As both an environmentalist and an amateur
astronomer, I always take my bat detector with me when I spend a night imaging
the stars. But sadly there are two things that limit the pleasure I get from my
hobbies – clouds, which I can’t do much about, and light pollution. I live near
the edge of a medium-sized town, and looking north there are virtually no stars
visible in the orange soup of the sky. To the south-west a few factories don’t
help either, but I have a wedge in the sky to the south where I can get some
reasonable views and pictures. But if I want to see or photograph faint
objects, I have to drive to darker skies.
When you are out bat-watching, how often do
you see more than a handful of stars, let alone the Milky Way?
So, I’ve decided to try and get something
done to help rescue our dark skies, and am one of a number of people
championing a petition to Government asking for action to be taken on light
pollution.
The petition now stands at nearly 7,000
signatures, but we need at least 3,000 more over the next few weeks if we are
to get a response from the Government. Such a response will be a valuable point
on which future campaigning can be built. The petition is at
As I am sure bat group members are
particularly aware, light pollution doesn’t just drown out the stars. It has a
profound effect on wildlife by affecting the daily behaviour patterns of many
species including bats, birds and many mammals. The impacts of street lighting
on moths, by attracting them out of woodland areas and making them vulnerable
to predation and possibly impacting on bat feeding patterns have been well
documented. I have heard blackbirds singing at midnight and seen birch trees
that haven’t dropped their leaves all winter - because of light pollution!
Light pollution can also disturb the sleep
patterns of humans and cause anxiety, and recent research has shown even more
worrying health effects from the disturbance to people’s body clocks.
But the most striking effect is how light
pollution robs us all of the magnificence of truly dark skies and the sight of
natural wonders like the Milky Way.
The answer is not a ban on all lighting, but
serious action to make sure the right types of light are used and in the right
places. For example, new LED lights are very efficient, but their light is
harder to filter out and the high blue content has a bigger impact on the
melatonin levels that control the body clocks of people and animals.
Please show your support by signing the
petition and passing on the message to your friends - we have been suing
thr hashtag #NightBlight, which also links to the CPRE’s impressive maps of
light pollution in the UK It’s an important step towards achieving
change.
Thank you.
Further information:
Further information:
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not before time! artificial light at night is one of the main reasons for the decline in bird populations, as it not only disturbs birds but kills their food (eg moths). My bat roost has been destroyed by thoughtless neighbours who believe they need to turn lights on for hours outside, and I have been driven out of my bedroom too, till 1 am. Much of the light is waste light, going into the air, and peoples' windows, making zero contribution to lighting the desired area but adding to costs, CO2 emissions, etc. Time to call a halt.
ReplyDeleteMy neighbours have masses of lights in their back garden. It is like manic Christmas all year round.Some in the front garden too. We had local pipistrelles before all this but I haven't seen them for a while. ��.
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