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Don't Light Up My Night

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Don’t Light Up My Night
I remember gazing at the stars with my mom when I was a kid. She pointed out the Milky Way and a number of constellations. She told me, “there are way too many stars to count!” Now, 50 years later, when I walk outside and look up, I see only a few identifiable constellations, no Milky Way, and I would venture to say there were so few stars that if I took a little time, I could count them all. Are there really fewer stars in the heavens? Not at all. The stars are up there, they just cannot be seen by the naked eye from the vast majority of heavily populated vantage points anymore. The culprit, I learned, is called “Light Pollution”.
According to the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA), light pollution is …show more content…

The apparent correlation between the two is striking and invites further investigation.
Even though research into the link between light pollution and human illness has thus far been inconclusive, studies show that artificial light adversely affects both plant and animal life as well, and these ecologic effects have been well documented. For instance, according to Winslow Briggs’ chapter on plant responses in the 2006 book, Ecological Consequences of Artificial Night Lighting, prolonged exposure to artificial light prevents many trees and other plants from adjusting to seasonal variations, (Chepesiuk). The ability to bud, bloom, fruit and seed can be jeopardized leading to the ineffectual propagation of many species.
As a powerful biological and behavioral force, animals are especially sensitive to light. In many species, light acts as a magnet. According to the Urban Wildlands Group, the effect is so powerful that scientists have noted how birds can be “captured” by searchlights on land or gas flares on marine oil platforms, causing them to continually circle the light source in the thousands until they drop from exhaustion and die (Klinkenborg). Distracted by tower lights, many birds can become

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