Human industrial pollution has reached pristine Arctic waters - millions of miles away from permanent human habitation, the plastic chews down on wilderness. By the turn of the 20th century, tense discussions on pollution grew as the adverse effects of decades of contamination floated to the surface. Microplastics pose health hazards to the inhabitants of almost every natural habitat as carbon dioxide emissions float out of industrialization.
The visibility of these carbon emissions and pollution remains key in attracting attention from patrons of environmental conservation efforts and politicians alike, while other, equally harmful, types of pollution continue to dwell in the shadows: light and noise pollution. Underfunded and under-researched, they are seemingly inescapable for many urban households, ranging from excessive indoor and outdoor lighting to rock concerts & sirens clogging the city.
Light pollution is defined as the wastage of artificial light and can affect the circadian rhythm of the human body and other organisms, the behaviour of many nocturnal animals, and essential physiological processes. It can be categorized into sky glow, light trespass, glare, and over-illumination or clutter. Sky glow is a bright halo that appears over urban areas at night, reflected off of a concentration of water droplets and particles in the air. Light trespass is when unwanted light reaches an area it wasn’t intended to reach as a result of poorly engineered light pieces or lack of curtains. Glare light is intense light that is temporarily blinding; over-illumination is using artificial light beyond what is strictly needed. According to the 2016 World Atlas of Night Sky Brightness, a computer-generated map based on thousands of satellite photos, almost 80% of the world and 99% of Americans and Europeans live under sky glow. The real night sky is a beauty not visible to many because of this light pollution. According to the Tucson, Arizona–based International Dark-Sky Association (IDA), the sky glow of Los Angeles is visible from an aeroplane 200 miles away!
Globally urban hotspots like Singapore, Qatar, and Kuwait have significantly brightened skies with the glare of cars, billboards, and the lights of sports facilities and offices often to increase the recreational period of the day. But these lights are often poorly engineered and the light flows up in the sky disorienting migrating birds, especially during cloudless days.
According to Michael Mesure, executive director of the Toronto-based Fatal Light Awareness Program (FLAP), the migratory birds flying over North America are attracted to, yet confused by the light, resulting in fatal collisions within themselves and with skyscrapers and communication towers. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates 5–50 million birds die each year from collisions with communication towers. And it's not just birds distracted by the light. Female sea turtles tend to nest on roadways where they can be struck by vehicles as opposed to the beach when the beach is lit at night. At higher risk are their hatchlings; at the onset of their life, they are disoriented by the light, leaving the sea and, according to a study published by Michael Salmon of Florida Atlantic University, these turtles end up dehydrated and exhausted, lowering their survival rate.
Humans and all organisms run on a circadian, or 24-hour, clock. 10-15% of the human genome regulates the physiological processes that cause life to be in the rhythm it is in.
Currently, the use of cell phones and LEDs are commonly used to extend work hours into naturally dark periods of the day. When the blue light emitted from these electronic devices hit the retina of the eye, the negative biological effects on the body are numerous.
Commonly, blue light reduces melatonin levels. Melatonin is a hormone secreted in the night, used for a host of activities including the reduction of estrogen production. Increased estrogen levels increase the risk of breast cancer by metastasising tumours in the breast. Rotating night shifts are a common culprit as the body does not get used to the light nor is it unaccustomed to it and now, 1-8 women are estimated to have breast cancer at least once in their life.
But even though circumstances may seem hopeless, over-illumination can be reduced through a variety of new, accessible methods. The IDA or International Dark Sky Association recommends the use of low-pressure sodium lights or LPS lights for outdoor lighting that emit productive, yellow light under the horizontal “glare” plane providing peak visibility with energy efficiency.
Active efforts made by such associations preserve beauties of the natural sky like stargazing. (1) For instance, the Natural Bridges National Monument in Utah is one of the few sites in the U.S where the Milky Way can be seen crystal clear in the sky. Though done on a large scale, there are some changes every household can make to be more environmentally friendly like keeping in mind closing windows, blinds, or curtains during the night to avoid light escaping into the sky, turning off lights of unused rooms, and lowering screen brightness and therefore exposure during long nights.
Noise Pollution:
Slightly more heard of in society, noise pollution are unwanted sounds above 85 decibels that can harm the health of organisms in proximity. Decibels are the unit for measuring sound waves with the rustling of leaves being around 20 decibels and the wail of a siren around 140. Noise pollution, especially in urban hotspots, constitutes a rise in blood pressure, heart disease, sleep disturbances, and stress among all age groups. Increased noise accelerates anxiety within animals and humans alike causing a number of health problems in growing children who live near busy airports and streets such as memory impairment, low reading level, and attention span.
At first glance, the marine ecosystem seems safe from noise pollution but new, repetitive military testing and training is creating chaos. The serene marine environment is victim to the pollution through industrial drilling, ships, military sonar devices, and seismic tests.
Dolphins, who rely on echolocation for finding their mates often mistake sonar pulses for other dolphins as the sonar devices - as loud as 235 decibels - travel far in the water damaging marine ears and altering feeding patterns in endangered blue whales.
However, giving hope for a sustainable future, new bioacoustic technologies are being produced such as the hydrophone from the LIDO or (Listening to the Deep Ocean Environment) project which monitors the effects of underwater noise on animals and seeks a solution.
Though the future may seem precarious for pollution on a large scale, light and noise pollution can be vastly improved if everyone makes a conscious effort to live more sustainably now for the generations to come; So our children can see the Milky Way clear in the sky.