This blog contains information about Light Pollution. In the start, it defines and explain Light Pollution in detail. Then it mentions some of the Sources of Light Pollution. It also explains the Causes of Light Pollution in detailed form. Then it elaborates the Effects of Light Pollution on Human Health, Wildlife, Ecosystems and Environment. In the end, it explains some of the Preventive measures for Light Pollution. This blog mainly contains Causes and Effects of Light Pollution.
What is Light Pollution?
Light pollution can be defined as the excessive or inappropriate use of outdoor artificial lights. These lights are causing a lot of damages to human health and the environment in different ways.
This type of pollution originates from the artificial and inappropriate sources of light. The use of light does not contributes in light pollution but the excessive use and over-use of light ends up in light pollution. This pollution was unheard in past time but now it is acknowledged by the world.
Most of the light pollution is created by outdoor lights in case of over use. Because the light rays travels openly into the atmosphere and harm the normal lifestyles of the organisms. It contains many bad effects on human health and animal’s behaviors.
It occurs from the effects exerted by poorly implementing light sources during day or night. Light pollution is an unknown type of pollution. Because most of the time we talk about Air pollution, Water Pollution and Land Pollution, because they have adverse effects on life on earth. The map of light pollution shows the intensity of light pollution all over the world. There are apps for your phone to track Light pollution.
But the fact is that light pollution is also very dangerous in harming humans and animals. Because its increasing potential with time, is causing visible effects on Biodiversity on Earth. We will have a detailed explanation of light pollution in this blog.
This blog contains sources, causes, effects and prevention of Light pollution in detail.
What are Main Sources of Light Pollution?
Following are some main sources of Artificial Pollution of light:
- Flood Lights
- Street Lights
- Advertising billboards
- Electronic Advertisements
- Parking lots lights
- Greenhouse lightings
- Fairy lights
- Factories and Industries lighting
- Glowing Cities
- Security Lights of the Buildings etc.
These are few important sources of Light Pollution.
What are the main Causes of Light Pollution:
Following are some main causes of Light polllution:
1. Excessive use of Lights:
The main cause and the core of light pollution is the excessive use and inappropriate use of lights indoor as well as outdoor. People lights up their buildings and offices even when nobody is present there, just because of commercial reasons to make their buildings attractive for the public. In the same way our houses are always lit up with extra and unnecessary lights that leads to the light pollution.
2. Outdoor Lighting:
Outdoor lighting is the major cause of Light pollution. It is because it cast more dangerous impacts on the enhancement of light pollution that the indoor lights. The outdoor lights cause disturbances in behaviors of animals and humans while entering harmful rays to the atmosphere. These lights should be used with precautions and their extra use should be monitored and prevented strictly.
3. Street Lights:
The use of street lights is important because it makes the road visible for the drivers and pedestrians. But the excessive use of street lights or installation of street lights more than necessary needs, will result into light pollution. The poorly installed and inappropriate streetlights are more dangerous than solar lights and other energy efficient lights. But the conventional street lights uses a lot of energy and are harmful.
4. Flood Lights:
Flood Lights are also known as Sports Lights. These are the specific lighting installed at the sports grounds in order to provide enough light for the players to play properly. The flood lights contributes in Light pollution because they are too bright and too much lights are installed at a single location. This cast a dangerous impact on the human health and the players playing in that bright lighting.
5. Electronic Advertisements:
In order to make an attractive display of advertisement of different projects and products, Electronic Advertisements and widely used in most of the big cities of the World. This includes the installation of huge LEDs or LCDs on the roads, building, shops, malls etc. that displays adds of different brands and companies. These are so bright and is excessive and inappropriate use of light causing Light Pollution.
These are few main Anthropogenic Causes of Light Pollution causing the enhancement of Light pollution by using Artificial light sources. This blog contains Causes, Effects and Prevention of Light Pollution.
Effects of Light Pollution on Human Health:
Following are the Health effects on Human as the result of this Pollution:
i. Sleep Disorders:
Light pollution has direct or indirect impacts on the sleeping patterns of Humans. This pollution can cause disturbed sleep, insomnia, sleeplessness, and many such other sleeping disorders. These sleeping disorders may make a person weak, may lead to anxiety, create irritability and more such problems in humans.
ii. Depression:
Light pollution may also make a person hopeless in his life and may lead to depression or related disorders. This can cause a person to be depressed for days or weeks. In extreme state, the person may start acting abnormally and may be needing Anti-depressants to survive in the world. We should not take light pollution easy at all.
iii. Obesity:
The pollution from lights cause many health disorders including Obesity. Obesity is basically the abnormal gain of weight by excessive fat accumulation in different parts of the body. It is a worst condition in humans that can lead to other severe disorders such as Diabetes, Cancer, Heart problems and much more. Light pollution is causing obesity to a significant number of humans every year.
iv. Other Health Problems:
Research on light pollution shows that light pollution is a cause of Cancer, Diabetes and Heart Problems by direct or indirect impacts. It contributes in increasing the ratio of Cardiac Arrests and Heart Attacks in children, young people and older people. Diabetes is a very harmful disorder that makes a person’s immunity and its organs weaker and weaker day by day. While Cancer is a fatal diseases that has painful and expensive treatment that everyone cannot survive.
These are the Effects of Light Pollution on Human Health.
Effects of Light Pollution on Wildlife and Ecosystems:
Following are some major effects of Light pollution on Wildlife and Ecosystems:
1) Negative effects on Birds:
Birds migrate from one place to another, at night by navigating through skylights and stars. When a lot of artificial lights, lights up on the Earth, they cannot see the skylights and night sky so they may loose their direction. This can make them open to inappropriate habitats and environmental hazards. It is because they couldn’t recognize right way in night time.
2) Harmful for insects:
Many insects are attracted towards lights. These insects rush towards the lights in the form of groups or whole populations. The inappropriate artificial lights also attracts the flying insects such as mosquitoes, flies, bees, beetles etc. These poorly wired lights may turn fatal to them as they can get burnt, can be exposed to electric shocks and other such hazards.
3) Wildlife Behaviors:
As the light pollution effects the migration and living of organism, it is obvious that it change the behavior patterns of wildlife. Wildlife may expose to artificial light and expect it as natural light and start travelling towards it. In this way they reach to cities and it is a threat to their lives. This cause the death and danger for many of the animals every year.
4) Effects on Ecosystem:
As we have studied in last three paragraphs, that light pollution disrupts the migration, living patterns and may cause death of many organisms. Ecosystems are made from relationship between organisms as well as their environments. So, it automatically cast drastic impacts on the normal patterns of an ecosystem. By causing excessive deaths, disorders, damages and destruction of the living organisms, it has a very bad impact on Ecosystem collectively.
These are few effects of Light Pollution on Wildlife and Ecosystems. This blog contains Causes, Effects and Prevention of Light Pollution.
Effects of Light Pollution on Environment:
All the above effects of Light Pollution can be considered as effects on the Environment. It may disturb the normal living of Organisms by distracting them from suitable and right habitats, that results in habitat loss. This may change the day and night cycles of the animals and cause changes and damages to their body and breeding systems. It really effects the migration of birds and wild animals at great extents. In the same way, as the lives of organisms are extremely disturbed, it automatically disturb their roles towards the environment and can cause harmful impacts on environment.
Light Pollution and Climate Change:
Light pollution contributes in Global warming and climate change in many ways. First of all, the production of the artificial light sources contributes 1% in the Green House Gases emissions worldwide. It also work against the preservation of night sky and and protection of Climate in many ways. The artificial light sources are contributing into the Heating of the Earth by using inefficient lighting technologies. These lights produce heat and can reduce their effects by using Energy saving and Energy efficient Lighting technologies.
Prevention and Solutions for Light Pollution:
Following are prevention strategies for Light Pollution:
- Say no to inappropriate, inefficient and poorly installed Light sources.
- Use Energy saving light sources to reduce the pollution.
- Avoid excessive use of outdoor lights.
- Switch off the light sources when not necessary.
- Install solar lights or energy saving lights in place of conventional street light.
- Avoid using unnecessary Electronic Ads and Billboard lighting.
- Install the lights in your houses appropriate to be used.
- Use the flood lights of sports grounds when very important. Otherwise try to avoid them for small events and matches.
- Use LED lights or Energy savors to avoid excessive light and reduction in energy utilization.
These are some of the Prevention Strategies for Land Pollution. This blog contains Causes, Effects and Prevention of Light Pollution.
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