CREDIT: TYLER KINNISON
Light pollution from human sources, known as Artificial Light at Night or ALAN, has a negative impact on wildlife. Many bird species migrate at night and artificial light can disorient them and cause them to strike buildings.
Each year, as many as 1 billion birds die from building strikes in the U.S. Billions of night-flying insects exhaust themselves and increase their vulnerability to predators while flying around artificial lights each night. As estimated one-third of them die before morning.
Artificial lighting reduces night-time pollination rates and abundance of moth caterpillars, which are a critical food source for nesting birds. It disrupts the mating behavior of fireflies. Light pollution in your yard can affect more than just “backyard wildlife.” In coastal areas, artificial lighting can deter nesting females and confuse hatchling sea turtles, causing them to crawl inland instead of to the ocean, a fatal choice.
Try these simple home solutions to help reduce the negative impact of artificial light:
- Simply turn your outdoor lights off when you go to bed or install timers, so you don’t have to remember. If you’re worried about security, install motion sensor lighting that doesn’t stay on all night.
- Use amber-colored LED lightbulbs, which are far less attractive to night-flying insects and widely available.
- You can also point landscape lighting toward the ground rather than shining upwards, which minimizes its negative effect.
