Light Pollution

Have you ever heard someone talk about "Light Pollution" before? It doesn't mean that lights are putting out harmful chemicals into the air, but rather that modern lights block much of the night sky from being visible to us down here on the ground. 

Lights at night can impact both the biology and ecology of species in the wild. Some examples include:

• the disorientation of sea turtle hatchlings by beachfront lighting
• nesting choices and breeding success of birds
• behavioral and physiological changes in salamanders
• disturbances of nocturnal animals
• altered natural light regimes in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems

There's an organization dedicated to documenting the trend of increased light pollution around the world. GLOBEatNight.org works hard via their website to have everyday visitors document visible stars at their locations. It's even possible for regular Joes like you and me to submit data! How cool is that?!

This map above indicates the light levels (and thus, visible stars) present at various locations across the Earth...what do you notice?