Light pollution is an effect of inefficient and ineffective lighting and it is harmful to humans health, animals health, and completely obliterates the age old tradition of astronomy for amateurs.
Being exposed to light pollution can cause an array of health problems in humans. The primary problem is that it impairs the circadian clock, the 24 hour day/night cycle, causing mental and physiological problems. physiological problems include brain wave patterns, hormone production, cell regulation, and other biologic activities. Mental health includes, but is not limited to, depression, insomnia, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. “Studies show that the circadian cycle controls from ten to fifteen percent of our genes,” Paolo Sassone-Corsi, chairman of the Pharmacology Department at the University of California, Irvine, who has done extensive research on the circadian clock explains. “So the disruption of the circadian cycle can cause a lot of health problems.” It has also been found that premature babies suffer due to the exposure to artificial light in hospitals. An association has been made between breast cancer and shift work that was restricted to women who had worked 30 or more years on rotating night shifts.
Having artificial light on all the time has affected astronomy too. "A huge number of children today, especially those living in urban areas, have never seen a truly starry sky," Bennett told UPI from Boulder. "Given that the sky has been the inspiration for much of human culture and science throughout history, losing our connection to the sky is not only tragic but may also be damaging to the future of our civilization." More than two thirds of the U.S. population and approximately half the European Union p...
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...e light had allowed people to work extended hours as well as recreational activities. The earth looks astonishing lit up by all the street lights when viewed from an airplane, satellite, or a spaceship at night.
Works Cited
Price, Sean. "Light Pollution." National Geographic World. Aug. 2001: 19-24. SIRS Discoverer. Web. 05 Feb. 2014.
Martin, Mike. "Light Pollution Hampers Astronomers." UPI. Aug. 14 2001: n.p. SIRS Discoverer. Web. 05 Feb. 2014.
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" Two Good Things About Light Pollution." 2002JRASC..96...24P. Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, n.d. Web. 20 Feb 2014. .
Kelley, Beth. "Light Pollution." spie.org. SPIE Professional, n.d. Web. 1 Mar 2014. .
Since the beginning of time, human beings were trying to find ways how to make their lives better. Technological improvements and inventions brought us a lot of benefits, but with benefits come consequences. Side effects are different types of pollution that we , as humans, are aware of. There are six kinds of pollution: land, water, noise, thermal, air, and light. The article "Our Vanishing Night," by Verlyn Klikenborg shows us the consequences of light pollution and completely neglects the positive aspects of artificial light. The author starts with a history lesson where he juxtaposes modern world to England in 1800. Back in the day, the most populated city in England, London, didn't suffer from light pollution since there
Shift work has a major effect on the physiological and mental health. One of the most important one is the circadian rhythm, which is the natural biological clock of a person. There are different external and internal factors that contribute to the change of someone’s physiological health, such as lighting, temperature, diet, sleep, hormones and the already
Thus, this opportunity to work during the nighttime has been intertwined with some aspects of our society and allowed it to be somewhat acceptable to certain individuals. Additionally, it has become part of the society we live in, and inevitably unavoidable in certain circumstances. Unfortunately however, these working and traveling routines cause a disruption to the natural sleep-wakefulness cycle, and inevitably expose human beings to light at unordinary biologic times, which produce an outcome such that eating patterns, and social interactions with family and acquaintances are modified. Furthermore, the health impact of shift work has raised many concerns amongst individuals since it has been observed and studied that it gives rise to long-term health issues. In many studies conducted, both long and short-term, revealed that unfavorable alterations have been reported in lipid and carbohydrate metabolism, and in insulin resistance, growth hormone and corticosteroid secretion patterns (blood concentrations). On an epidemiologic basis, hypertension, left ventricle hypertrophy, coronary heart disease, and myocardial infraction have been found to be more frequent and critical amongst individuals who work during the
Edwin Hubble. (2003, March 25). Retrieved January 19, 2014, from Edwin Hubble Biographical and Information Resources: http://www.edwinhubble.com
Many opinions come along with Daylight Saving Time due to the possible consequences that result of it. DST is said to increase 3 times the risk of car accidents towards pedestrians (Douma). According to Michael Douma, “Recent research indicates that pedestrian fatalities from cars soar at 6:00pm during the weeks after clocks are set back in the fall.” However the early daylight in the winter helps the younger pedestrians like children and teens see their way to school in the mornings safely. DST is also to be said to bring health problems to society such as depression.The lack of daylight has put 8 percent of people in a sad state of mind as the sun sets early in the winter (Scudellari). This switch also is said to affect those with sleeping problems like
In this article, “Let There Be Dark”, by Paul Bogard, he focuses on the health effects, economy, environment, and logistics of having too much artificial light. He provides many relevant pieces of evidence throughout the story to discuss how being on technology that provides artificial light are terrible for your mind and health. Bogard starts his argument with a personal experience that relates to him valuing darkness, and then provides information about darkness being necessary in our lives. He states “8 of 10 children born in the United States will never know a sky dark enough for the Milky Way,” to appeal to the reader’s sense of logic. He discusses how the world depends on lightness and darkness, yet people choose to depend on light more which will be harmful in the long run.
Andrews, Bill. “50 years of Americans in space.” Astronomy. 01 Feb. 2012: 20. eLibrary. Web. 20 Feb. 2014.
Because the Sun is so influential, imperfections of the Sun, such as sunspots will continue to impact life on Earth. The discovery of sunspots is correlated with the invention of the telescope in 1608, although there are earlier recordings of sunspot like activity from China (Schaefer 35). Galileo was one of the astronomers who decided to publish his findings and use sunspots in one of his theories of Chief World Systems (Schaefer 35-6).
Dyson, Marianne J. Space and Astronomy: Decade by Decade. New York: Facts on File, 2007. 14+. Print.
Human fascination with the stars is as ancient as Babylonians and has been suggested to be older than Stonehenge. From “be fruitful and multiply” to “live long and prosper,” the instinct to protect and propagate the species has manifested in religion, art, and the imaginations of countless individuals. As human understanding of space treks out of the fantastical and into the scientific, the realities of traveling through and living in space are becoming clearer. Exploring, investigating, and living in space pose an expansive series of problems. However, the solutions to the problems faced by mankind's desire to reach beyond the horizon, through the night sky, and into the stars are solutions that will help in all areas of life on Earth.
Air pollution is caused by many things such as car fumes, burning of fossil fuels,
These in turn can cause weight gain in adolescents and may take the form of cardiovascular diseases in adulthood. I will also shed light on some of the other long- term health effects of sleep deprivation such as type 2 diabetes, chronic kidney disease and gastrointestinal disorders. I will also point out that sleep disruption may also be associated with the increase in the risk of certain cancers and even death. This is because excessive exposure to light at night decreases production of melatonin (sleep hormone) which can lead to acceleration of tumor growth, that may have carcinogenic
Overall, the Astronomy conversation was a success. Sharing of information led to new ideas and a great discussion on the future of space travel. All participants learned something new about the future of space travel. Last, it was obvious that regardless of age, education, or professional background, people are interested and excited about the future of space travel.
Sidney, Philip. "Astrophel and Stella." Online. Renascence Editions. U of Oregon P. 6 Apr. 1999. Available HTTP: darkwing.uoregon.edu.
Now when people go to bed they stay awake to look at their social media applications on their phones while lying in bed. This can cause sleep deprivation because you are up later reading about other people’s day. The light from the phone also causes your brain to not shut off for the night as easily. It has been suggested that exposure to bright lights at the wrong time of the day can alter circadian rhythm sleep with insomnia and excessive sleepiness (Wolniczak, Cacerer-DelAguila, Palma-Ardiles, Arroyo, Solis-Visscher, Peredes-Yairi, Mego-Antonio, Pernabe-Ortiz 3). Many hours of sleep per week are lost due to social media, which in turn also decreases productivity at