Artificial lighting has been shown to disturb the reproductive cycles of some animals, the migration of birds and sleep of humans
Paris: For the 11th year running, cities worldwide will turn their lights off Saturday to mark Earth Hour in a global call to action on climate change.
But the moment of darkness should also serve as a reminder, activists say, of another problem that gets far less attention: light pollution.
More than 80 per cent of humanity lives under skies saturated with artificial light, scientists recently calculated.
In the United States and western Europe, that figure goes up to 99 per cent of the population, most of whom cannot discern the Milky Way in the night sky.
Artificial lighting has been shown to disturb the reproductive cycles of some animals and the migration of birds that navigate using the stars, and to disorient night-flying insects.
For humans, circadian rhythms that regulate hormones and other bodily functions can also be thrown out of whack by too much light at night. Even the most ardent critics of light pollution are not saying cities should go dark, or that lighting is not an essential element of urban life. But society needs to address a growing list of concerns, they suggest. Arguably, no-one suffers more from light pollution than astronomers whose telescopes are blinded by the glare of urban glow.
Over the last 15 years, biologists, doctors, non-governmental organisations and even Unesco have joined the fight against light pollution by detailing negative impacts to health and well being — for humans and other animals.
In 2012, the American Medical Association (AMA) concluded that exposure to “excessive” night light “can disrupt sleep and exacerbate sleep disorders”.
And it called for more research into possible links to cancer, obesity, diabetes and depression.
Last year, the AMA raised another red flag, this time about light-emitting diodes, better known as LEDs.
Not only do the bluish, high-intensity lights create a view-obscuring glare, they have “five times greater impact on circadian sleep rhythms than conventional street lamps,” the AMA concluded.
The new technology also obscured our view on the night sky even more than traditional city lighting. — AFP
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