It has been a great time discovering and learning about the impacts of light pollution on humans and animals as well as possible solutions to prevent and counteract the effects of light pollution. On the whole, I was glad that we chose to focus on the topic of light pollution. Compared to other forms of pollution like water and air pollution, light pollution is often overlooked, and even perceived as…
Over the past 2 months or so, we have been through a rollercoaster ride of learning about light pollution. Together, we have explored the impacts of artificial light at night (ALAN) on aquatic environments and its organisms, animals and even us, humans. One of my key takeaways is that environmental pollution need not solely involve tangible and intangible contaminants such as plastics or air pollutants respectively. It is the silent…
As we have seen in previous blog posts, light pollution not only affects organisms on land, anthropogenic light sources also penetrate into deep waters and is a significant factor that has disrupted the livelihood of various aquatic creatures such as sea turtles, corals and fish. In this post, we will see the extent to which light is able to reach the waters of the northern Gulf of Aqaba. The Gulf…
In the previous post, we discussed how seasonal festivities have brought about significant changes in light illumination globally. In this post, we continue on this thread of celebratory lights, this time beyond just festivities. Lights in many cultures have the celebratory connotations which makes light pollution so challenging to deal to with. The invention of light itself was a victorious feat in claiming back time, productivity, and sight against the…
November has finally arrived! With just a month away from Christmas, the excitement of the holiday season is slowly creeping in. According to Orchard Road Business Association, the annually awaited Christmas decorations along Orchard Road will begin on the 13th of November this year (Nazren, 2020)! How exciting! 2020 Orchard Road Christmas Decoration Plans (Source: ORBA) However, having learnt much about the ills of light pollution, it led me thinking…
Now, let’s take a look at three real life examples on how this method can be used to assess ecological light pollution in different locations and weather conditions. (a) Terrestrial field site, Marburg, Germany, with cloud cover In this experiment to understand the flight to light behavior of moths, the camera was situated at the center of six sodium vapour light sources (labelled 1 to 6 in figure below)…
While it is important to look at the impacts of light pollution, attention should also be paid to how light pollution is being measured as this affects the quality of data collected and hence influences the effectiveness of solutions to reduce the impact of light pollution. In this two part series we will first look at existing measures and assess its effectiveness, concluding with a new method of assessing ecological…
The town of Kingsville in Canada offers us insights beyond solutions to light problems. Faced with a unique local source of light pollution, we get a glimpse of how everyday residents play a part in pushing for bigger change in the management of light pollution. But first, let me introduce the problem. Over the past few years, Kingsville has become a popular nesting ground for agricultural greenhouses that operate round…
In this article by CNBC, it introduces the idea of connecting technological solutions to conservation efforts in the management of light pollution. This can otherwise be seen as a manifestation of educational efforts in which exposure to new knowledge can lead to physical action. An example is how lighting solutions have been linked to sea turtle conservation efforts through the use of technology in Queensland, Australia. The installation of amber…
Globally, the firefly population has been under threat because of familiar subjects such as urbanisation and habitat loss as well as increasing use of pesticides, however, more recent studies have attributed the decrease in firefly population with artificial light at night (ALAN) (Dunham, 2020). One of the main impacts that ALAN has on these fireflies are its effects on the mating process. As seen from the comic above, fireflies are…
