On March 29th, people all over the world turned off their lights to make one simple statement - find new ways to reduce impacts on the environment. The movement was called Earth Hour and it’s primary goal was to start a movement that ends with a solution to this common challenge we all face – global warming. Earth hour was created by the World Wildlife Federation in Sydney Austrila in 2007 and has grown in one year from a single event into a global movement. This year, millions of people, businesses, governments and civic organizations in nearly 200 cities around the world turned out their lights for one hour.The major sources of artificial light include street lighting, security lamps, advertising and display lighting, floodlights for sporting and concert events and building illumination. Electricity is a major contributor to global warming by emitting carbon into our atmosphere. Consider this, in order to produce the electricity needed to run five 100 watt light bulbs from dusk to dawn, the utility company must burn about one ton of coal. Burning one ton of coal releases into the environment: 6600 pounds of carbon dioxide (greenhouse gas), 50 pounds of sulfur dioxide (primary toxin in acid rain), 30 pounds of nitrogen oxide (ground level ozone) and trace amounts of mercury, arsenic and other heavy metals known to cause harmful effects to a persons long term health and to the environment. Mercury and arsenic have also been linked to birth defects.
Light pollution also has devastating impacts on wildlife. Light pollution is know to cause migrating birds to collide with lighted buildings, cause a false dawn that disrupts bird behavior, cause moth deaths due to light attraction and disrupt tree and plant habits that are controlled by the length of daylight. Travis Longcore and Catherine Rich from the Ecological Society of America wrote an excellent paper on light pollution and its effects on ecological systems. In a nutshell, the article says:
- Ecological light pollution causes chronic or periodically increase illumination, and direct glare.
- Animals can experience increased orientation or disorientation from additional illumination and can either be attracted to or repulsed by glare, which affect foraging, reproduction, communication and other critical behaviors.
As far as birds go, bird mortality caused by collision with human structures receives relatively little public attention, but structural hazards are actually responsible for more bird kills than higher profile catastrophes such as oil spills. – source Fatal Light Awareness Program
Birds easily become confused by artificial light, especially in the dark and in foggy or rainy weather. Birds by the hundreds or thousands can be injured or killed in one night at one building when they become confused by artificial light, are blinded by weather and are unable to see glass. It is estimated that up to 100 million birds die in building collisions each year, many of whom may be known to be in long term decline or officially listed as threatened. Birds migrating at night are strongly attracted to and in some instances trapped by sources of artificial light, particularly during periods of inclement weather. So even if a collision is avoided, birds being reluctant to fly out of the light into the dark will flap around until they drop to the ground in exhaustion. The problem of course is the fact that compared to habitat loss and pollution, building collisions are not well known or adequately understood. Even so, I have read that more birds die each year from building collisions than those killed from the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Yet, I continue to read and hear “it’s only 18 stories”…or better yet, I get to read a comparison of a casino tower to local housing subdivisions and mac mansions from a “why the Middleboro casino is good” website. Apparently because we have water towers and undeveloped land that will eventually be inhabited by afore mentioned subdivisions and obnoxiously large houses, we shouldn’t complain nor worry about the resort bingo tower.
This isn’t just about our landscape or what we can see from our homes! It is about light pollution….you know, that luminous orange glow that halos cities or large developments such as a resort bingo hall…that orange glow that threatens wildlife by disrupting biological rhythms, ecological systems and interfering with the behavior of nocturnal animals and migratory birds. I find it extremely sad and disheartening that some pro casino advocates cannot or will not acknowledge the environmentally devastating effects this project will have on wildlife . I cannot understand how a casino impact study committee didn’t even take into consideration the huge impacts a facility this large will have on our nocturnal environment. I guess they have all been blinded by the light and cannot see that saving some open space for a golf course with a tiny corner set aside for wetland mitigation as outlined in the “plans” we saw at the BIA hearing is hardly wildlife mitigation and that setting up special species crossings at route 44 as a mitigation plan will hardly help any species of wildlife, never mind the birds. Our local wildlife is affected by everything we do. The resort bingo hall project is one major project that will change our community forever in so many ways. It will change our wildlife community as well. I am deeply disappointed because I would have hoped that someone from the pro camp would have recognized and acknowledged that fact instead of trying to quiet and calm us on the entire tower issue by only speaking to and downplaying the issue of a tower blighting our beautiful landscape. Yes, having an 18 story hotel towering over our tree line is quite upsetting….light from the resort bingo hall infiltrating homes abutting the property is hideous to just think about, but the effect it will have on our local wildlife and our local ecological systems is just downright disturbing.
To my way of thinking there’s something wrong, or missing, with any person who hasn’t got a soft spot in their heart for an animal of some kind. – Will James
Every animal knows more than you do. – American Indian proverb
- be the change you want to see in the world -
6 comments:
I'm beginning to see the light. Preach on sistah. Very well done on the analysis. You are always very indepth. Sometimes I wonder how you do it, but hey, its your desire to research. Something the other side doesn't do.
Interesting about the birds' flight patterns being disrupted...About two weeks ago I watched the historian for the Wompanoag Tribe speak at a Cape Wind hearing...he stated he and his tribe are against the project. He stated that while the concept may be good, the location is bad. Too many environmental impacts. I almost choked!!
I liked this blog a lot. You've really demonstrated how inappropriate a tower is for our region. Keep these buildings in cities. That is what cities are for. Of course, after all the hearings of the past two weeks, rest assured, casino proponents and the Tribe could not care less. Who needs stars when you have dollar signs in your eyes.
As a point of information, several forward thinking south shore communities have adopted 'dark sky' zoning.
A good beginning, but not enough. We need to reconsider ALL of our energy consumption before we accept this energy hog in our midst.
CC, as always, you have presented some great information in a sensible manner.
But wait a minute - at the BIA hearing a tribal member said they would watch out for the "winged ones,,, and four-footed ones".
I suppose that means having a well-trained grounds keeping crew sweep up their bodies before patrons see all their tiny broken necks.
Stewards of the land ....
The photo of the "light teepee" appearing in this blog was taken under a full moon by Richard Huziak on October 27, 2007; he gives his permission for the use of this image here. The Dakota Dunes Casino, operating south of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada is responsible for this light pollution. For more information, see http://myotherlife.net/slpac/initiatives/casinos/dakotadunes/dunes-chrono.htm
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