Light Pollution: Research 1

Running head: Light Pollution: Research

Light Pollution: Research and Literature Review

Vincent Chaparro

University of Texas at El Paso

Light Pollution: Research

 Light Pollution: Research 2

Abstract

Light pollution continues to increase year after year wasting billions of dollars annually.

Research has just started in recent years to look more into this problem. The research questions I

will discuss are: What is light pollution? How much is light pollution increasing per year? Who

is being affected from light pollution? What can be done to reduce the increase of light

pollution? I will also discuss a survey I conducted on the awareness of light pollution amongst

University students. Research has shown that light pollution is affecting our ecological world as

well as human beings. There are ways that have proven to reduce the increase of light pollution

such as using appropriate light fixtures on outdoor lighting.

 Light Pollution: Research 3

Light Pollution Research

Light pollution is a growing subject of debate that has just started to gain more attention

in recent years. The night sky is being illuminated from artificial lights with improper light

fixtures found throughout cities. Light and energy are being wasted year after year because of

improper usage of them. I will be discussing the following four questions:

1. What is light pollution?

2. How much is light pollution increasing per year?

3. Who is being affected from light pollution?

4. What can be done to reduce the increase of light pollution?

By understanding the causes and effects of light pollution, people can make better decisions on

how to deal with the steady growth of light pollution.

What is light pollution?

Light pollution is any adverse effect of light caused by society. This means that any form

of artificial light being wasted is a form of light pollution. With that said, there are many

different types of light pollution such as glare, light trespass, and sky glow (n.d.). Glare is any

form of light that is being directed towards a person’s face causing discomfort or lack of

visibility. Light trespass is any form of artificial light that is entering somewhere that it is not

wanted, such as your home. Sky glow is light that is illuminating the night sky causing the sky

to glow. Light pollution is most common in cities due to the vast number of lighting coming

from homes, businesses, roadways, attractions.

Light and energy is being wasted every night in most cities. In the article Missing the

Dark it states that “According to the National Park Service, 50% of the light from a typical
 Light Pollution: Research 4

unshielded light fixture is wasted, shining upward where it is not needed” (2009, p. A23). This

clearly shows how much light is potentially being wasted to shine the night sky. An example of

this problem could be a street light shining light both up towards the sky and down to the

ground. The purpose of a street light is to illuminate the street, not the sky above.

With light pollution being so common in cities, would the people living there take any

notice of it? My hypothesis is that the people living in a city filled with light pollution do not

take notice of it. What fuels my hypothesis is that the discussion of light pollution is very rare in

everyday life of the people living in El Paso. Either the city of El Paso does take notice of light

pollution and have become accustomed to it or people do not know how to take action and help

reduce light pollution. An online survey was conducted to forty-eight University students asking

three questions related to light pollution (Chaparro, 2009). The purpose of the survey was to see

how many people were aware of light pollution and have had at least one form of experience

with it. The first question was: Do you know what light pollution is? Sixty-eight percent of the

students answered yes. The second question was: Do you think light pollution is a problem?

Seventy-two percent of the students answered yes. The third question was: Does any form of

unwanted artificial light from outside your house enter inside your house at night? Fifty-four

percent of the students answered yes. From these findings it is clear to see that over half of the

people who took the survey have some awareness of light pollution and have had one experience

of it. This information suggests that my hypothesis was false and that the majority of people are

aware of light pollution.

How much is light pollution increasing per year?

 Light Pollution: Research 5

Figure1:
 Light Pollution: Research 6

Light pollution is increasing steadily year after year. Figure 1 shows an artificial light

brightness map of the United States from 1950 to 2025. The 2025 map assumes a constant

population growth rate of 6% per year. The maps show a noticeable increase in the spread of

light every twenty years in the United States.

This continuous increase of light pollution is costing citizen’s money. The article Light

Pollution: the Neglected Problem says “the International Dark Sky Association (IDA), an

organization that has been leading the anti-light pollution movement, estimates that over a

billion dollars is wasted each year in unnecessary energy use” (John, 1996). If light pollution

continues to increase, as shown in fig.1, we can expect the costs of this wasted energy to

increase as well.

Who is being affected from light pollution?

 Light Pollution: Research 7

Earth’s wild life has been the easiest to identify being affected by light pollution. Every

year migratory birds are crashing into heavy lit buildings and getting severely injured or killed.

According to Glenn Phillips, executive director of the New York City Audubon Society, about

10,000 birds are crashing into buildings in New York City alone (2009, p. A24). In nature, areas

that are usually brighter than darker areas mean a place for a passage way. These birds are

becoming confused with the light coming from the building thinking it is a clear passage way

which causes them to crash into the glass through which the light is coming from.

Frogs who have been exposed to excessive artificial light have had reduced reproductive

capacity. Bats exposed to excessive artificial light have had altered feeding behaviors. Baby sea

turtles that have barely hatched are being attracted to the lights inland steering them away from

the beach into possible danger. Light pollution is clearly disrupting our ecological world. Chad

Moore, Night Sky Program manager with the National Park Service, says it best when saying

“not protecting the night will destroy the habitats of many animals.”(2009, p. A24)

Astronomers, Scientists, and researchers that rely on observing the night sky are being

affected by the increase of light pollution. The light that is escaping into the night sky is

reflecting off dust particles and water molecules creating sky glow. This hazy glow blocks the

human eye from being able to observe the natural night sky. With light pollution increasing

throughout the world, it is forcing these scientists to travel farther and farther away from their

homes to study the night sky.

The adverse effects of light pollution extend well beyond astronomy. Human beings

have been disrupting their circadian rhythm by being exposed to excessive artificial light at

night. The circadian rhythm can be best described as a human’s internal biological twenty-four

hour clock. Some biological functions of the human body are only triggered at night, such as the

production of the hormone melatonin. Studies have shown that melatonin production has
 Light Pollution: Research 8

dropped significantly when exposed to artificial light at night. According to the article Missing

the Dark, “Numerous studies suggest that decreasing nocturnal melatonin production levels

increases an individual’s risk of developing cancer.”(Chepesiuk, 2009, p. A26)

What can be done to reduce the increase of light pollution?

There are a number of solutions to help reduce light pollution. The easiest solution to

help reduce light pollution is to turn off any lights that are not being used. Making sure light

fixtures are pointing downward will help reduce light trespass and sky glow. In the article Let

There be Greener Light, it discusses a new type of lighting system used in parking lots (2009, p.

7). One of the new features in the lighting is the use of motion sensor lighting. The way the

sensors work is that the lights stay on at a low level producing a minimum amount of light until

the sensors pick up movement, from which that point the lights turn on to full power. The use of

the system cuts energy by half throughout the majority of the night.

Many people are already making a change in the battle against light pollution such as

public libraries across the nation using effective lighting systems. Carthage College's Hedberg

Library in Kenosha, Wisconsin, uses dark brick pavers along the walkway leading to the

entrance (Gallina, 2009, p. 4). The pavers absorb some of the electric light at night reducing the

amount of light that reflects back into the night sky. Minnesota's Saint Cloud Public Library is

using light fixtures that direct the light into the ground below reducing sky glow (Gallina, 2009,

p. 2). More and more buildings are starting to make changes in their lighting system but it is still

going to take a while until enough people do it to see a significant drop in light pollution.

Conclusion

Understanding what light pollution is and the effects it has is the first step in finding

ways to prevent it. The research shows that light pollution will continue to increase year after

year which means problems will continue to rise as well, such as energy costs and ecological
 Light Pollution: Research 9

problems. There are plenty of solutions to help prevent the spread of light pollution such as

using appropriate light fixtures and using technologies such as motion sensor lights. Although

there is still more research to be done in this field, research continues to lead to the direction that

light pollution is having a negative impact on our world.

 Light Pollution: Research 10

References

Artificial Night Sky Brightness Map. (2001)

http://whisperofthewind.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/light-pollution-the-us.jpg

Chaparro, V. (2009). Light Pollution Survey.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/MySurvey_Responses.aspx?sm=vnj8lIvUO

%2fxSDxrtGu2znPw8WqC8TqBxdwdkUw16OXI%3d

Chepesiuk, R. (2009). Missing the Dark. Environmental Health Perspectives, 117(1), A20-A27.

Retrieved October 14, 2009 http://search.ebscohost.com

Gallina, C., & Mandyck, J. (2009). Light Done Right. (Cover story). Library Journal, 1-9.

Retrieved October 14, 2009 http://search.ebscohost.com

(2009). GETTING SERIOUS ABOUT LIGHT POLLUTION. Journal of Environmental Health,

71(9), 46-48. Retrieved October 14, 2009 http://search.ebscohost.com

John B. (1996, August 8). Light Pollution: The Neglected Problem. Retrieved October 13, 2009,

from http://www.uacnj.org/LP/litepol1.htm

(2009). Let There Be (Greener) Light. USA Today Magazine, 138(2771), 7-8. Retrieved

October 13, 2009 http://search.ebscohost.com

(2009). Light Pollution Overwhelms Wildlife's Navigational Abilities. Civil Engineering

(08857024), 79(6), 33. Retrieved October 14, 2009 http://search.ebscohost.com

Texas Section of the International Dark-sky Association. (n.d.). What is Light Pollution?.

Retrieved October 11, 2009, from http://www.texasida.org/BasicKnowledge.htm