The harnessing of electricity and generation of widespread city, domestic and industrial lighting are bedrocks upon which contemporary lifestyles are based. Without them, much human activity would slow to a crawl between sunset and sunrise.
And yet artificial light should be classed as a pollutant, says the UK's Royal Astronomical Society (RAS), in an appeal to curb its negative effects on human health and nature.
"Exposure to light pollution and lack of natural sunlight can lead to poor metabolism and the development of diseases such as type 2 diabetes, obesity, dementia, Parkinson's and retinal problems," the RAS said, citing research suggesting it directly impacts a person's mood and increases the prevalence of depression and anxiety.
The impact of ubiquitous and potentially overwhelming lighting goes further, the astronomy body said, suggesting that the effect can be to "alter habitats, fragment ecosystems and accelerate biodiversity loss," with nocturnal species particularly badly affected.
"Caterpillar populations have declined by 52% in areas exposed to street lighting, and evidence shows around one-third of insects drawn to artificial light sources die due to exhaustion, predation or disorientation," the RAS said.
Food and pollination
The effects could even stretch into food production, with the RAS warning that light pollution threatens pollination — a concern that overlaps with wider worries about declining bee populations.
"Light pollution also reduces plant-pollinator interactions by up to 62%, significantly impairing pollination and plant reproduction," warned the British scientific body, which was founded in 1820 as Britain was firing up an Industrial Revolution that later would lean heavily on illumination-based productivity gains.
In March, the RAS criticised plans by SpaceX to put datacentres in orbit as well as proposals by Reflect Orbital to float thousands of giant mirrors in space to reflect sunlight to Earth at night, pointing out at the time that their placement would make stargazing and astronomy much more difficult.
"Artificial light and light pollution can also compromise the view of the night sky for both astronomers and the general public," the RAS said in its latest statement, calling for lights to be switched on only when necessary and for more use of lower temperature LEDs rather than bright white formats. – dpa
