Light Pollution

I read an article from National Geographic called "Our Vanishing Night" by Verlyn Klinkenborg. There were many interesting details concerning the affects of light pollution.  The article discussed the damage of light pollution and suggested various ways to fix light pollution.

The article started out by talking about the affect of light pollution on animals.  The feeding pattern of nocturnal animals has been thrown off.  Insects cluster around the lights at night so certain bats have trouble finding their prey.  Other animals like opossums and badgers hunt very warily at night because it is easier for them to become prey during the bright night.  There are many other ways that life has been thrown a muck because of light pollution; migration, breeding, survival, and many other habits of animal life.  I never thought of how much changes in the lives of animals because of light pollution.  It is strange to think that something, so seemingly harmless, can cause so much damage.   The article also discussed the repercussions on humans.    Yes, I agree with the article that there will or are issues that we may not fully understand that are caused by light pollution.  I am not so sure that there was a point in saying that "one new study has suggested a direct correlation between higher rates of breast cancer in women and the nighttime brightness of their neighborhood."  Correlation is not causation.  A more prominent point could be made here, maybe a study on insomnia or difference in when people sleep.

National Geographic did not leave their article at that.  Practical articles do not always just tell us the problem, but they try to show us how to fix the problem.  This is what N.G. did.  They listed many different ways that light pollution could be fixed.  The article said that the easiest way to fix the problem is to change the design of the light.  This actually can also help give us a better visual at night.  Changing the light structure will not hinder our vision at night but help it.

Overall it was a good article on light pollution.  It helped me see our impact on nature.  Light pollution is an easy fix, the more the world sees and understands this the easier and quicker it will be to fix the problem.