Left Many insects need a dark environment to procreate: fireflies, for example, cannot ‘see’ each other because of light pollution


LIGHT + TECH 121


basis,’ says Ruskin Hartley, CEO and executive director of the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) and ROLAN speaker. ‘One unit of light from a 4,000K blue-rich source has at least twice the sky glow factor as that of an 1,800K HPS source.’


It is also the part of the spectrum to which the human eye, evolved under the blue-rich light of daylight, is particularly sensitive. It stimulates the human circadian system and suppresses the production of melatonin, therefore disrupting sleep. ‘Much has been learned over the past two decades of the potential adverse health effects of electric light exposure, particularly at night,’ says Dr Mario E Motta, trustee of the American Medical Association and also a ROLAN speaker. ‘The core concern is with the disruption of circadian rhythmicity through suppression of melatonin production by the pineal gland,’ he continues. ‘Melatonin has been shown to be an important adjuvant to the human immune system, and thus when suppressed has detrimental human health effects.’ Research has shown that this can be linked to a range of disorders from depression and diabetes through to cancer.


The high levels of light at night and the use of blue-rich sources is also having a damaging, even catastrophic effect on other creatures such as birds and invertebrates. There is nothing on Earth that is immune to its effect. ‘Light being additive means that the net result is not simply that we have more light than is required, but often so much that it damages the planet,’ says Major.


‘This is not just through light pollution but also other impacts. Stray light spills through bedroom windows interrupting sleep patterns. Upward light obscures our view of the stars. Light trespasses into natural and man-made landscaped environments that should otherwise be dark, disrupting the delicate and interconnected breeding, migration and feeding patterns of a wide range of flora and fauna.’


ROLAN will be held online on 12–13 May. It is coorganised by Dr Karolina M Zielinska- Dabkowska, assistant professor and head of research group ILLUME at Gdansk University of Technology, and the Society of Light and Lighting.


For more details go to: go.cibse.org/ROLAN22


While the magnitude of the problem is self-evident, there is a spirit of positivity from participants. ‘Because LEDs can be controlled – in terms of where the light is directed, dimming and spectral management – we now have the tools to reverse the trends of the past 140-plus years,’ says Hartley. ‘Fortunately, unlike many types of pollution, this one is readily solved and there are no lingering pollutants left once the source is dealt with.’


But, he adds, while we have the technology and understanding that we didn’t have even a generation ago, it remains to be seen whether we will use them. ‘The question is,’ says Hartley, ‘do we have the collective will?’


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