The Sight of the Milky Way Made People Call 911

Light pollution: a topic not discussed nearly enough by media outlets. Simply put, it's a form of waste energy that drowns out natural light. Think Times Square, or if you want a more excessive visual, Vegas.

While we quite rightly should care about air pollution, we cannot forget how dangerous other types of pollution can be, artificial light being chief among them. The good news is, we don't need to care who's screwing in a light bulb, just how many we use at once. Having all the lights on in your house may make you feel safe and cosy, but it can also affect your health, disrupt ecosystems, and wash out the night sky.

The sad fact is that most people alive today haven't even seen the Milky Way because of this man-made phenomenon. Many of us remain sleep-deprived thanks to light pollution throwing off our circadian rhythms, and we can't even stargaze to pass the time. This is especially true if, like me, you're based in a big city.

At 4:31am on January 17th 1994, a power outage hit the city of Los Angeles. It followed a devastating 6.7 magnitude earthquake which hurt the Northridge community most, claiming 57 lives. The cost of recovery and repair was reportedly $20 billion. Destruction was widespread throughout the city. Residents were fixated on the night sky, finding the 'strange clouds' sinister. Dr. Edwin Krupp, astronomer and director of the Griffith Observatory, detailed their reactions in a 2011 Los Angeles Times article:

“The quake had knocked out most of the power, and people ran outside and they saw the stars. The stars were in fact so unfamiliar, they called us wondering what happened."

Calls to the observatory were coming in thick and fast. But it didn't stop there; people even called 911 after catching a glimpse of the Milky Way. That's how much it scared them.

Unfortunately, light pollution has only worsened since then, robbing yet more generations of the chance to see faint stars and galaxies, including our own.

This is a global problem, and has been for over a century. Cities like L.A. are of particular concern, though topping the list for light pollution are countries like Singapore, Kuwait and Qatar. Satellite photos pick up which areas of the world are lit up at night, and only the most remote regions (like Siberia) are covered in darkness. More than 80% of the world lives under sky glow, which can be defined as coming from an artificial source such as headlights, street lamps, and outdoor advertising. While a global map depicting sky glow may look pretty, such human excess not only harms us, but animals too.

We're all dazed and confused here, especially those of us that feel like death pretty much every morning. Hardly surprising though, when melatonin (a hormone that helps with sleep) is only released when it's dark. Insomnia can cause knock-on effects, with health problems like stress, anxiety and fatigue resulting from sleep-deprivation. Blue light, produced by cellphones and computer screens, is well-known for causing a reduction in melatonin. This, coupled with the addiction to technology many of us have, is a nasty combination. Birds, sea turtles, and insects have joined us in losing their natural rhythms. A study of blackbirds in Germany found that noise and light pollution caused birds in the city to wake and sing as much as 5 hours before their country cousins.

I remain hopeful that we'll see a truly dark night sky again. There are dark sky reserves working to make that a reality. Beyond that, we should all be doing our bit. Being wasteful is not an option. We must close our curtains or shut our blinds at night, turn off lights we don't need, shield outdoor lights to ensure no spillage skyward, and (should the urge to stare at a screen prove too strong) shield ourselves from blue light. I'm doing so right now by wearing glasses designed to filter said light. They work wonders, but of course that's just one small solution. Bringing back the night sky, as it should be, means working together.

References

https://www.nationalgeographic.org/article/light-pollution/

https://www.thevintagenews.com/2018/02/08/northridge-earthquake-1994/

https://www.pbs.org/seeinginthedark/astronomy-topics/light-pollution.html

If you're interested in learning more about how to take action, visit the International Dark-Sky Association's website. They're leading the charge: https://www.darksky.org/