Light Pollution
Mankind and their inventions are responsible for the majority of environmental damage on Earth. Consider the automobile or plastic. Today, automotive emissions are a major source of air pollution that contributes to climate change, and plastic contaminates our oceans, posing a substantial health risk to sea creatures.
However, have you ever considered the electric lightbulb? Light, wonderful technology and need in everyone's life is actually damaging our planet. As the saying goes, too much of a good thing is dangerous.
The extensive and inappropriate use of artificial light in the exterior has a negative impact on health, animal ecology, and our ability to perceive stars and other heavenly bodies. This is known as light pollution.
Sky glow is the brightening of the night sky, mainly above urban areas, caused by the artificial lighting of vehicles, lamp posts, workplaces, industries, and skyscrapers, turning night into day for employees who work and long after sunset.
People who live in cities with high levels of sky glow have trouble seeing more than a few of stars at night. Astrophysicists are particularly concerned about sky light pollution because it impairs their ability to see celestial objects.
Artificial light has the potential to disrupt natural biological cycles in both humans and animals. Nocturnal light disrupts sleep and distorts the sleep patterns, which is the internal 24-hour clock that directs day and night routines and influences biological activities in practically all living creatures. One of these processes is the creation of the hormone melatonin, which is released in the dark and repressed in the presence of light. Increased light at night reduces melatonin production, resulting in sleep deprivation, exhaustion, migraines, stress, anxiety, and other health issues.
Moreover, research indicates a link between low melatonin levels and cancer. According to research, light pollution affects animal behaviours such as migratory patterns, sleep behaviors, and ecosystem creation. Turtles and birds guided by light of the moon during migration become confused, lose their course, and often die as a result of light pollution. Large quantities of insects, which are a main food source for birds and other animals, are drawn to artificial lights and are quickly killed when they come into contact with them.
To summarise, yes, light is something without which humanity would not have survived to this day. However, too much of it can be harmful. Let us take the effort to spread the message and lessen our need on light.