The problem of light pollution -- and 5 ridiculously easy ways to fix it | Kelsey Johnson

Ever gaze up at the starry night sky? This stunning view is at risk of disappearing -- unless we act now, says astrophysicist Kelsey Johnson. In this fascinating, unexpectedly funny talk, she explains how light pollution affects almost every species on earth (including us) and shares five "stupidly simple" things you can do to help solve the problem.

[whiplash]

I was aware of light pollution and it has always annoyed me because I enjoy the night sky, but I honestly didn't realize the full extent of it until I visited Bora Bora a few years ago. Out in the middle of the Pacific with no major cities nearby and nearly no lights around for hundreds of miles allowed me to view our Milky Way band for the first time in my life with my own eyes and without a fancy camera or special equipment. I didn't know what I was seeing at first, I thought it was a cloud actually, but when I realized what it was, I understood immediately how much we're missing out on due to light pollution. It's sad that we willingly block out the best views our planet has to offer.

[Dionyzos]

Last night I took a walk and complained that my city is too poor to afford the street lights to be on after 10 pm. Now I'm proud to live in a poor city.

[ACasualCustomer]

Im glad this light pollution problem is becoming more popular, we must save the night sky.

[entertainmentprime]

Last year we had a city wide blackout in Addis Ababa and when I looked up it almost felt like I was floating so many stars other than the Orion I never thought were visible to the naked eye. That is an experience I wish I could experience everyday

[dominikkuzila]

The sad thing is that most people just don't care. Only after you tell them of the consequences of light pollution do some try to do something about it. The general public needs to be more aware about the problem of light pollution.

[Angels-xist]

One thing about pollution is that it's often voluntary. Of course life always makes it easier to do the wrong thing even when it really isn't practical, which can seem systematically destructive or even self destructive.

[batya]

One of my most memorable experiences occurred in a dark part of the Northeast United States on a cold summer night with a telescope. I saw 4 moons of Jupiter. I don't think my children have seen a black night sky, however.

[dimitri]

Reminds me of a quote with a cyberpunk aftertaste: "The sky above [the port] was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel". When William Gibson wrote Neuromancer, he was probably not referring to astronomy but it does portray what city dwellers see (or rather don't see) in the night sky.


I dare you to go out into an area where light is absent at night, you will not understand how bright our solar system is unless you find such a dark spot.

[ZayneCristian]

It’s very disconcerting to see cities implementing obnoxiously blue 4000K and 5000K temperature LED street lighting. It’s jarring, bright and invasive, far worse than the old 2200K orange glow sodium lamps.

[aaronrosenberg]

"Losing touch with our place in the cosmos" is something I can relate to. I know I've seen the night sky in places relatively unaffected by light pollution, many years ago, and there is a sense of wonderment and awe.

[paulsmith]

We took out grand daughter out to death valley. We listened to her whine about having no signal all the way there. When she saw the Milky Way in near pitch darkness she grew quiet and then started crying tears of joy. It was a wonderful moment!

[jameslens]

Not the best explanation but the main point for humans is it effects our body clocks. Humans weren’t engineered to be up all night with bright lights flashing in our face. We should be resting allowing our bodies to heal and regenerate for the next day. It causes obesity because we go out late and eat in well lit places as opposed to in the past we eat when we can see what we’re eating which was usually lit by sun light. Then we don’t sleep long enough for our food to digest before we eat breakfast

[seanmolony-redstickastro]

As an Astrophotographer I'm sick and tired of Light Pollution. All I do is fight it.

[WowUsernameAvailable]

Pessimistic rant:

I live in a major city where the sky at night, especially with low clouds like the ones we have pretty much throughout all of autumn and winter, looks like the 'pea soup' fogs that London had back in the coal era. I was aware of how detrimental it is to the quality of my sleep (not to mention that seeing sky the colour of baby barf isn't that exciting), but Ms Johnson's remarks about the diseases that it causes and how much it gets in the way of smart people doing their jobs was still a bit of an eyeopener.

And then ta-dah! A luxury wine outlet moved in across the street, with a banner so huge, white and bright it floods my 6th floor bedroom like two full moons. So guess what? When I went to see the manager and ask her if the store could turn the sign off during closing time, she dismissed my request saying that
a) the banner was made in accordance with city laws
b) yes, it is going to be left on 24 hours a day, even in months when we get approximately 6 hours of daylight
c) if I can't sleep and won't put up blackout curtains it's my problem
d) if I care that much about light pollution, how about I go ask all the stores in the street to turn their signs off as well
e) basically could I please go fudge myself.

This merry story goes on to show that massive action from the government and the scientific community in order to get something going in this respect. But when scientists have been shouting from the rooftops about climate change and the disappearance of species due to pollution and, generally, human activity but in most countries governments and enterprises only care about making a killing, that seems implausible.

[PowerfulU]

So much great information that Kelsey shares here. We don't even realize what we are missing each night. It's so important that we take the time to use these tips to fix the light pollution but also to travel somewhere where you can truly see the stars shine.

[christhefro]

I'm sorry but how does light pollution cause obesity? I'm serious, can someone link me a study that supports this?

[oneworldonehome]

“Go out on a clear night and look up. Your destiny is there. Your difficulties are there. Your opportunities are there. Your redemption is there.”

Greater Community Spirituality: Chapter 15: Who Serves Humanity?

[tjtampa]

Another example of "straining at a gnat and swallowing a camel." 🙄 Really? Making a plea to "individuals" using lamps that are covered inside their home and not even going up into space is ridiculous. Doesn't take a scientist to know federal and city leaders and private industry are the real culprits. Cities use lights as entertainment, complete overkill. The first time I ever saw Times Square in NYC and also the Vegas strip, I was appalled. Not to mention the theme parks and even new, wealthy planned communities with their "brighter than the sun" street lights blaring into my bedroom window! Go after the main players with the money and power instead of kicking cans at the little guy.

[CanyonF]

These aren't actually effective ways to get rid of the problem. You said highways are the biggest source of this and yet none of your "5" solutions impact it whatsoever. And just like regular polution, the problem isn't individuals, its large government/corporations. So yea, its another problem without a solution (cuz we need streetlights)

[heptobokehbyfelicianobili]

This Tedtalks is helping out with my light pollution artwork HeptoBokeh, thank you Kelsey Johnson. I hear ya’ all the way in The Bronx!