Light Pollution: The Dark Side of Outdoor Lighting

As many homeowners, you are taking steps to reduce your carbon footprint at home. You dutifully recycle glass, metal, paper, and plastic waste each week. You replace all the incandescent light bulbs in your home with energy-efficient compact fluorescent lamps (CFL) or light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs. However, you may be unwittingly contributing to carbon emissions and interfering with delicate ecosystems through light pollution.

Light pollution, unlike other forms of contamination and waste, remains largely overlooked and unregulated in industrialized countries. Learn more about the cause, different types, and effects of light pollution, and how adjusting your use of outdoor lighting can help reduce this form of pollution.

What is Light Pollution?

Light pollution, also known as photopollution or luminous pollution, is the excessive, misdirected or invasive use of artificial outdoor lighting that threatens our environment and energy resources as well as wildlife, humans, and astronomical research. Artificial lights alter the color and contrast of the night sky, eclipse natural starlight, and disrupt circadian rhythms (24-hour biologic clock of most organisms). As the demand for artificial lighting increases each year, so does the spread of pollution.

Photopollution is not a new problem. The early 20th century introduced light pollution as large cities began to adopt commercial and residential electric lighting. Over the last 50 years, as more countries became affluent and urbanized, demand for lighting increased and pollution sprawled beyond the city limits and into suburban and rural areas. This form of pollution now affects most developed areas such as North America, Europe, and Asia.

The east coast, spanning from Boston, M...

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...ion detector's sensitivity as needed to prevent the lights from turning on and off unnecessarily.

5. Get Certified

Use IDA certified Dark Sky Lighting, which is designed to minimize glare, light spill, and sky glow. If you reside near the beach or coast, use certified Turtle Safe Lighting that shielded, mounted low, and produces long-wavelength lighting.

6. Turn It Off

Turn off any unnecessary outdoor lights after you're home for the night or before going to bed to prevent wasteful dusk to dawn lighting. Remember that outdoor lighting should serve a purpose. So if you're not using it, turn it off.

You can take additional steps to reduce light pollution in your home and community by closing curtains and blinds to prevent light spill, educating neighbors about sky-friendly lighting practices, and proposing lighting ordinances to your local and state governments.