MORE EFFECTS OF SKYGLOW/



YOUR VIEW OF SPACE | Of the estimated 70 thousand million million million stars in the universe, we’re lucky enough to view even a few thousand from Earth. In urban areas that number falls to just a few hundred stars - and possibly much fewer in major cities.



“Since the 1950s, a tide of wasted light has veiled the starry sky. Light travelling, even at low angles, above the horizontal scatters from dust and aerosols in the atmosphere and colours the night sky out to great distances. Most of us, not just astronomers, enjoy seeing a star-filled night sky, but even if you don't, skyglow is an obvious symptom of the waste of money and energy. There are signs that, with the new generation of strictly downward directed lights on our roads, the night sky is returning to some areas. As long as lighting is not too bright for the task (as are some of the new blue-rich LEDs), the trend will continue. But unregulated sports and area floodlights still pollute locally, and until proper regulation is in force, they will probably proliferate.”



Bob Mizon MBE FRAS, Coordinator at the British Astronomical Association Campaign for Dark Skies.



YOUR CARBON FOOTPRINT | Over half the energy we use for outdoor lighting in the EU is wasted because we’re using more power than we need. This could be due to inefficient lighting, people not turning off lights when unneeded, or poorly designed lights that lead us to use additional lighting. People living in the EU use, on average, 117 kWh per person for outdoor lighting each year. Of this, 90 kWh is used for public lighting, and 27 kWh for private lighting. Since we only need around 50 kWh for both public and private outdoor lighting, more than half the energy we use – 67 kWh – is essentially wasted. Each kWh we use creates 0.5 kilograms (kg) of carbon dioxide (CO2) and costs us around €0.11 (7 pence). This means we each waste 33.5 kg of CO2 on outdoor lighting, which costs us €7.40 per year. Multiply this by the number of people in the EU and our total carbon contribution from wasted energy amounts to 23.5 billion kg, costing us €5.2 billion (£3.8 billion) a year **.



YOUR BIOLOGY | By flooding the night skies with artificial light we’re also putting our wellbeing at risk. Since most living things run on a 24 hour day/night cycle known as the circadian clock, too much nighttime light can prove harmful to us on a molecular level. This cycle controls 10 to 15 per cent of our genes, which means brainwave patterns, hormone production and cell regulation can all be disrupted by interfering with its pattern.



WILDLIFE SURVIVAL | Life on Earth has evolved to suit its natural surroundings. It has developed to fit with and benefit from the day/night cycle of light and shade. Daylight regulates chemical reactions in plants and animals that they need to survive. Meanwhile, darkness allows nocturnal animals to safely carry out important tasks like hunting or scavenging, feeding and mating. As well as disrupting biological patterns, too much light can also cause confusion, particularly in migrating birds, which use the stars to guide their way.

