The Night Sky Is Getting 10% Brighter Every Year (theguardian.com)
- Reference: 0185903682
- News link: https://science.slashdot.org/story/26/09/30/0452204/the-night-sky-is-getting-10-brighter-every-year
- Source link: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/sep/29/night-sky-darkness-city-regulation
> Every year, the night sky is becoming [2]10% brighter . Eighty percent of people live [3]under light-polluted skies . And while the UN declared a healthy environment -- clean air, clean water -- to be a human right, I believe we also all have a right to darkness as well. This doesn't mean turning off every streetlamp. But do we really need bright white floodlights at the front of every garage? Replacing lights with ones that are bright enough to do the job -- and no brighter -- might make it so I wouldn't have to get in my car and drive for hours to see the night sky as it actually shines above us. To preserve the darkness would mean rules and enforcement around the warmth of the lights, where they point, and how bright they can be. It would mean not putting in three lights when one would do. If we recognized that darkness is something we need, [4]we'd become more careful about chasing it away .
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> [...] Access to darkness is about more than stargazing. The night is its own habitat. Artificial lights confuse animals who use the moon to navigate, whether they're baby sea turtles navigating toward a parking lot instead of the ocean or moths who fly in circles around a lightbulb. Lightning bugs and frogs need darkness to complete their courtship rituals. Migrating birds get thrown off course by the bright lights of big cities. But the effects of light pollution linger even after it's daylight again, becoming visible. Research has shown light pollution is breaking the relationship between [5]plants and pollinators , changing [6]the time of year trees break into flower, and disrupting circadian rhythms for all living creatures. This includes humans. Whether it's artificial lights indoors or creeping in through the window at night, [7]studies have found that we need darkness in order to rest, recover and stay healthy.
[1] https://slashdot.org/~fjo3
[2] https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abq7781
[3] https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.1600377?adobe_mc=MCMID%3D31691909523887609934062475373652091662%7CMCORGID%3D242B6472541199F70A4C98A6%2540AdobeOrg%7CTS%3D1788115299
[4] https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/sep/29/night-sky-darkness-city-regulation
[5] https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-22011-8
[6] https://royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/article/283/1833/20160813/78147/Light-pollution-is-associated-with-earlier-tree
[7] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2627884/
Crime (Score:3)
or paranoia, take your pick, but if it is a question of stargazing or crime, crime will win out. Always.
Re: (Score:2)
The criminals are those that make off with billions in crypto heist, ransomware, or blatant Trump corruptions; not people hiding in the dark to steal your purse at knife point (does that even still happen ?). And a tiny solar LED with a motion detector is enough to get you to find your keys.
Re: (Score:2)
Oh god! I forgot elections are coming which means every zealot will do their best to alienate everyone from their side.
You might have heard directives that people should pull over only in well lit areas, or women and the like should stick to well lit areas, etc.
And as people are simply everywhere , that means the entire globe will be lit eventually, your erudite suggestions notwithstanding.
Re: (Score:2)
> ... does that even still happen?
Yes, there's always one drug addict willing to try that.
It's got nothing to do with hiding in the dark but this year, in my town, the homeless have been more anti-social and more threatening, than usual. I wonder if it's the higher cost of living.
Re: (Score:2)
> ... crime will win out.
Police data reveals more crimes happen near street lighting than in dark alleys. Street lighting indicates a high activity area, with crime being proportional to the level of activity, not the ability to hide.
Re: (Score:2)
Per [1]this [nrdc.org], studies are inconclusive, but the most important part Even if streetlights have no effect on crime, they make people feel safe.
Let me try this again [fnord] paranoia [fnord].
[1] https://www.nrdc.org/stories/are-dark-alleys-really-more-dangerous/
Re: (Score:2)
> or paranoia, take your pick, but if it is a question of stargazing or crime, crime will win out. Always.
That's a hilarious idea. We don't actually care about crime. For example wage theft exceeds all other theft combined but we spend much more effort on other types because people are fucking stupid and don't demand it... because again, they don't actually care about crime enough to even know that.
Correlation or causation? (Score:1)
IQ measurements keep going up.
Autism diagnoses keep going up.
The price of food keeps going up.
People get a year older every year.
Something fishy is going on.
Where i live... (Score:3)
... in the UK the council replaced sodium street lamps with allegedly more energy efficient white LED lights and in the process turned the fairly dim but usable orange sodium glow into virtual daylight all night. We used to be able to sleep with the curtains open but not now.
Re: (Score:2)
Last night I closed the curtains because the moon was keeping me up.