Light pollution is a really serious issue in England and beyond. We not yet be like Las Vegas, but England is full of people who leave lights on unnecessarily (read how turning them off and using task lights and blinds can help stop birds flying into glass windows).
Also light pollution (on everything from broken street lights – of the wrong colour) to those people who plaster their houses with Christmas lights during the festive season) can cause all kinds of issues with local birds and wildlife.
Most councils use blue-hued lamp-post lights, which is wrong. Good wildlife-friendly lighting has an orange hue. This then won’t attract millions of insects like at present. And also does not confuse creatures like bats, like blue lights do.
Most wildlife follows the moon (from stag beetles to sea turtles). There have been literal cases abroad of endangered turtles leaving the sea, and going towards multi-storey car parks, to lay their eggs.
Amphibians rely on nocturnal dark for mating calls, and predators like owls and foxes need darkness to hunt at night. Even some plants rely on natural cycles of light and darkness. And some birds have migration affected (a few are even having breeding affected, as they wake up midnight to start singing for a mate, thinking it’s morning, due to artificial light).
Artificial light is sometimes needed. But it does not need to be on 24 hours a day. And having back our night skies is also good for our mental health too. And obviously saves energy and money.
What is Light Pollution?
Light pollution is anything that’s excessive, especially at night. For instance, a hospital is not light polluting, as obviously it has to have the lights on, to perform emergency operations at night. But a lamppost with no-one near it, or a hotel or billboard that lights up all night, is light pollution. A bus stop with solar lights that light up when a person or bus approaches is not light pollution. But a bus stop in a rural area with no services that has lights on all night, is.
The most common form of light pollution is the humble lamp-post. Councils these days can buy solar-powered ones that go off at dusk and come on at dawn, avoiding them being lit all night. And they can also buy wildlife-friendly orange-hued lighting, which affects wildlife less.
You can report broken or blue-hued lampposts to Fix My Street. These complaints are made public on the website and sent to councils, who tend to fix them quickly, especially if many complain about the same issue.
Reducing Light Pollution
- Switch off lights when not in use, and use blinds and task-light indoors. Use solar-powered activated security nights outside, that go off whe not in use (or motion-sensored lights).
- Use dimmer LED lights for places where light is needed, so they don’t light up too much. Use shielded light fixtures, to avoid light spilling upwards.
- Avoid plastering your home in Christmas lights. Not good for wildlife, and can also short-circuit neighbouring homes. Read more on greener Christmas trees and lights.
- Complain to councils about light pollution, both on land owned by them and from stores and businesses that just waste light all night from billboards etc.
Dark Sky Lighting is one of a few companies that offers ‘wildlife-friendly’ lighting, that points downwards (to avoid lighting up the entire sky) and uses orange-hue light (rather than blue light which disorientates bats and other creatures, and attract important insects that die en-masse). The company offers lighting design advice, along with lights (some solar-powered) for residential and commercial use.
Legislation and Policy Changes
Abroad, some cities are also making laws, to force offices and chops to turn off lights at night. For instance, the big supermarkets light their buildings all night, as do most multi-storey car parks. Night lighting curfews are coming into place worldwide.
A Sobering Energy Lesson from Las Vegas
Despite CSI suggesting this desert city is a cool place to live, the neon lights, gambling, casinos, golf courses, all-night chapels (where you can get married by someone looking like Elvis) and airports means this is the fastest-warming city in the US, with many dying from heatwaves (and no money to afford air conditioning). This is consumerism gone seriously wrong, as the city won’t turn off the lights. Las Vegas now has barely enough water for the next 20 years, triggering a ‘water war’ with Utah, due to drilling in Snake Valley.
Concerns over Blackpool Lighting Plans
Although astronomers are aware that the Blackpool lights bring in substantial tourism income, they say that plans to create an an artificial ‘aurora borealis’ (northern lights) by way of a 1KW laser to shine in the sky, would not just blight the night sky, but ruin views across the county (and also for Merseyside, Cumbria, North Wales and even Isle of Man).
Concerns Over Supermarket Floodlights
In Eastleigh (near Southhampton), residents have voiced concern over lights at a major supermarket, saying the floodlights that were installed as part of a new refurbishment are ‘illuminating the night sky’. One local says they are even blinding motorists, which could lead to car accidents.
Many other towns have complained of local bird populations being upset, having bright lights beaming into their bedrooms and other light pollution, from major supermarkets.
