As the warm months continue, spending nights outside to enjoy the weather continues, too. However, outdoor lighting at night can have negative impacts on wildlife. A county in Illinois has decided to do something about that.
Kane County took a big step in addressing the impacts of light pollution at night, as per Phys.org. The policy, which went into effect July 1, requires all outdoor lighting that is installed near the Forest Preserve District be low-level and warm-colored, two factors in lighting that are approved by Dark Sky, the publication reported.
Patrick Chess, the district's director of natural resources, commented that the main reason for the new policy "is just that light pollution has a lot of negative impacts on our wildlife populations," as per Phys.org. Light pollution's main negative consequence is that it interferes with migratory bird patterns.
From a cost perspective, the types of lighting that are deemed more sustainable for wildlife are competitive with normal lighting, meaning it won't take extra to make the swap, as per Dark Sky.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service states that artificial lighting at night attracts birds from as far as five kilometers away. These birds then waste time and energy going to explore the light source and can even collide with buildings, which can cause death.
The FWS also explained that increased artificial light at night reduces the visibility of starlight and moonlight, which birds use for directions. Amphibians and insects are also impacted by artificial night light, with amphibians relying on complete darkness for their mating processes and insects being drawn into lights meant to kill them, Phys.org explained.
Kane County's new policy is great because it sets a precedent for an entire county, which goes a long way and promotes environmental practices across numerous households. There are also many ways you can make your home more sustainable at an individual level. Examples of this include installing solar panels and swapping gas stovetops for induction ones, both of which reduce your impact on the natural world.
"There are a lot of different reasons why cutting down on nighttime light pollution and maintaining a dark night sky are important," Chess told Phys.org, echoing the success of the new policy, which was passed unanimously.
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