What is Light Pollution?
Pollution comes in many forms, and while light pollution may not always be obvious, it has detrimental impacts to humans and all life on our planet, especially the world’s night creatures. Light pollution also wastes energy and money!
The good news: light pollution is easier, and less costly, to tackle!
Impact on Birds
Each year, as many as 1 billion birds are killed in the United States from collisions with glass windows and buildings. Philadelphia is one of the latest cities encouraging buildings to turn off and/or block as many external and internal building lights as possible at night to protect birds during migration seasons.
Bird Migrations and Light Pollution
Check out Lights Out Philly
Impact on Sea Turtles
Florida’s coasts are lined with beachfront properties that can emit powerful white light, which can cause sea turtles to crawl toward those lights (misorient) or crawl in circles on the beach (disorient). Based on consensus from a panel of sea turtle experts, around 100,000 sea turtle hatchlings are disoriented each year in Florida. They can end up in pools, decks, or even the road. Beachfront communities all over Florida are working to minimize this problem.
Saving Sea Turtles With Turtle Friendly Lighting
Flashlights: A New Threat to Sea Turtle Recovery
Protecting Sea Turtles with Window Tint
Check out Sea Turtle Conservancy