Light pollution
We know that there’s air and water pollution. We are also aware of soil pollution caused mainly by improperly managed garbage. Occasionally we also hear about noise pollution, but we seldom read or hear about light pollution. What is it? Light pollution is simply defined as excessive and inappropriate artificial light.
The natural cycle of a typical day is daylight and evening. The disruption of this natural cycle has a negative impact to the environment. All living things, including humans, do their routines according to this cycle. We do our activities during daytime and sleep at night. If humans are exposed to light while sleeping, melatonin production can be suppressed. This can lead to sleep disorders and other health problems such as increased headaches, fatigue, stress, some forms of obesity due to lack of sleep and increased anxiety. Have you experienced travelling in a country with a different time zone? It will take a few days for your body to adjust to the new day and night cycle. This is called ‘jet lag’.
Same is true with other living things. Some depend on daylight while others are nocturnal beings, doing their activities at night. Light pollution poses a serious threat in particular to nocturnal wildlife, having negative impacts on plant and animal physiology. It can confuse the migratory patterns of animals, alter competitive interactions of animals, change predator-prey relations, and cause physiological harm. Light pollution alters and interferes with the timing of necessary biological activities.
Insect-plant relationship in an ecosystem is also disrupted. According to a research done by the University of Bern in Switzerland, artificial light disrupts nocturnal pollination and leads to a reduced number of fruits produced by the plant. This loss of night time pollination cannot be compensated by diurnal pollinators. The research showed that nocturnal pollinators can be affected by artificial light leading to a disruption of the pollination service they provide. This loss of nocturnal flower visitors leads to a reduction of the fruit set of plants.
The study found out, that flowers on meadows which were experimentally illuminated with street lamps are visited around two thirds less frequently by pollinators, than those that were on meadows without any light sources in the vicinity. This has an effect on the fruit set, and therefore the reproduction of plants. In the last 20 years, the light emissions have increased by 70%, particularly in residential areas.
There’s another study done by the University of Exeter back in 2015 which concludes that artificial night time light from sources such as street lamps affects the growth and flowering of plants and even the number of insects that depend on those plants for food. The results suggest that lighting up the night time environment trigger complex effects on natural food webs.
Unwanted light is also wasted light. Wasted lighting is responsible for at least one-fourth of all electricity consumption worldwide. We should optimize the use of artificial light for safety, security and productivity while causing the least harm to the environment. Use light only when and where it is needed and use energy efficient bulbs like LEDs.
PRESIDENT Duterte thinks the quarrel between Patricia Paz Cruz-Bautista and her estranged husband Andres Bautista, chairman of the Commission on Elections, is just a family quarrel. The president told him “to fix it.”
“Sanay ako dyan,” he said. As Davao City mayor for 22 years, that was his stock answer to feuding spouses. There would be lawsuits and as much as possible the mayor wouldn’t meddle.
Sp ecul at i ve As president though, he must know the national interest involved: impact of the alleged corruption on the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG), the position