Scientists reveal the surprising consequences of light pollution on the global economy, health and the environment, and why darkness may be the key to a brighter future
By Yuval Friedman, Angle - a news agency for science and the environment

In a world where artificial lights illuminate the night in every corner, New research Discovers that the price of this "progress" may be much higher than we thought. The research published in the journal Remote Sensing reveals that light pollution costs the world economy a huge amount of about 3.4 trillion dollars every year - an amount equal to about 3 percent of the gross global product. Light pollution is illumination in the wrong place, intensity and time. Proper planning of all three can save a lot of resources such as electricity, and prevent damage to the environment and people.
The effects of light pollution are not evenly distributed around the world. Large countries such as Russia, the United States, Canada, China and India suffer the greatest losses in the value of ecosystem services. Many ecosystems and ecological processes can contribute to human well-being; These contributions have been called ecosystem services. Losses in the value of these services refer to damage to the ecological balance and system services such as food production, potable fresh water, noise filtering by vegetation and carbon dioxide fixation.
According to the results of the study, in areas with maximum levels of light pollution, a decrease of up to 40 percent in the value of ecosystem services was observed. When looking at each country individually, the biggest losses are in Russia, with damage estimated at $754 billion, and with an estimate of more than $5,000 per person per year. However, smaller countries, especially island and coastal countries, also suffer significant impacts.
Light calculations
As expected, urban areas suffered the greatest losses in ecosystem service values due to light pollution - a figure of 20 percent. This is because in these areas there is also extensive social and economic development associated with the high population density in the cities. When grouping together the loss of system service values in terrestrial landscapes, the greatest damages are estimated at $418 billion in grasslands, $480 billion in agricultural areas, and $1.3 trillion in areas characterized by humid habitats.
Beyond the economic aspect, the study highlights the wider effects of light pollution. Light pollution is harmful in human health For example by disrupting the sleep cycles of millions of people every year, affecting animal behavior and damaging entire ecosystems. The study mentions, for example, the dramatic effect of light pollution on the migration of bogong moths in Australia, whose numbers dropped from about 2017 billion in 4 to such a small number that they were almost undetectable. Do Bogong Nutrients are transferred from place to place through their secretions, therefore it is a matter of harming the ecosystem of several different areas. On top of that, damage to the ability of plants on land and plankton was observed At sea absorb carbon dioxide and have a negative effect on the fertility of fish and other animals.
The researchers used an innovative measure called Simplified All-Sky Light Pollution Ratio (sALR) which is based on satellite data To measure the intensity of light pollution around the world, and link it to the economic value of ecosystem services. "The research is progressing in that it uses remote sensing tools to measure light pollution, and to quantify the damage to the numbers," says Dr. Yossi Borochov, an economist and natural resource management researcher at the School of Environmental Sciences at the University of Haifa.
Clean lighting
The study suggests that a policy to reduce light pollution can lead to significant economic benefits, alongside improving the quality of life and the health of the environment. "The main message is for governmental, municipal, institutional and industrial bodies together with the small citizen, for whom the damage assessment is clear and understandable - $375 per year," says Borochov. A policy to reduce light pollution includes, for example, the use of smart lighting that knows how to adjust its intensity according to real-time data, limiting unnecessary lighting at night and using more environmentally friendly lighting technologies. "Many governmental and municipal bodies switched to LED lighting, mainly voluntarily to save budget and not for ecological reasons. This caused an increase in light pollution," he says.
"There are options for cleaner LED lighting that has less blue-tinted lighting and is able to prevent light leakage," Borochov explains how light pollution can be reduced, adding that concrete proposals have already been formulated that can help public bodies reduce light pollution. Thus, following an expert committee report published in 2016 on the subject Light pollution and its reduction, the Ministry of Energy included the committee's recommendations as part of lighting recommendations in quarries and mines andIsrael Routes report who dealt in environmentally friendly lighting. The committee also led to the publication of A guide to preventing and minimizing light pollution in infrastructure planning and to implement detailed instructions in the blue book (the general specification for construction works).
"Light pollution should be included as part of the government's mitigation plan - not only of air pollution, but also of light pollution. Also, the issue should be integrated into the worlds of real estate content - especially in green building rating and occupational health," for example on By introducing parameters such as types of lighting in offices. In addition, "the standards of this risk should be introduced as part of the risk monitoring of the public companies in the economy and thus have a positive effect on pollution reduction procedures. The light," he concludes.
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