Urban Glow, Ecological Shadows: The Need of Light Pollution Laws

There was a time when we could gaze at the night sky with our naked eyes and watch fireflies glowing in the dark.

- Dr. Pyali Chatterjee & Maitreyee Tembhekar

That was the most beautiful part of our childhood—when we would catch fireflies with our bare hands and use them like tiny torches while playing. Today, these moments have become nothing but memories. In cities, we can no longer see stars, even on a clear full-moon night, nor can we spot fireflies. Perhaps in the outskirts, one might still witness a sky full of stars and the magical flicker of fireflies.

But why are we talking about this today? Because we are all responsible for what is happening around us. Through this research, we aim to highlight the issue of light pollution, as it is high time we discuss its impact on our environment.

In 1994, a powerful earthquake shook Los Angeles, leaving it in ruins and in the dark. As the ground shook and neighborhoods were struck by power outages, something unexpected happened: people looked up. Without the usual city lights, the night sky displayed a magnificent sight. Locals called emergency services and observatories after spotting an odd, glowing "cloud" in the sky. Many of them were seeing the Milky Way for the first time.

A rare event brought on by a natural catastrophe served as a strong wake-up call, reminding us that light pollution not only hides the stars but also destroys our link to the night sky. "Light pollution" is the excessive or inappropriately designed usage of artificial light that breaks the natural darkness of the night. The whole electric light thing that popped up in the 1800s was a huge game-changer for us humans. We're not letting the night dictate our time anymore. After the sun went down and electric lights came on, folks started working longer, traveling further, and hanging out more late into the night. Society embraced this new light, and it was like night turned into day. However, the early creators of light had no idea how totally their creation would overshadow the night.