Billions of artificial light increasingly rob us of our view of the star universe. This pollution of the night sky harms our health and nature.
Light pollution, or light smog, as artificial light is called, is steadily increasing in cities and metropolitan areas. That can make us people sick,” says environmental umbrella chairman Gerald Pfiffinger in the context of the “Natural Night Habitat” project of his ecological organization.
He himself is a regular eyewitness to the gloom. Because he runs a small but nice astronomical station in the heart of the Mostviertel in Lower Austria.
Austria: Only a few areas are still free from artificial light
Up there, the view of Jupiter, Saturn and all other wonderful celestial bodies is still fairly clear. But for 99 percent of the European population, this free view of things on more or less distant galaxies has been lost. Even in Austria, only a few areas are free from artificial light. One is the Attersee-Traunsee region, where the darkness of the natural night – here in the heart of the Salzkammergut – illuminates the mind almost perfectly. In fact, targeted shutdowns have catapulted the “Milky Way Paradise” into the spotlight of the international “Dark Sky Association”. She even gave the project an official star park recognition.
Constant exposure to light confuses the body
Professional astronomers and ordinary stargazers also have a clear view of things in space from the Hohe Dirn, an elevation in the Kalkalpen National Park, also in Upper Austria. Favorable topographical conditions and the absence of major metropolitan areas means that one of the darkest locations in Central Europe can be found at 1,105 meters above sea level.
Meanwhile, the well-known TCM doctor Dr. Helmut Faulenbach from St. Pölten describes the effects of the light bombardment: “Artificial light unbalances the natural human day-night rhythm, which is controlled by the hormone melatonin. The pineal gland of the brain secretes melatonin in the evening and at night. Daylight and artificial light at night, on the other hand, inhibit the production of melatonin. That means we don’t sleep well.”
Lights off in the bedroom
According to studies, even very low light intensities are enough to lower melatonin levels in the blood – which impairs the immune system, memory and learning performance and the control of heart rate and blood pressure. The motto should therefore be: Light off in the bedroom.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
