Since the advent of the electrical light mankind has dealt with light pollution. It is the reason that you can only see a few stars in the night sky in the city but when you get out into the country you can see all of the heavens. Light pollution is a global problem and is particularly prevalent in major urban centers like New York City. Admittedly landscape lighting systems play a part in this which is why we want you to understand what it is and some things that you can do to help reduce it.
What is Light Pollution?
Light pollution is basically artificial light at night. It is made worse by excessive amounts of light, obtrusive uses of light and misdirected light. This excess amount of light can lead to skyglow, which can be seen very commonly in pictures taken at night in New York City. Light pollution is something that is never going to go away as long as we have a need to light up the night. You have probably seen at some point a picture of the Earth at night from space. You can spot the major cities by the light produced (check out this model from the University of Colorado and find your home!). That is light pollution.
Side effects of Light Pollution
Artificial light disrupts a natural ecosystem, particularly with nocturnal animals. Their cycles can be thrown off thinking that it is still daytime. It can also disorient animals, especially those who have sensitive night vision. Many animals use polarized moonlight for navigation. This light cannot be seen by humans and urban lighting can greatly reduce this light.
Humans too can be affected by light pollution. Excessive amounts of lighting can lead to headaches, fatigue, excess stress, increased anxiety and a reduced sexual capacity. Excess lighting in general can lead to an altering of moods as the circadian rhythms are disrupted. This is especially prevalent in people who work nights. Humans are also programmed to need darkness to sleep and too much light can lead to a lack of sleep and some medical issues.
What can you do?
There is no getting away from light pollution but there are some things that you can do to help yourself, your neighbors and the environment. An easy way is to control the brightness of your landscape lighting system. In many cases less light can be better as many lights will overlap and by turning up the lights too much it the effect and ambiance will be lost. Dimmer lights are also easier on the bulbs and on your electric bill.
For brighter lights like security lights put them on a timer and make set their sensitivity level so that they will not go off every time a squirrel or possum moves around. These lights are bright and will be noticed by other people. You will earn some goodwill with your neighbors and help out those nocturnal animals while you’re at it.
Light pollution is not going to be going away and it is something that we will all have to live with, that is unless we all do away with electrical lighting. At Resort Lighting we acknowledge that we are contributing to this and we want to educate our customers as to how they can responsibly use their lighting system. You don’t have to light your home up like Times Square, sometimes less light is better.
References:
http://darksky.org/light-pollution/
https://cires.colorado.edu/artificial-sky
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light_pollution
