How artificial lighting affects wildlife
Learn about light pollution, including its effects on nature.
Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz; Thumbnail © Scaliger/Dreamstime.com
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Transcript
NARRATOR: The illuminated population centers on our planet can be seen even from space. And each night the Earth gets brighter. Light has been a symbol of progress and luxury ever since the light bulb was invented. Artificial lighting turns the night into day, enabling unlimited productivity and endless enjoyment. But light can cast a long shadow. The consequences are that artificial lighting kills animals and takes its toll on flora and fauna. Here, on the Gulf of Mexico, baby turtles hatch from their eggs at night on the beach. They are only truly safe once they reach the water. But artificial light confuses them and draws them in the wrong direction.
KENIA LEONHARD: "Lights can mean death for turtles. When the hatchlings emerge, they orient themselves towards the brightest horizon, and that should be the glow of the Gulf waters. When we have bright lights like those behind me, you end up with hatchlings dead in the roadway. Hatchlings die after marching for a thousand, two thousand, three thousand feet. They die of exhaustion, dehydration or they can bake in the sun. That's what lights can mean for hatchlings."
NARRATOR: Laws were passed in 1997 that govern the intensity and type of lighting. But lighting sins still persist in and around the turtles' nesting grounds. The worst of these are excessive light emissions directly on the beach. When the lighting is too bright, the biologists speak with those responsible. In their talks, they persuade homeowners, business operators and hotel owners to use alternative illuminants.
LEONHARD: "We use special lighting such as infrared light and other lighting types, like LEDs, because they are considered the least disruptive to sea turtles. There is no such thing as a turtle-friendly light. It's just using the best management practices available to us, and that just happens to be infrared."
NARRATOR: The Floridian island of Lido Key is doing its part, using just enough discreet lighting points to ensure safety and orientation for its inhabitants.
LEONHARD: "If you have successful nesting in an area with numerous hotels and apartments, that is a success. Then if someone argues that environmental protection and adequate lighting are incompatible, we can cite Lido as an example that the two factors are compatible after all."
NARRATOR: Artificial lighting is a form of pollution that has been virtually unknown up to now. But the danger is obvious. Light, after all, can cast a long shadow.
KENIA LEONHARD: "Lights can mean death for turtles. When the hatchlings emerge, they orient themselves towards the brightest horizon, and that should be the glow of the Gulf waters. When we have bright lights like those behind me, you end up with hatchlings dead in the roadway. Hatchlings die after marching for a thousand, two thousand, three thousand feet. They die of exhaustion, dehydration or they can bake in the sun. That's what lights can mean for hatchlings."
NARRATOR: Laws were passed in 1997 that govern the intensity and type of lighting. But lighting sins still persist in and around the turtles' nesting grounds. The worst of these are excessive light emissions directly on the beach. When the lighting is too bright, the biologists speak with those responsible. In their talks, they persuade homeowners, business operators and hotel owners to use alternative illuminants.
LEONHARD: "We use special lighting such as infrared light and other lighting types, like LEDs, because they are considered the least disruptive to sea turtles. There is no such thing as a turtle-friendly light. It's just using the best management practices available to us, and that just happens to be infrared."
NARRATOR: The Floridian island of Lido Key is doing its part, using just enough discreet lighting points to ensure safety and orientation for its inhabitants.
LEONHARD: "If you have successful nesting in an area with numerous hotels and apartments, that is a success. Then if someone argues that environmental protection and adequate lighting are incompatible, we can cite Lido as an example that the two factors are compatible after all."
NARRATOR: Artificial lighting is a form of pollution that has been virtually unknown up to now. But the danger is obvious. Light, after all, can cast a long shadow.