Excess light cast into the sky is now seen as a form of pollution with real impacts on the environment. The State of California is now considering a bill that would be a first step in bringing darkness back to the night.
When the sun goes down, the lights of San Francisco come on and The City is at its most beautiful. But from the East Bay hills you can see the huge dome of light enveloping the entire area. That’s not a thing of beauty to Ruskin Hartley, Executive Director of the International Dark Sky Association.“We have flooded the night with light and it’s accelerated,” he said. “In the last 25 years, we estimate the light pollution has grown globally, probably around 100 percent.
“Birds are adapted for flying at night in darkness, not in light,” said Glenn Phillips, Executive Director of the Golden Gate Audubon Society. “And their vision at night actually depends on darkness in order to actually sense the magnetic fields of the earth. And when it’s too light, they can’t sense them and they get disoriented.”
“And so, all those birds are coming through our area and they can’t avoid the light. They can’t go around it. They have to go through it,” said Phillips.It’s a problem scientists have only recognized in the last few years, prompting South Bay Assemblyman Alex Lee to introduce AB 2382. “It’s a small change,” said Lee. “Kind of perceived as a small change, but it actually has immense impact on the natural and built environment, too.”
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