Light pollution exists on every continent except Antarctica. Urban light pollution means that one-fifth of the world’s population can no longer see the Milky Way with the naked eye. Many city kids, even if they did peer through the orange smog above their heads, would probably see only a handful of stars. We have lost our view of the stars, and we have mucked up our nighttime environment as well. Astronomers are calling for the dark places on Earth to be preserved as national parks, so that we do not lose completely ourwindow on the Universe.
Light pollution impacts astronomical research and can even affect human health. The excess illumination also affects wildlife in various ways from altering migration routes to eating habits and breeding behavior, to name a few.
Lots of people find the ever-brightening night annoying, and animals that areprogrammed to prefer the dark may avoid brightened habitat. Sea turtles can get lost searching for a beach to lay eggs, and their hatchlings may confuse over-lit beachfront resorts for the ocean horizon, wasting precious energy needed to find the sea and escape predators. Because their necks aren’t yet long enough to see things far away, baby turtles rely on the mirror image of the moon to guide them to the sea, to begin their new life. A car may even hit a particular turtle, which was thinking the light from a nearby city was moonlight reflecting off the ocean waves. Birds that live in and around cities can die because of sky glow, too. The abundance of bright lights can blind them, leading to countless collisions with buildings, billboards and other tall structures.
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