Older readers will remember the star-studded summer nights covering the midnight adventures of the Milky Way. Again, The prevalence and poor use of electricity has made it more and more difficult to find a place where you can enjoy a dark and starry sky.
We’re talking about a modern problem: Light pollution, whose most general definition is “change of natural light levels outside due to artificial light sources,” includes other aspects, as we will now discuss. But first, let’s start by knowing how it affects us.
A mesh for better lighting
What problems does light pollution cause? On the one hand, it involves an unnecessary expenditure of energy. Producing unnecessary light is just a waste of energy and therefore money.
Moreover, light pollution, by itself and cause ecological problems, regardless of the associated energy expenditure.. First of all, because it negatively affects the survival of different species due to its interference with processes such as orientation, reproduction or hunting.
If something is missing, for us, It can also harm us with its negative effects on human health.
Obviously, light pollution also hinders and sometimes directly hinders astronomical observations. This is a problem not only for astronomy experts or enthusiasts, but also deprives ordinary mortals of an important part of our cultural heritage. We cannot enjoy the starry night sky and there are even children who cannot see it.
As can be seen, light pollution is a polyhedral problem that requires approaching from different angles. This is exactly what different professionals were thinking when we founded the Spanish Network for Light Pollution Studies (REECL) in 2011. Experts in various disciplines related to light pollution joined in: astronomy and astrophysics, physics, biology, ecology, physiology, engineering and even law.
Only a multidisciplinary context makes it possible to provide comprehensive answers and solutions to a problem as complex as excessive artificial light.
Astronomical blindness and environmental chaos
Definitely, It was astronomers and opticians who were the first to draw attention to this problem, and often the most demanding. (the section that studies the laws of physics and the phenomena of light).
For someone observing the night sky, excess of light paradoxically assumes blindness. In fact, its negative effects on astronomical observations make it necessary to place professional observatories in increasingly remote locations.
As for the effects of light pollution on the environment, at this point, no one argues that light pollution is the most disruptive factor in nightlife. It is rare for a living being, whether animal or plant, that is not directly or indirectly exposed to its consequences. After all, most living things have evolved under a more or less constant regime of light and dark (day and night) cycles.
The introduction of artificial light has caused many organisms to mistakenly perceive this light as a signal that, under natural conditions, triggers or stops important processes in their life cycle. Clear examples of the threat posed by light pollution to biodiversity are the death of seabirds during their first flight to the sea or the gradual change in the functioning of food chains and ecosystems.
REECL has been supporting studies on the subject for years and has experts in the field, from researchers focusing on insects to seabird experts.
We get sicker without nightfall
Less important than the above is the health impact of light and light pollution after hours. Experts in physiology, especially chronobiology, know that night light can delay sleep, cause insomnia, and trigger mood or metabolic disorders such as diabetes or obesity. It is even associated with the risk of some types of cancer.
But why are we chronobiologists dealing with this part? Yes, because the harmful effects of night light on our health are related to the “mess” it produces in our internal clock… Indeed, in a small hidden part of our brain (especially in the upper chiasmatic nuclei responsible for synchronizing Physiological processes), our body is able to do so throughout the day and night. to work as well. There is only one small “bug” and it needs to set the clock every day because it tends to be late.
It is precisely the daily transition between daylight and darkness of night that is responsible for this daily reset. We are talking about a cycle that has been relentlessly produced for millions of years, until exactly! Until the electric light comes on.. And with it, the corruption of that precious being that is the darkness of night.
Therefore, it is crucial for chronobiologists to investigate how light pollution affects circadian rhythms, i.e. physiological variables that are repeated approximately every 24 hours, such as the sleep-wake cycle itself, body temperature, or secretion of hormones such as melatonin and cortisol. .
In other words, its role is to determine what happens to this cyclical light-dark phenomenon when darkness becomes “less dark” and shortens, as well as when the day starts to get dark because of the long time we spend indoors. natural light.
It’s not about turning it off (it’s either), it’s about opening it better
in REECL we are clear that in some cases the night should be illuminated.. And the work that emerges precisely in the context of this multidisciplinary collaboration aims to help illuminate only what is necessary through responsible lighting that minimizes damage to the starry sky, the environment and health.
It is important to remember that outdoor artificial light at night is a polluting agent. All light, not just “unnecessary” or “excessive” light. Let’s manage like this.
Perhaps doing so will allow us to free the Milky Way from memory so that it can form part of our heritage for those who come after us.
This article is signed by María de los Ángeles Role de Lama, professor at the University of Murcia; Airam Rodríguez (Autonomous University of Madrid), Jaime Zamorano (University of Madrid Complutense), Joaquín Baixeras (University of Valencia), María Ángeles Bonmatí (University of Murcia) and Salvador Bará (University of Santiago de Compostela).
Reference article: https://theconversation.com/contaminacion-luminica-por-que-la-falta-de-oscuridad-nos-sale-tan-cara-187370
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Environment department contact address:[email protected]
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