skunkbear:The luminous haze that obscures our view of the constellations - light pollution -is one o
skunkbear:The luminous haze that obscures our view of the constellations - light pollution -is one of the most prevalent forms of environmental alteration. Its impact is felt across a swath of life from the migration of sea turtles to the circadian rhythm of humans. A new atlas of light pollution created by an international team of scientists reveals just how pervasive this artificial glow is. The atlas shows that more than 80% of the world and more than 99% of the U.S. and European populations live under light-polluted skies. The Milky Way is hidden from more than one-third of humanity, including 60% of Europeans and nearly 80% of North Americans.Check out this interactive map and read more here.This is really important for the futurists and solarpunks to keep in mind. I see far too many ideas and designs that call for all-night solar illumination of places, without considering that light is actually destructive. It ends up disconnecting us from our environment, and it screws up the local ecology like fireflies and moths.Just in the time we moved to our little rural space, there’s been more nearby development, which has brought more light, so now we see the milky way here at home less and less.I’ll never forget the first time I saw it, I was out in some state park in the middle of nowhere and had no idea it even existed, really. I came out of cabin and into a dark field with some friends and my jaw just hit the ground as I went all WTF?!?! G was amused and explained oh yeah, that’s the Milky Way… -- source link
#science#light pollution#environment#skies