The sun does not shine for a few trees and flowers, but for the wide world's joy

LIGHT POLLUTION (artificial light)

Good day Sunday,

Who doesn’t love sunshine? While we bask in its rays at the park or going to the beach, it’s easy to forget the sun is actually a giant, scorching hot star. Without it, earthlings would face eternal night and certain doom.

Don’t take the warmth for granted. Nevertheless, sunshine 15 minutes is very healthy for you. Dan and I take walks daily and enjoy some sunshine with the wind blowing across our faces.

The sun is the most important thing in everybody's life, whether you're a plant, an animal or a fish, and we take it for granted. Danny Boyle

Today I’m going to blog about light pollution. Who ever thought that light would be bad for you? Well, there is certain man-made light that is not too healthy for us, which is considered light pollution (artificial light).

Light pollution, also referred to as photo-pollution, is the existence of anthropogenic light at night. Photo pollution is a broad term which refers to all problems caused by the unappealing, unnecessary or inefficient use of artificial light.

Light pollution competes with starlight at night, interferes with the astronomical observations, and disrupts the ecosystem. Excessive and misdirected use of light intensifies light pollution. Photo pollution is a side-effect of industrial civilization, and it is more severe in densely populated regions and highly industrialized places.

The Earth is supposed to be dark for X number of hours every 24-hour cycle. Light pollution disrupts the natural circadian rhythms, or the 24-hour process most organisms operate under. As a result, light pollution impacts humans, wildlife, environment, energy resources and more. Plus, when artificial light continues to persist at unnatural times it discolors the night sky and makes it difficult if not impossible to spot stars.

Types of Light Pollution (artificial light)

1. Light Trespass

Light trespass is a common problem which occurs when an unwanted strong light enters your property and causes sleep deprivation. Numerous cities in the United States developed outdoor lighting standards to protect their citizens against light pollution. The International Dark-sky Association (IDA) developed a series of model lighting rules which protect people and ecology from light pollution.

2. Over-Illumination

Excessive light usage causes over-illumination. Over-illumination is responsible for wasting more than two million oil barrels each day in the United States alone. Excessive usage of light stems from numerous causes, like the incorrect choice of light bulbs, daylight lighting, and indirect lighting techniques.

3. Glare

Glare is a public hazard, especially for older individuals. When glare light scatters into your eye, it can cause loss of contrast and even result in unsafe driving conditions. Blinding glare is the effect caused by gazing directly at the sun, which results in a permanent or temporary vision deficiency. Disability glare is the effect caused by being blinded by the lights of the oncoming car. Discomfort glare is very annoying and can be irritating. Overexposure to a discomfort glare can cause fatigue.

4. Light Clutter

Excessive clustering of light causes light clutter. A cluster of lights creates a state of confusion, can distract you from obstacles, and even cause an accident. Light clutter affects people driving on roads with poorly designed street lights.

5. Sky glow

Sky glow is the diffuse glow noticed over a highly populated region. The light reflected from an illuminated surface and light escaping directly into the sky from an upwards directed light, which is scattered back to the ground by the atmosphere, causes sky glow.

There are many effects of Light Pollution, which interrupts not just humans, but plants, wildlife and the ecological life.

Light pollution can disrupt an ecosystem, especially the nocturnal wildlife.

Excessive lighting can confuse the migratory patterns of animals, change the predator-prey relationship, alter the competitive interaction between animals, and even cause physiological harm. The natural diurnal patterns of dark and light dictate life in the wild, therefore disrupting this it can affect ecological dynamics.

Lighting is responsible for about 25% of global electricity consumption, and numerous studies confirm that over illuminating constitutes energy wastage, mainly when it is directed upwards at night.

Many species including humans are dependent on the circadian rhythm and melatonin production, which are regulated by the day and night cycles.

Therefore, overexposure to light in humans while sleeping can suppress melatonin production, resulting in sleeping disorders and many other health issues including work fatigue, increased headaches, medically defined stress, and increased anxiety.

As you’re probably aware, humans don’t see very well in the dark. This has led to our various efforts to brighten the night allowing us to function better when the sun goes down. Whereas, a little and healthy amount of light can be good, going over the top has a slew of negative impacts on human health and safety. Being exposed to light at night has been shown on a multitude of occasions to be linked to obesity, depression, sleeping disorders, cancer, and others.

Light pollution reduction is something our nation has been working on for years, and yet it seems to continually get worse. There are several things you can do to help reduce light pollution, and you might even save some money in the process.

40% of light pollution is created by productive lights that are necessary for a functioning society.

10% of light pollution comes from light glare.

And a frightening 50% of light pollution is produced by waste—light that no one even needs.

Is there a light on your building, home, or street that stays on all night long, even when it really serves no other purpose other than maybe peace of mind? It’s so common, and that’s why so much wasted light contributes to light pollution.

What about light pollution & LEDs? Is this good or bad? LED bulbs save money and electricity but researchers say they may put off more light pollution than traditional bulbs. A study out of the GFZ German Research Centre for Geoscience led by Christopher Kyba and published in Science Advances found that light radiating from Earth at night has increased by 2% every year over the past four years. They say this relates to the rapid adoption of bright LED lights.

That doesn’t mean LED lights are on their way out. In fact, well-made LED bulbs have been found to emit less light pollution. Additionally, reducing how often lights are turned on can help reduce the problem, for instance through the installation of automatic light timers and sensors.

There are ways to help light pollution reduction. Homeowners, commercial businesses, and entire cities are aiming to reduce light pollution—so what are some things you can do to help in the cause?

#1. Use of White LED Bulbs, compact fluorescent lamps (CFL) and LED bulbs put off a warm white light. This is better than LED lights that emit a short blue wavelength. Shorter blue lights easily scatter throughout the universe and add to light pollution, as well as cause eyestrain. Blue lights are also more difficult for researchers to track when calculating current light pollution levels.

#2. Cutoff Angles are Key, pick exterior light fixtures that have cutoff angles to help prevent light from leaving the horizontal plane. This also reduces up lighting and high-angle brightness. Cutoff lighting works similarly to adding a shield by concentrating the light at a downward angle and preventing it from radiating up towards the sky. This can help improve overall visibility as well.

There are different types of cutoff angles including: Full Cutoff, no light emits into the sky past a certain point. Cutoff: allows a small amount of up lighting loose up into the sky. Semi-Cutoff, even more light is emitted into the sky, but there is still partial control of light and a reduction in overall light pollution.

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Good morning sunshine 🌅 a mentor's greatest gift 🎁 isn't always his guidance, but rather the confidence he can give you to move forward and take action. Have a fantastic Sunday 🌻

#3. Add a Shield, shield outdoor lighting fixtures with a solid cap of some type to prevent light from going off into the sky. This also keeps light directed where it needs to be. There are a variety of shields that can help reduce light pollution.

#4. Add Lighting Sensors for Light Pollution Reduction, adding motion sensors to lighting fixtures can reduce light pollution considerably by turning fixtures off whenever no one is around or needs them. Instead of leaving lights on all night long and contributing to waste-related light pollution, add a sensor so lights turn on and off as needed. Quality sensors are important to prevent lights from turning on unnecessary, say for instance every time a bird comes by.

#5. Assess Your Needs, make it your mission to turn off lights when they are not in use. Assess your needs so that you know exactly when you need and don’t need lighting. 50% of light pollution derives from waste—light that is polluting our world for no reason at all. Since waste is the biggest single contributor to light pollution, it’s really the first place to start when creating a plan.

Here are some questions to ask yourself?

What time can you turn off fixtures because they are no longer necessary?

Between when and what time do fixtures need to be on?

How frequently over the course of one hour are lights used at different times of the night?

TRIPLE DECKER PANCAKES

SHERRY'S kitchen for brunch, triple decker gluten free blueberry- banana pancakes🍌 first layer strawberries, second layer blueberries and third layer bananas. Going to have a light dinner- soup

Until tomorrow, when sun shines, it not only brightens our day; it enlightens us, our soul, cleansing it of the gloominess that the night's darkness had brought in. Go today and enjoy some sunlight.