolstering health and stamina.
Half of all insects are nocturnal. They need
several hours of continuous darkness to obtain food and find a mate. Eklof explains it clearly, “The night’s limited light protects these insects, and
the pale glow from stars and the moon is central for their navigation and
hormonal systems. Disturbances in the natural oscillation between light and
dark is therefore a threat to the night insects’ very existence.” The
lighting in cities disrupts the health of thousands of living beings in various
ways; Eklof’s book helps readers understand this phenomenon on multiple levels.
In the state of Florida, for example, research showed how the lighting in
cities inhibited the birds’ immune system and the impact of this situation on human beings: “Sparrows with West Nile fever were infected an average of two
days longer if they were exposed to artificial light during that time. This
increased the risk that the virus would spread to human beings.”
A single bat can eat 3000 insects in one night. For this reason, they are very good at controlling the population of mosquitoes. Bats can make a big difference in the comfort felt on a terrace on quiet summer evenings. In Asia rice is the most important food for billions of people. One hundred million tons of rice are destroyed every year, but bats help to reduce the loss of rice by feeding on the insects that destroy those crops. Pesticides are not as effective as bats. Besides, pesticides have an impact on human health and the environment. Bats contribute one million dollars a year to Thailand's economy. In North America bats save three billion dollars every year by protecting corn and cotton crops. Bats are also pollinators, just like hummingbirds, bees, bumblebees, and moths. Furthermore, their droppings are effective fertilizers. In order to survive, bats need the darkness of the night.
After a
powerful earthquake in Los Angeles in 1994, a power outage hit the city. As a
result, the Milky Way, which had not been seen for decades, became visible. The
emergency services were flooded with calls about the strange light phenomenon. The
power outage allowed people to see something that light pollution had kept
hidden...
Human beings
insist on negating the need for darkness by inundating the night with
unnecessary lights. Light pollution is often ignored. Yet it contributes to the
extinction of several species, disrupting entire ecosystems and wreaking havoc
on human health. Eklof’s book educates readers to understand the need for a
paradigm shift in the attitude toward the darkness of the night. It inspires us
to cherish it and to recognize the essential role it plays in our lives.
France
is ahead in the field of addressing light pollution, but it is not the only
country that began to tackle the issue. “France passed legislation in 2019
over how much light can be emitted into the atmosphere. In 2021 the law was
fully implemented and regulates everything from brightness and color
temperature to time of day and the coverings of street lighting. It remains to
be seen how this will be implemented in practice and what the effects will be.
But more and more countries are undertaking similar initiatives. In the
Austrian capital of Vienna, they’ve started turning out the lights at 11:00
p.m., and in Groningen in the Netherlands industry and agriculture lights are
regulated by law. Western Europe seems to have woken up in this regard, while
the rest of the world is still at the starting block about the threat of light
pollutants.” There are promising examples in other places. For example, the city of Flagstaff in Arizona received a special recognition: the Dark Sky City
status as a pioneer in introducing lighting regulations to enhance the night
sky. Their ambition was to be able to see the preserved night sky in an urban environment;
astronomers were the driving force of the regulations.
In the meantime, it is not difficult to turn off the lights when we don’t use them. It is even easier to avoid wasting money on lights that invade the precious darkness of the night. We may be rewarded with the image of a peaceful sky illuminated by the glow of the moon and the stars. It is empowering to know that we can save lives through simple actions.
Photo by Neida Zarate. Source: Unsplash.
