Between the street lamps

As we commute home after a long day of work or school, perhaps this will be the view that most of us see. In a developed city like Singapore, we rely heavily on street lamps to light our roads and ensure the safety of pedestrian and drivers. However, what we might not see is the figure below, the fact that the light emitted from street lamps, especially if poorly illuminated,…

Some light in a global pandemic

Now on to a topic that I’m sure is one that is close to our hearts, let’s take a look at the global pandemic of Covid-19 and its relation to light pollution. In the video below, we see a glimpse of a more positive impact that this pandemic has on people, particularly the star gazers. With global productions coming to a slow down and more and more people spending time…

They are green, but are we?

Hidden in bushes or near roadside drains and curbs, amphibians like frogs and toads are not sheltered from the adverse effects of light pollution in our cities. It does not help that these creatures are extremely sensitive to light. The light-sensitive cells in frogs called retinal rod cells have the ability to detect single photons (to put things into perspective, a 60 watt lightbulb emits (10 to the power of…

Are we losing our underwater gardens?

Before we dive in to look at how light pollution can impact coral reefs, let us first understand their importance and role in maintaining underwater ecosystems. From the picture below, coral reefs provide an ecosystem for many marine species, many of which rely on these coral reefs for protection.  Image 1. Importance of coral reefs  However, with the growth of human activities and development of new lighting technologies, artificial light…

Are We Misleading the Sea Turtles?

As mentioned in the previous post, light pollution poses great threat to different species on earth. In assessing the impacts of light pollution in cities, it becomes ever so important to look beneath the surface and into marine waters to understand just how immense the effects of light pollution are. In this and the following posts, we will be looking at how light pollution may impact different kinds of marine…