Photopollution is everywhere.

Human made night time lighting is usually considered to be very useful. Unfortunately there are many negative effects, particularly for animals but also for people.

Some of those negative effects were first noticed over 150 years ago when birds ran into lighthouses. 20 years ago it was discovered that baby turtles cannot find their way to the ocean if artificial lights confuse them. Birds are also killed by the thousands when they run into tall buildings that leave their lights on all night.

Research has also shown that women who work at night or who do not get enough darkness produce less melatonin and this can contribute to increased breast cancer. If your daytime/nighttime rhythm, which is called your circadian rhythm is disrupted by a lack of dark sleep on a regular basis you are more likely to have insomnia, depression and other problems such as cardiovascular disease.

It has been estimated that needless night time lighting wastes 32 million barrels of oil or 9 million tons of coal in the US each year.

Some towns have reduced this needless lighting and made their towns more desirable in the process. Stowe, Vermont specifies what kind of outdoor lighting may be installed, they do not allow internally lit signage, sodium vapor lights or any lights higher than 16 feet. It has made a real difference and is one of the reasons that Stowe remains such a desirable area.

Needless outdoor lighting is one simple thing that many of us can do to improve our own environment.