Light PollutionLight Pollution is a

Light Pollution
Light Pollution is a threat to Wildlife, Safety and the Starry Sky
A After hours of driving south in the pitch-black darkness of the Nevada desert, a dome of hazy gold suddenly appears on the horizon. Soon, a road sign confirms the obvious: Las Vegas 30 miles. Looking skyward, you notice that the Big Dipper is harder to find than it was an hour ago.

B Light pollution—the artificial light that illuminates more than its intended target area—has become a problem of increasing concern across the country over the past 15 years. In the suburbs, where over-lit shopping mall parking lots are the norm, only 200 of the Milky Way’s 2,500 stars are visible on a clear night. Even fewer can be seen from large cities. In almost every town, big and small, street lights beam just as much light up and out as they do down, illuminating much more than just the street. Almost 50 percent of the light emanating from street lamps misses its intended target, and billboards, shopping centres, private homes and skyscrapers are similarly over-illuminated.

C America has become so bright that in a satellite image of the United States at night, the outline of the country is visible from its lights alone. The major cities are all there, in bright clusters: New York, Boston, Miami, Houston, Los Angeles, Seattle, Chicago, and, of course, Las Vegas. Mark Adams, superintendent of the McDonald Observatory in west Texas, says that the very fact that city lights are visible from on high is proof of their wastefulness. “When you’re up in an airplane, all that light you see on the ground from the city is wasted. It’s going up into the night sky. That’s why you can see it.”

D But don’t we need all those lights to ensure our safety? The answer from light engineers, light pollution control advocates and astronomers is an emphatic “no.” Elizabeth Alvarez of the International Dark Sky Association (IDA), a non-profit organization in Tucson, Arizona, says that overly bright security lights can actually force neighbours to close the shutters, which means that if any criminal activity does occur on the street, no one will see it. And the old assumption that bright lights deter crime appears to have been a false one: A new Department of Justice report concludes that there is no documented correlation between the level of lighting and the level of crime in an area. And contrary to popular belief, more crimes occur in broad daylight than at night.

E For drivers, light can actually create a safety hazard. Glaring lights can temporarily blind drivers, increasing the likelihood of an accident. To help prevent such accidents, some cities and states prohibit the use of lights that impair night-time vision. For instance, New Hampshire law forbids the use of “any light along a highway so positioned as to blind or dazzle the vision of travellers on the adjacent highway.”

F Badly designed lighting can pose a threat to wildlife as well as people. Newly hatched turtles in Florida move toward beach lights instead of the more muted silver shimmer of the ocean. Migrating birds, confused by lights on skyscrapers, broadcast towers and lighthouses, are injured, sometimes fatally, after colliding with high, lighted structures. And light pollution harms air quality as well: Because most of the country’s power plants are still powered by fossil fuels, more light means more air pollution.

G So what can be done? Tucson, Arizona is taking back the night. The city has one of the best lighting ordinances in the country, and, not coincidentally, the highest concentration of observatories in the world. Kitt Peak National Optical Astronomy Observatory has 24 telescopes aimed skyward around the city’s perimeter, and its cadre of astronomers needs a dark sky to work with.

H For a while, that darkness was threatened. “We were totally losing the night sky,” Jim Singleton of Tucson’s Lighting Committee told Tulsa, Oklahoma’s KOTV last March. Now, after retrofitting inefficient mercury lighting with low-sodium lights that block light from “trespassing” into unwanted areas like bedroom windows, and by doing away with some unnecessary lights altogether, the city is softly glowing rather than brightly beaming. The same thing is happening in a handful of other states, including Texas, which just passed a light pollution bill last summer. “Astronomers can get what they need at the same time that citizens get what they need: safety, security and good visibility at night,” says McDonald Observatory’s Mark Adams, who provided testimony at the hearings for the bill.

I And in the long run, everyone benefits from reduced energy costs. Wasted energy from inefficient lighting costs us between $1 and $2 billion a year, according to IDA. The city of San Diego, which installed new, high-efficiency street lights after passing a light pollution law in 1985, now saves about $3 million a year in energy costs.

J Legislation isn’t the only answer to light pollution prob

Kết quả (Anh) 1:

Light PollutionLight Pollution is a threat to Wildlife, the Safety and the Starry SkyA After hours of driving south in the pitch-black darkness of the Nevada desert, a dome of hazy gold suddenly appears on the horizon. Soon, a road sign confirms the obvious: Las Vegas 40 miles. Looking skyward, you notice that the Big Dipper is harder to find than it was an hour ago.B Light pollution — the artificial light that illuminates more than its intended target area — has become a problem of increasing concern across the country over the past 15 years. In the suburbs, where over-lit shopping mall parking lots are the norm, only 200 of the Milky Way 2.500 stars are visible on a clear night. Even fewer can be seen from large cities. In almost every town, big and small, street lights beam just as much light up and out as they do down, illuminating much more than just the street. Almost 50 percent of the light emanating from street lamps misses its intended target, and billboards, shopping centres, private homes and skyscrapers are similarly over-illuminated.C America has become so bright that in a satellite image of the United States at night, the outline of the country is visible from its lights alone. The major cities are all there, in bright clusters: New York, Boston, Miami, Houston, Los Angeles, Seattle, Chicago, and, of course, Las Vegas. Mark Adams, superintendent of the McDonald Observatory in west Texas, says that the very fact that city lights are visible from on high is proof of their wastefulness. "When you're up in an airplane, all that light you see on the ground from the city is wasted. It's going up into the night sky. That's why you can see it. "D But don't we need all those lights to ensure our safety? The answer from light engineers, light pollution control advocates and astronomers is an emphatic "no." Elizabeth Alvarez of the International Dark Sky Association (IDA), a non-profit organization in Tucson, Arizona, says that overly bright security lights can actually force neighbours to close the shutters, which means that if any criminal activity does occur on the street, no one will see it. And the old assumption that bright lights deter crime appears to have been a false one: A new Department of Justice report concludes that there is no documented correlation between the level of lighting and the level of crime in an area. And contrary to popular belief, more crimes occur in broad daylight than at night.E For drivers, light can actually create a safety hazard. Glaring lights can temporarily blind drivers, increasing the likelihood of an accident. To help prevent such administering some cities and states prohibit the use of lights that impair night-time vision. For instance, New Hampshire law forbids the use of "any light along a highway so positioned as to blind or dazzle the vision of travellers on the adjacent highway."F Badly designed lighting can pose a threat to wildlife as well as people. Newly hatched turtles in Florida move toward beach lights instead of the more muted silver shimmer of the ocean. Migrating birds, confused by lights on skyscrapers, broadcast towers and lighthouses, are injured, sometimes fatally, after colliding with high, lighted structures. And light pollution harms air quality as well: Because most of the country's power plants are still powered by fossil fuels, more light means more air pollution.G So what can be done? Tucson, Arizona is taking back the night. The city has one of the best lighting ordinances in the country, and, not coincidentally, the highest concentration hand of infrared observatories in the world. Kitt Peak National Optical Astronomy Observatory has 24 telescopes aimed skyward around the city's perimeter, and its cadre of astronomers needs a dark sky to work with.H For a while, that darkness was threatened. "We were totally losing the night sky," Jim Singleton of Tucson's Lighting Committee told Tulsa, KOTV Oklahoma's last March. Now, after retrofitting inefficient mercury lighting with low-sodium lights that block light from "trespassing" into unwanted areas like bedroom windows, and by doing away with some unnecessary lights altogether, the city is softly glowing rather than beaming brightly. The same thing is happening in a handful of other states, including Texas, which just passed a light pollution bill last summer. "Astronomers can get what they need at the same time that citizens get what they need: safety, security and good visibility at night," says McDonald, Mark Observatory's Adams, who provided testimony at the hearings for the bill.I And in the long run, everyone benefits from reduced energy costs. Wasted energy from inefficient lighting costs us between $ 1 and $ 2 billion a year, according to the IDA. The city of San Diego, which installed new, high-efficiency street lights after passing a light pollution law in 1985, now saves about $ 3 million a year in energy costs.J Legislation isn't the only answer to light pollution prob

Kết quả (Anh) 2:

Light Pollution
Light Pollution is a threat to Wildlife, and the Starry Sky Safety
After hours of driving south A in the pitch-black darkness of the Nevada desert, a dome of gold suddenly hazy on the horizon vẻ. Soon, a road sign confirms the Obvious: Las Vegas 30 miles. Looking skyward, you notice là Big Dipper is harder to find than it was an hour ago.

B Light pollution-the artificial light illuminates more coal nó có intended target area-has Become a problem across the country of Increasing concern over the past 15 years. In the suburbs, where over-lit shopping mall parking lots are the norm, only 200 of the Milky Way's stars are visible on a 2,500-clear night. Fewer Even from large cities can be seen. In almost every town, big and small, street lights just as much light beam up and out as chúng so down, illuminating just the street much more coal. Almost 50 percent of the light emanating from street lamps nó intended target misses, and billboards, shopping Centres, private homes and skyscrapers are similarly over-illuminated.

C có America has trở than bright image in a satellite of the United States at night, the outline of the country is visible from nó lights alone. The major cities are all there, in bright clusters: New York, Boston, Miami, Houston, Los Angeles, Seattle, Chicago, and, of course, Las Vegas. Mark Adams, superintendent of the McDonald Observatory in west Texas, says the very fact có có city lights are visible from on high is ask for their proof of wastefulness. "When you're up in an airplane, all that light you see on the ground from the city is wasted. It's going up Into the night sky. That's why you can see it. "

But by not we need D những all our lights to Ensure safety? The answer from light engineers, astronomers and light pollution control is an emphatic ADVOCATES "no." Elizabeth Alvarez International Dark Sky of the Association (IDA), a non-profit organization in Tucson, Arizona, overly bright security lights says có Actually intervention force neighbors to close the shutters, if any vì mà criminal activity does occur on the street, no one will see it. And the old assumption bright lights Deter crime có được vẻ to a false one: A new Department of Justice report concludes there is no documented correlation có the between the level of lighting and the level of crime in an area. And the contrary to Popular Belief, in broad daylight more coal crimes occur at night.

E For drivers, light can create a safety hazard Actually. Glaring lights can temporarily blind drivers, the likelihood of an accident tăng. To help Prevent vd accidents, some cities and states dùng Prohibit night-time lights có impair vision. For instance, New Hampshire law forbids the use of "any light along a highway than to blind or dazzle Positioned as the vision of travelers on the adjacent highway."

Badly Designed F can pose a threat to lighting as well as wildlife People. Newly hatched turtles move in Florida beach Toward more muted lights thay the silver shimmer of the ocean. Migrating birds, confused by lights on skyscrapers, broadcast towers and Lighthouses, are Injured, sometimes fatally, after colliding with high, lighted structures. Harms air quality and light pollution as well: Because most of the country's power plants are still powered by fossil Fuels, more light means again more air pollution.

So what can be done G? Tucson, Arizona is taking back the night. The city has one of the best lighting ordinances in the country, and, not coincidentally, the Highest concentration of observatories in the world. National Optical Astronomy Observatory Kitt Peak has 24 telescopes around the city's skyward Aimed perimeter, và cadre of astronomers needs to work with a dark sky.

H For a while, that darkness was Threatened. "We were totally Losing the night sky," Jim Singleton of Tucson's Lighting Committee Told Tulsa, Oklahoma's KOTV last March. Now, after retrofitting inefficient lighting with low mercury-sodium lights có block light from "trespassing" Into which areas like bedroom unwanted windows, and by doing away with altogether some Không cần lights, the city is softly glowing brightly beaming thay. The same thing is happening in a handful of other states, Texas gồm mà just passed a bill last summer light pollution. "Astronomers can get what chúng need at the same time có Citizens get what chúng need: safety, security and good visibility at night," says McDonald Observatory's Mark Adams, who given below: Testimony at the hearings for the bill.

I And in the long tremor , everyone benefits from reduced energy Costs. Wasted energy inefficient lighting Costs from the between $ 1 and US $ 2 Billion a year, theo IDA. The city of San Diego, mà installed new, high-efficiency street lights after passing a light pollution law in 1985, now saves about $ 3 million a year in energy Costs.

J is not the only answer Legislation to light pollution prob