Light pollution: avoid garden lights

Post Reply
PeasIntheRain
Posts: 63
Joined: Thu 30-Dec-2021, 12:57
Has thanked: 4 times
Been thanked: 14 times

I'm catching up on the course videos and hit a snag on the Module B Section 4: Designing for Beauty video.

Jack slipped up with a casual comment of "...and you should light these up at night" when talking about garden focal points. I don't think it was meant as wholly, factually instructive (and I'm not trying to attack you, Jack!), but I just want to give everyone a reminder or notice that outdoor lights at night cause significant ecological problems and can muck up human wellbeing as well.

Light pollution is a problem much bigger than our gardens, but our gardens shouldn't contribute to the problem. Given that we are relying on insects for pollination as well as birds and bats for a whole-of-system sustainability, let's not add to the stress that wildlife populations experience from our night light sources.

(Of course, there is also the fact that lights consume energy and/or resources: even a solar light is not neutral because of the energy and resources required to create it.)

Here's a range of sources about the problem of light pollution, depending on the kind of source you feel comfortable reading:
National Geographic, general article: https://www.nationalgeographic.org/arti ... pollution/

News summary of peer-reviewed research (2015): 'Light pollution shown to affect plant growth, food webs', https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2 ... 093003.htm

Peer-reviewed scientific article: 'Light pollution is a driver of insect declines' (2020): https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/a ... 0719307797

Outreach site: https://sustainableamerica.org/blog/can ... llinators/
Danoost
Site Admin
Posts: 156
Joined: Tue 21-Dec-2021, 22:04
Has thanked: 38 times
Been thanked: 40 times

Thanks for sharing this. We appreciate the candid insights you bring to the course and forum.
Jack won't take it as an attack.
You bring up a very valid point. My home place is hugely impacted by light pollution from a business park and gas station that lights up the entire night sky. We can't even see the stars on the darkest night.
Post Reply

Return to “General Chit-Chat”