Now that we know of how bats and sea turtles are affected by light pollution, what is being done or could be done to mitigate it?
IDA (n.d.) lists some immediate actions you can take to reduce light pollution:
- Switching to LEDs and compact fluorescents (CFLs) – but only warm-coloured bulbs
- Dimmers, motion sensors and timers – help to reduce average illumination
- Outdoor lighting fixtures that shield the light source – minimize glare and light trespass
- Turn off unnecessary indoor lighting (especially at night)
These are actions that anybody can take to do their part individually to reduce artificial lighting in our environment. But what other actions can be done on a larger scale?
Well, the European Union has adopted a new strategy reduce light pollution. Firstly, it revised its Green Public Procurement Criteria for Road Lighting and Traffic Signals which is not a law but more of an advisory for stakeholders who intent to install new lights (Environmental Protection, 2019). It includes the ‘As Low As Reasonably Achievable’ (ALARA) principle which sets appropriate light levels for road lighting and traffic signals. Even though these guidelines and advisories are well-thought-out, the fact that they are now laws that have to be followed by all stakeholders results in it being quite ineffective. This is because stakeholders may or may not voluntarily follow the guidelines. There is a lower chance of reducing artificial lighting if people are already used to the current overlit conditions. Perhaps, those who want to be environmentally friendly would be interested in saving energy while reducing artificial lighting. Similar to the European Union’s implementation of guidelines, in Australia the National Light Pollution Guidelines for Wildlife Including Marine Turtles, Seabirds and Migratory Shorebirds has been in use (Department of the Environment and Energy, Australia Government, 2020). However, this has a focus on marine and coastal species rather than all migratory species as in the European Union’s guidelines. Once again, this guideline is not aimed to be compulsory but to raise awareness of the potential impacts of artificial light on wildlife and provide a framework for assessing and managing these impacts around susceptible listed wildlife.
It seems that while efforts to reduce light pollution are present, they seem to be presented as a choice/option instead of something that is to be strictly followed. Perhaps this is indicative of the fact that light pollution is yet to be taken seriously, even though there might be greater recognition of this pollution.
References
IDA, International Dark Sky Association (n.d.) Available at: https://www.darksky.org/light-pollution/light-pollution-solutions/
Environmental Protection (2019) Available at: https://eponline.com/articles/2019/12/06/european-union-adopts-new-guidance-to-reduce-light-pollution.aspx
Department of the Environment and Energy, Australia Government (2020) Available at: https://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/publications/national-light-pollution-guidelines-wildlife
That’s all for light pollution (I know it was a super short series).. check out my concluding post 🙂