Lighting Another Way
Article by Nami F.
Why Lights?
In our urbanized world, light pollution is the most commonly seen pollution in cities.[1] Light pollution (or photo pollution), is the excess artificial light produced from street, domestic, commercial, vehicle, and security lights. From all of the glow, it creates a dome-like shield of light pollution, most commonly known as skyglow, along with excess amounts of glare, light trespass, and clutter.[2] Glare is excessive brightness that causes visual discomfort, light trespass is unintended light fall, and clutter is the bright, confusing, and excessive grouping of light sources. All of this leads to detrimental effects not only on the environment, but also on animals and humans.
People might find the problem with light pollution confusing – since the invention of light was crucial to the industrialization of our world. Many would even consider artificial lighting a crucial part of living. But the problem lies within the excess usage of light- for commercial purposes or simply for quality of life. This problem not only affects wildlife behavior, but it affects human health and our ability to get lost in the mystical stars and other worldly celestial wonders. [3]
NYC’s Situation
New York City is a place of dreams. After all, we pride ourselves for being, “the city that never sleeps”, with concrete jungles where dreams are made. Despite this, underneath the bright billboards at time square, to dazzling broadway, our attractive city has become one of the biggest producers of light pollution.
The high levels of light pollution disrupt the sleep patterns of many New Yorkers. To go more in depth, the circadian rhythm, or our body clock, is the group of physiological and neurological changes in a body over a 24 hour period. This system allows for our bodies to naturally release a hormone called melatonin when the sun sets and we’re exposed to low lighting. Once melatonin is released into our body, it increases tiredness and regulates sleep cycles. But due to the light levels always being high, melatonin production has been greatly reduced. Blue light in particular has been a core source of decreased melatonin.[4] Reduced melatonin production disrupts sleep, which negatively impacts the immune system. Research suggests there is a connection to disrupted melatonin production and hormone-related cancer like breast or prostate cancer. [5]
The effects also reach animals and wildlife in NY. With nocturnal predators being affected, they are unable to hunt properly due to the lack of dark spaces. Our beloved birds are the most affected in NYC. The scattered birds around New York, making a space in central park or any local area have been impacted. Not only has their sleep cycle also been affected, but also their migration patterns have also changed. Many birds rely on natural lighting for cues in migration, navigation, communication and reproduction. Changes in natural lighting cause millions of birds to die from colliding with illuminated buildings and towers yearly. Migratory birds also depend on the lighting cues from properly timed seasonal schedules and having artificial lighting has caused many to migrate too early or late, further impacting their nesting and reproduction rates. [6]
One of the best natural marvels is undoubtedly the starry night sky, with constellations and far away planets, it really is a sight to behold; natural beauty that the bright lights of Manhattan cannot compete with. Despite this, the effects of light pollution obscure our view of the night sky, especially in New York. In order to behold the true starry sky, many have to travel far out from the city, into a more rural area in where light pollution isn’t as intense. It has been found that people living in Europe and America live under skies that are 10% brighter than natural skies. Humans don’t use their eyes to their full potential to see in the dark and the natural light.[7] Even if the view of the sky isn’t enough, the fact stands that the natural night sky has led to countless discoveries in the past. Without the natural sky people wouldn’t have been able to navigate the globe, walk on the moon, have inspired art, religion, philosophy, literature, or learn more about astronomy.[8] With such an enriched history, it’s only fair that we protect this natural beauty that has stayed with us from the beginning of time.
Steps Forward
The effects are detrimental for such a seemingly common item in our day to day lives. Yet we must strive to reduce these effects of light pollution. Thanks to the NYC government, there’s already some legislation and alliances emplaced. One of the most prominent alliances is the NYC Bird Alliance, a grassroots community that works for the protection of wild birds and habitat. They’ve advocated for the Lights Out Legislation, which is the reduction in artificial light at night during spring and fall migrations.[9] The government has also passed a law that amended the administrative code of the city of New York, reducing unnecessary illumination in city-owned spaces. Although only two legislations/laws were passed in relation to improving light pollution, it’s still the right step forward. There are still two legislations under review: limiting nighttime illumination for certain buildings where most major establishments would have limited illumination displays and the amendment of administrative code for light fixtures in a residential district. These legislations would aim to restrict outdoor lighting, unless it’s fully fielded to reduce light trespass. [10]
The question comes down to what can you do for our city? Other than overall reducing the illumination in your own home, like turning off unneeded lights and using natural illumination. You can advocate for these legislations under review to be passed, as well as advocating for other laws improving our world from light pollution. Checking out other alliances and grassroots communities, like NYCs Bird Alliance, shows your support and allows people to make the steps forwards needed to improve the pollution.
End Notes:
https://darksky.org/resources/what-is-light-pollution/causes/
Dutfield, Scott. “Light Pollution: Environmental Impact, Health Risks and Facts.” Livescience.com, 5 Apr. 2022, www.livescience.com/light-pollution.
National Geographic Society. “Light Pollution.” Education.nationalgeographic.org, National Geographic, 15 July 2022, education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/light-pollution/.
Ibid.
Dutfield, Scott. “Light Pollution: Environmental Impact, Health Risks and Facts.” Livescience.com, 5 Apr. 2022, www.livescience.com/light-pollution.
DarkSky. “Light Pollution Harms Wildlife and Ecosystems.” DarkSky International, 13 Nov. 2023, darksky.org/resources/what-is-light-pollution/effects/wildlife-ecosystems/.
Dutfield, Scott. “Light Pollution: Environmental Impact, Health Risks and Facts.” Livescience.com, 5 Apr. 2022, www.livescience.com/light-pollution.
“Light Pollution Reduces Our Night Sky Heritage.” DarkSky International, 11 Sept. 2024, darksky.org/resources/what-is-light-pollution/effects/night-sky-heritage/.
“NYC Audubon’s Lights out Initiative | NYC Bird Alliance.” NYC Bird Alliance, 2020, nycbirdalliance.org/lights-out-coned.
“NYC Gets More Serious about Light Pollution.” Inside.lighting, 27 Dec. 2021, inside.lighting/news/21-12/nyc-gets-more-serious-about-light-pollution.
