Light Pollution

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almost full moon...st. finians bay...michael SHEEHAN

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WHY TOO MUCH LIGHT POLLUTION SUCKS

Clouds are very efficient at reflecting outdoor lights. Researchers have found sky brightness can increase by a factor of ten times on cloudy nights. Simply put: the skies at night, are too darn bright. In most cities you don’t even need car headlights – it’s simply not dark enough! To lose sight of our natural dark skies is to lose sight of who we are, where we came from and where we are going to – as a society. Just because we can see in artificial light does not mean that other creatures can. Our obsession with controlling the environment is actually damaging the environment at a price that is far too high. Our bodies have evolved over millions of years to the rhythm of the day/night cycle, and what was wrong with that? Do we really want to live in a world that’s lit up like a ball on a Christmas tree. Put out that light and re-claim the night.

NOBODY WANTS TO LIVE IN A CITY OR TOWN LIKE THIS

Thierry Cohan photo of Tokyo without lights

How creepy would it be to live in a city, town or village with NO lights as depicted in the above, one can almost hear the Zombies and Vampires lurking about in the shadows. We need light at night to see where we are going and what we are doing: that’s sensible, what is not sensible is to light up areas that need no light – ie the sky.

OR THIS

Chicago at 3am – but it could be just about any city in the world right now

You can bet that no bird or insect is sleeping in those poor over-lit trees. Responsible lighting is about responsibility – lighting what needs to be lit and being mindful of our responsibility to each other and the creatures we share this planet with.

NATURAL LIGHT POLLUTION

The natural light of the Moon is considered as good light pollution because the natural world of humans, animals and plants – on land and water – have evolved over many millions of years to its subtle light and phases.

Moon over McCarthy Castle - Julie Ormonde

Gentle Moonlight over McCarthy Castle, Ballinskelligs – photo Julie Ormonde

UNNATURAL LIGHT POLLUTION

stars over saltzberg, austria

Man-made light pollution (when brought to excess as is the photo above) steals away the light from the heavens. One can’t imagine any kind of natural wildlife living in the city below the dark sky. Birds would certainly not nest there, no sound of their gentle twittering or singing would be heard. The dawn chorus to the residents of the city would be the ever increasing noise of early morning traffic. This is a place only fit for human’s … and that is perhaps, the saddest statement of all.

UNNATURAL LIGHT POLLUTION THAT WORKS WITH NATURE

Good publict street lights good-lighting

Both of the above photo’s show Public lighting at its best – highlighting what should be highlighted minimising the effect on the upper night sky region.

EUROPE AT NIGHT

Europe at night

Visit the Blue Marble website here to fully view the interactive photo above

NARRATIVE

Catch a falling star Without serious education on the value of globally cherishing and preserving area’s such as the Kerry Reserve Space the history of our evolution, our humanity, and our society and will be lost to the shame of simple neglect. Future generations will judge us on how well we preserve what will be their future world... we owe then no less than that we did our very best to live responsively and, that we cherished the pale blue dot: the only home we have in the vast Cosmic ocean we call space

THE PALE BLUE DOT

BLAME IS A WASTE OF TIME

men fighting

Nobody could have predicted the effect of light pollution on nature and our own human health when the light bulb was first invented. Public street lighting causes most of the problems, educating our Government officials is the key to solving the problem.

GOOD NEIGHBOUR

floodlight-angles-goodbad

Ensure that your lighting doesn't infringe on your neighbours enjoyment of the dark, and don't be afraid to speak up if you're the victim of bothersome light trespass. Broach the subject gently, though; suggesting a more efficient fixture might enlighten him/her. If not, mention that an alternative lighting fixture could not only help you, but also his utility bill. Knowing that money will be saved just might do the trick.

Only when we have our own lighting in order can we go and criticize others for their lighting wrongs. Sometimes all it takes is a change to a lower wattage bulb (why waste money on a higher wattage when you don’ t need it?). Sometimes the light fixture just needs to be altered to hit the ground where the light is needed.

DO YOU THINK YOUR AREA WOULD QUALIFY FOR AN INTERNATIONAL DARK-SKY AWARD?

IDA Award

If the answer is 'yes' and you need help with the application, then contact the person responsible for our successful application read more

CITY DARK TRAILER

GREAT CARTOON ABOUT LIGHT POLLUTION

BIRDS NAVIGATE BY THE STARS

Birds navigate to the stars

Migrating and nocturnal birds will use the light from the Moon and Stars and the setting Sun for navigation during their bi-annual migrations. Light pollution hides their navigational aids. Artificial, city lights especially interfere with this instinctive behavior. It draws night-migrating birds toward brightly-lit buildings in urban areas. Many millions of birds die every year due to collisions brightly lit buildings or dying of exhaustion while lost in the glare of too many street lights.

EFFECTS ON HUMAN HEALTH

Tring to get a good nights sleep

In September 2007 a report from The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences stated, “One of the defining characteristics of life in the modern world is the altered patterns of light and dark in the built environment made possible by use of electric power.” It was noted that it may not be entirely coincidental that dramatic increases in the risk of breast and prostate cancers, obesity, and early-onset diabetes have mirrored the dramatic changes in the amount and pattern of artificial light generated during the night and day in modern societies over recent decades.

THOMAS EDISON

tHOMAS eDDISON

In 1879, Thomas Edison’s incandescent light bulbs first illuminated a New York street, and the modern era of electric lighting began. Since then, the world has become awash in electric light. Powerful lamps light up streets, yards, parking lots, and billboards. Sports facilities blaze with light that is visible for tens of miles. Many environmentalists, naturalists, and medical researchers consider light pollution to be one of the fastest growing and most pervasive forms of environmental pollution. And a growing body of scientific research suggests that light pollution can have lasting adverse effects on both human and wildlife health.

Kerry Reserve Space

Kells is the main entry point into the Reserve if coming via the Killarney/Tralee N70 road route, showing stunning panoramic views across the Dingle Bay by day and at night and a huge expansive view of the sky.
Stunning by day – Sensational by night: is, without doubt, appropriate to this region.
The Kells area has a dark-sky quality comparable to the Core Zone with readings of up to 21.7 on the SQML reader where the darkest reading is 22.
Distance from Killarney to the Kells entrance is 50 km. Reserve are: Kells, Caherciveen, Valentia Island, Portmagee, The Glen, Ballinskelligs, Waterville, Dromid & Caherdaniel.