How do you feel about light pollution? You know the inappropriate use of artificial light at night
that robs us of our view of the night sky and the stars. Areas that were once full with the natural
beauty and peace of actual nighttime now glow in the eternal false daylight. If you are
an amateur astronomer or astrophotographer like me, it's likely a real sore spot for you and it seems
to get to you more and more each passing year. You feel anger and frustration as offensively bright,
wasteful fixtures are installed all around you without this slightest care for how that impacts
everyone around them. I try to keep things light on this channel, as you know, but light pollution
and fighting against it is something I feel very strongly about and I want to do as much as I can
while I'm here. I'm not trying to lecture you or bring you down, I just know that a lot of
you understand what's actually at stake here. If you're with me on this one let's take a look at
the current situation shall we? The International Dark Sky Association, the IDA, reports that light
pollution is growing at two times the rate of population growth, that means that over 80 per cent
of the global population lives under a light polluted sky our night sky. Our night sky disappearing, there
are fewer and fewer dark places to go to actually look up and see a sky full of stars and it keeps
getting worse. How does that make you feel? It makes me both sad and angry, it's frustrating to know
that the average person doesn't even consider the idea of preserving the night sky from the beaming
glare of artificial light. I'm not just getting complainy because I'm an astrophotographer that
wants to take better pictures. Light pollution is bad for human health and the natural rhythm
of our bodies and actual sleeping patterns. It's bad for animals and wildlife it disrupts
delicate ecosystems of these animals that were never meant to exist in perpetual daylight. So
here are some of the most common forms of light pollution, poor artificial lighting choices that
you'll see all around you. The first example is called light glare this is where the light fixture
is not properly shielded or pointing downwards. It spews off in all directions including
into your eyes and straight up into the sky. You'll see these types of lights everywhere from
residential neighborhoods to schools to commercial buildings. This type of light shines in all
directions, giving users of the space a false sense of security from crime. When in reality the
blinding light actually makes it harder to see as our eyes struggle to adapt to the blinding light.
Light glare never ends at the boundaries of the owner's property either. It continues to spill out
over anything and everything around it including your backyard, your bedroom window. You didn't like
sleeping in the dark anyway did you? Next up is wasted up lighting and this is the ultimate
example of lack of light pollution awareness. This is when the light source is intentionally pointed
up towards the sky because it's just so darn pretty. I'm getting worked up about this can you
tell? You'll see this on residential properties as the homeowner wants to highlight the pretty
tree on their lawn by shining a spotlight straight up at it. The irony is the tree and the potential
inhabitants in it, do not want the attention of your spotlight on it all night long. This
form of lighting not only pollutes the sky, but it's a complete waste of energy for the sake of
looking pretty. But it doesn't look pretty, it looks offensive to anyone that values a dark
night sky. Again, I'm not trying to make you feel bad here there's people that just legitimately
don't even think about light pollution and I want you to start. When I think back to all the
poor lighting decisions I made throughout my life before i got into astronomy and astrophotography
I shake my head. Again it's a problem with awareness. The next form of light
pollution is on many residential properties and commercial buildings, you'll see just straight up
too much light. I understand the value of lighting for security and safety purposes
but it should be done effectively with visibility in mind. This means pointing the light downward
where it's needed and not everywhere and in all directions. Shielded, motion sensor lights,
timers and light dimmers are great options. The color temperature and intensity of today's lights
are also a real issue. Gone are the days of those warm, orange high pressure sodium lamps that were
less harmful to ecosystems and wildlife. Now bright, white LED lights glow at intensities
brighter than daylight. Yes, you heard that correctly. these are the type of lights that
are almost painful to look at and trick our bodies into thinking that we live in eternal daylight.
They erase all of the stars in the night sky but who cares about that anyway? A potential solution
is to use lower light intensity levels and warmer color temperatures when possible and again
motion sensors and timers so those lights aren't blasting all night long. They're only on when you
need them. Lastly, we have digital billboards and signage and I think this is going to be the one
that you'll have the hardest sell trying to get things to change as businesses fight for your
attention. Some of the digital billboards that have been installed in my city over the last five years
are so bright that I am baffled that they're even legal. If you've made the mistake at glancing over
at one of these bright billboards while you're driving at night, good luck seeing the road in
front of you after that because you've essentially just stared at the high beams of a transport truck
point-blank. I think everyone can agree that these ones are brutal. Yes i am an astrophotographer who
is directly impacted by the negative effects of light pollution and we're being robbed of
the night sky. But I don't expect everyone to care as much or to get as worked up as I do. But if you
value nature, wildlife, insects, plants, your overall human health then light pollution is affecting you
too. I'm not saying we have to turn off all the lights, at night I'm saying we need to use them
responsibly. Unlike other forms of pollution, light pollution is completely reversible with solutions
that are easy to implement. With the flip of a switch, I guess you could say. By making sure
that outdoor lighting is useful, targeted, shielded, and controlled we can deliver immediate lasting
results. We can bring back the day-night rhythm that's encoded into our DNA along with plants and
animals. We can share the night sky with a future generation of scientists, researchers, astronauts
and astronomers. So please talk to your friends and family about light pollution and how we can do
better. I think the night sky is worth protecting and I know we can make a lasting difference.
For more information of how you can get involved check out the International Dark-Sky Association,
the IDA, and the many resources they have available. Thank you guys so much for listening to this
semi-rant. I hope you can make a small difference in your community and until next time clear skies.
you