All Party Parliamentary Group for Dark Skies
We are the UK Parliament’s only all-party group dedicated to reducing light pollution.The All-Party Parliamentary Group for Dark Skies is a new APPG, never represented before in the UK Parliament. Our membership includes parliamentarians of all parties from both the House of Commons and House of Lords. We work with major organisations, experts and communities to identify political priorities on dark sky issues, discuss lighting and planning policies and advocate for them in the UK Parliament.
International Dark Sky Association
The International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) is the recognized authority on light pollution and is the leading organization combating light pollution worldwide. Our Vision - The night sky, filled with stars, is celebrated and protected around the world as a shared heritage benefiting all living things.
Commission for Dark Skies
The Commission for Dark Skies (CfDS) was set up by concerned members of the BAA in 1989, to counter the ever-growing tide of skyglow which has tainted the night sky over Britain since the 1950s. Usually the result of poorly aimed streetlights and floodlights emitting light above the horizontal into the sky, skyglow is nowadays increasingly a result of vastly over-powered, poorly mounted household security lights and literally "over-the-top" sports lighting.
Interactive Light Pollution Map
Explore an interactive map view of Light Pollution - Click on any Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, National Park, National Character Area, District, County or Region to open a PDF map with further info about that area.
Waste, Carbon Emissions and Spending
Lighting that emits too much light or shines when and where it’s not needed is wasteful. Wasting energy has huge economic and environmental consequences.In an average year in the U.S. alone, outdoor lighting uses about 120 terawatt-hours of energy, mostly to illuminate streets and parking lots. That’s enough energy to meet New York City’s total electricity needs for two years!
They were supposed to bring about an energy revolution—but the popularity of LED lights is driving an increase in light pollution worldwide, with dire consequences for human and animal health, researchers said Wednesday. As for animals, these lights can kill—whether by attracting insects or disorienting migrating birds or sea turtles...
Light pollution's wasted energy seen from space - An experiment carried out at 01:30 every morning for 10 nights has revealed the main sources of artificial light polluting the night sky. The city of Tucson, in Arizona, US, dimmed its 14,000 streetlights over that period. "We used a satellite to measure what fraction of the total light emissions are due to the streetlights," explained physicist Dr Christopher Kyba...
Usually if the lights go out in a city it means there is a problem with the electricity, but one city in Switzerland is turning off the lights on purpose.On 26 September, Geneva go dark to raise awareness of the impact of light pollution.The Natural History Museum of Geneva and the Geneva Astronomy Society came up with the "La nuit est belle" or the night is beautiful project to show people why a dark sky is important.
Health Risks to Humans
A groundbreaking report recently released by the American Medical Association (AMA) Council on Science and Public Health affirms known and suspected impacts to human health and the environment caused by light emitting diodes (LEDs) that emit excessive amounts of blue light.
Impact on Wildlife
Light pollution is helping to drive the so-called 'insect apocalypse', experts warn, contributing to fears that 40 per cent of all bug species will be lost within decades. Experts reviewed over 200 studies into the impacts of artificial light on bugs. Light pollution has diverse impacts on insects that can shake entire food webs. It is feared that 40 per cent of creepy-crawlies could go extinct within decades. Researchers encourage people to reduce their use of artificial light at night...
Light Pollution Poses Threat to Migrating Birds Across the northern hemisphere, the sights and sounds of migrating birds are a sure sign of spring. As temperatures warm and plants bloom, eager birders await the arrival of summer residents like warblers, tanagers, vireos, and grosbeaks. For nature lovers and outdoor enthusiasts, it’s an exciting time to observe the changing of the seasons. But for the birds themselves, migration is a taxing and often fatal endeavor...
Mammals use variations in the length of day to anticipate environmental changes and time their reproduction. Light pollution, which affects day length perception, could lead to changes in biological functions. To explore the effects of light pollution on seasonal reproduction, we conducted an experimental study on a strict long-day breeder, the nocturnal gray mouse lemur (Microcebus murinus)...
La Nuit est Belle
The night is beautiful! returns this spring, under a 3/4 full moon, for a 2nd special nocturnal biodiversity edition, in partnership with the Fête de la Nature France and Switzerland. In 2019, 152 municipalities in Greater Geneva actively participated in the event. This new operation will go ever further by involving ...
The joint actions of the Astronomical Society of Geneva and the Geneva Natural History Museum on light pollution ...
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