The Dark Side of Light: A Transdisciplinary Research Agenda for Light Pollution Policy

By Franz Hölker, T. Moss, B. Griefahn, W. Kloas, C. Voigt, Dietrich Henckel, A. Hänel, Peter M. Kappeler, S. Völker, A. Schwope and 6 more. 2010

572 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Although the invention and widespread use of artificial light is clearly one of the most important human technological advances, the transformation of nightscapes is increasingly recognized as having adverse effects. Night lighting may have serious physiological consequences for humans, ecological and evolutionary implications for animal and plant populations, and may reshape entire ecosystems. However, knowledge on the adverse effects of light pollution is vague. In response to climate change and energy shortages, many countries, regions, and communities are developing new lighting programs and concepts with a strong focus on energy efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions. Given the dramatic increase in artificial light at night (0 - 20% per year, depending on geographic region), we see an urgent need for light pollution policies that go beyond energy efficiency to include human well-being, the structure and functioning of ecosystems, and inter-related socioeconomic consequences. Such a policy shift will require a sound transdisciplinary understanding of the significance of the night, and its loss, for humans and the natural systems upon which we depend. Knowledge is also urgently needed on suitable lighting technologies and concepts which are ecologically, socially, and economically sustainable. Unless managing darkness becomes an integral part of future conservation and lighting policies, modern society may run into a global self-experiment with unpredictable outcomes.

Subfields: Global and Planetary Change

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/a0e683940304faf7a109ed0810caa5f7e3ae0183

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In Global and Planetary Change

Citations in the corpus

The nature, extent, and ecological implications of marine light pollution (2014, background): “347 © The Ecological Society of America www.frontiersinecology.org Artificial light at night is globally widespread (Cinzanoet al. 2001), rapidly expanding in spatial extent (Hölker et al. 2010), and shifting in its spectral characteristics (Davies et al. 2013a).”
Artificial light puts ecosystem services of frugivorous bats at risk (2014, background): “…light at night (Longcore & Rich 2004), has received increasing attention since it became evident that artificial light at night may be detrimental for many animals and ecosystem processes (reviewed in Rich & Longcore 2006) but continues to spread at unprecedented rates (H€olker et al. 2010).”
Artificially lit surface of Earth at night increasing in radiance and extent (2017, background): “Outdoor lighting became commonplace with the introduction of electric light and grew at an estimated rate of 3 to 6% per year during the second half of the 20th century (4).”
The ecological impacts of nighttime light pollution: a mechanistic appraisal (2013, background): “However, a much broader set of implications has been identified (Longcore & Rich, 2004; Hölker et al., 2010a; Perkin et al., 2011).”
Conserving energy at a cost to biodiversity? Impacts of LED lighting on bats (2012, background): “Awareness of the ecological impacts of artificial light pollution is increasing (Navara & Nelson, 2007; Horváth et al., 2009; Smith, 2009; Hölker et al., 2010a).”
Light Pollution, Circadian Photoreception, and Melatonin in Vertebrates (2019, background): “ALAN is increasing exponentially worldwide, in terms of lit area and brightness, at rates >2% per annum on average [17,35], with peaks at rates >40% in the developing world.”
Artificial light at night inhibits mating in a Geometrid moth (2015, background): “Despite the continuous rise in levels of artificial light at night (H€olker et al., 2010), the ecological consequences of light pollution remain largely unknown (Longcore & Rich, 2004).”