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#lightpollution

4 posts4 participants1 post today
Public
Dr. John Barentine FRAS

"Air pollution and ALAN exposure are linked to memory impairment, with combined effects potentially amplifying risk. #Biomarkers play a key role in mediating these effects, suggesting a need for targeted public health measures to mitigate these environmental health risks."

link.springer.com/article/10.1

SpringerLinkSynergistic impact of air pollution and artificial light at night on memory disorders: a nationwide cohort analysis - BMC Public HealthBackground Air pollutants and outdoor artificial light at night (ALAN) are known health risks, with established effects on respiratory and cardiovascular health. However, their impact on cognitive function, particularly neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s, remains poorly understood. Methods Using data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) and the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS), including 44,689 participants, memory impairment (Memrye) was defined by self-reported memory-related diseases. Cox regression models were applied to assess the relationship between pollutants, ALAN exposure, and Memrye. Interaction analyses evaluated the combined effects using relative excess risk due to interaction (RERI), attributable proportion (AP), and synergy index (S). Biomarker analyses and stepwise causal mediation examined the underlying mechanisms. Results Air pollutants and ALAN were significantly associated with Memrye (p < 0.05), with hazard ratios (HR) ranging from 1.010 to 1.343. Synergistic effects were observed, such as for PM2.5 and ALAN, with RERI, AP, and S values of 0.65 (0.33, 0.97), 0.30 (0.26, 0.34), and 1.43 (1.21, 1.65), respectively. Biomarker analyses showed significant correlations between pollutants, glucose, cholesterol, and uric acid, while ALAN was negatively associated with glucose and uric acid. Mediation analyses indicated that PM2.5, NO2, and ALAN indirectly affected Memrye through biomarkers, accounting for 1.07–8.28% of the total effects. Conclusion Air pollution and ALAN exposure are linked to memory impairment, with combined effects potentially amplifying risk. Biomarkers play a key role in mediating these effects, suggesting a need for targeted public health measures to mitigate these environmental health risks.
#AirPollution#LightPollution#EnvironmentalHealth
Public
Christopher Kyba 🇨🇦🇪🇺

Here's an image I took of the Whirlpool galaxy in my backyard a few nights ago with an #evscope.

My backyard is not especially dark, there is a lot of #LightPollution. But the camera integrated the starlight for about an hour, and displays the background as black (with the light pollution removed).

Without light pollution, the background would still be black, but the galaxy have more details and would be more defined, because the signal to noise ratio would be much higher.

Image of the Whirlpool Galaxy, a spiral galaxy in the center of the image, with another smaller galaxy to its left. The background is dark with scattered individual stars.
Public
Dr. John Barentine FRAS

The night sky has long been caught between two notions of 'environment': one on the ground and the other among the stars. But these two realms are much more closely connected than previously believed. Protecting natural nighttime darkness by reducing light pollution may benefit from a shift in thinking that sees an explicit connection between Earth and cosmos. Read more about how adopting this view would bring both a different ethic and a jurisprudence to bear on the issue.

darkskyconsulting.com/blog/fro

DARK SKY CONSULTING, LLCFrom the Earth to space: the night sky in a continuum of the human environmentThe protection of the night sky and outer space from adverse effects of human activities may benefit from expressly acknowledging that they are part of an environment that extends from Earth to the cosmos. Adopting this view would bring a different ethic
#DarkSkies#LightPollution#Environment
Public *
Doreen Fräßdorf

Lichtverschmutzung ist mehr als nur störend – sie verändert Lebensräume und gefährdet Arten. Millionen Insekten sterben, nachtaktive Tiere verlieren Rückzugsräume, Pflanzen werden nicht mehr bestäubt. Dabei wäre sie einfach zu vermeiden: unnötiges Licht aus, warmweißes Licht, gut abgeschirmt. Weniger Licht – mehr Leben.
#Lichtverschmutzung #LightPollution

artensterben.de/lichtverschmut

Lichtverschmutzung: Lichtglocke über einer Stadt, die selbst aus der Ferne sichtbar ist – sie lässt Sterne verschwinden und verdrängt die natürliche Dunkelheit.
Replied in thread
Public
Christopher Kyba 🇨🇦🇪🇺

@koen_hufkens @nick_appleyard VIIRS DNB is sensitive to the IR peak in HPS lighting, but not to the blue light (below 500 nm) from "white" sources like LED. So a complete switch from HPS to LED that kept everything else constant could result in a decrease of up to around 30%.

But NOT ALL LIGHT COMES FROM STREETLIGHTS! If we're talking about cities, we're not even talking about most of the light! See for example:

1) doi.org/10.1177/14771535209584
2) doi.org/10.1177/14771535209584

And especially Table 1 here: doi.org/10.26607/ijsl.v25i1.13

The decreases in France are presumably real, and most likely due to a combination of the national #LightPollution law and the movement to completely turn off streetlights late at night (1/3 of French communities now do this). Keep in mind that DNB observes late at night - it's entirely possible that France at 10pm is as bright or brighter than ever.

Public
Richard

"Many Indigenous traditions and knowledge systems around the world are based on the stars, and the peoples' ability to observe and interpret stellar positions and properties is of critical importance for daily life and cultural continuity. The erasure of the night sky acts to erase Indigenous connection to the stars, acting as a form of ongoing cultural and ecological genocide."

Whitening the Sky: light pollution as a form of cultural genocide
arxiv.org/abs/2001.11527

arXiv logo
arXiv.orgWhitening the Sky: light pollution as a form of cultural genocideLight pollution is actively destroying our ability to see the stars. Many Indigenous traditions and knowledge systems around the world are based on the stars, and the peoples' ability to observe and interpret stellar positions and properties is of critical importance for daily life and cultural continuity. The erasure of the night sky acts to erase Indigenous connection to the stars, acting as a form of ongoing cultural and ecological genocide. Efforts to reduce, minimise, or eliminate light pollution are being achieved with varying degrees of success, but urban expansion, poor lighting design, and the increased use of blue-light emitting LEDs as a cost-effective solution is worsening problems related to human health, wildlife, and astronomical heritage for the benefit of capitalistic economic growth. We provide a brief overview of the issue, illustrating some of the important connections that the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people of Australia maintain with the stars, as well as the impact growing light pollution has on this ancient knowledge. We propose a transdisciplinary approach to solving these issues, using a foundation based on Indigenous philosophies and decolonising methodologies.
#LightPollution#NightSky
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