Human Health
Light pollution, especially the blue part of the spectrum of artificial light at night, is detrimental to human health. It is strongly linked to a variety of health issues, including heart disease, strokes, diabetes and cancer. Read More…
Sleep and Light Pollution
For billions of years, all life has relied on Earth’s predictable rhythm of day and night. It’s encoded in the DNA of all plants and animals. Humans have radically disrupted this cycle by lighting up the night, disrupting our own sleep patterns, causing a variety of health issues. Read More…
Wildlife and Eco-Systems
Plants and animals depend on Earth’s daily cycle of light and dark rhythm to govern life-sustaining behaviors such as reproduction, nourishment, sleep and protection from predators. Scientific evidence suggests that artificial light at night has negative and deadly effects on many creatures including amphibians, birds, mammals, insects and plants. Read More…
Climate Change and Wasted Energy
Carbon emissions can be reduced if we turn off lights that we don’t use at night, or if we install timers or motion sensors. These are ways to reduce light pollution, and reduce climate change that we can do today. Wasted light = Wasted energy = Wasted money. Read More…
Nocturnal Habitats and Wildlife.
Light pollution has many direct and indirect effects on our insect populations affecting almost every part of their lives. Changes are seen in mating, feeding, navigating, development and even their ability to hatch at the correct time. Two-thirds of invertebrates are partially or completely nocturnal, and even diurnal species can be impacted by the loss of their night. The situation is so serious that light pollution is reducing the nocturnal pollinator visits to flowers by 62% in some areas. To find out more, head over the Buglife website. There are many great people working on improving ways that light pollution affects the environment, here are just a few for you to check out.
CPRE (Council for the Preservation of Rural England)
Light Pollution Can Harm Wildlife
Light Pollution Wastes Energy & Money
The State of The Science
There is tons of research regarding how light pollution affects the environment, human health and habitats. Head over to our research page if you want to explore the database, or if you prefer a simpler (but still detailed analysis), try the “state of the science” report.
