CHERYL GANCH: Light pollution cuts us off from ‘evolutionary heritage’

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — After 15 years of effort by myriad citizens, two outdoor lighting task forces (the last of which I was a member) and thousands of hours of effort, it is time that Rio Rancho enact an outdoor lighting ordinance as so many other cities in New Mexico and around the country have done.

Living in a glare of our own making called “light pollution,” we have cut ourselves off from our evolutionary heritage — the light of the stars and the rhythms of day and night.

Darkness is essential to the biological welfare of all living things.

The American Medical Association passed a resolution in 2009 recognizing light pollution issues linked with health and safety. Glare from streetlights and intrusive light trespassing into our homes and bedroom windows is being linked to higher rates of cancer and other health problems.

Unsafe driving conditions also result from excessive glare on and along roadways. And the growth, behavior and survival of nocturnal species is being hurt by the disruption of the natural cycle of darkness.

Light pollution is largely the result of poorly designed light fixtures allowing light to shine outward and upward where not necessary (we don’t park our cars above light poles and burglars don’t float above the ground) instead of focusing light downward.

Read the full story: Albuquerque Journal

Dim lighting may weaken breast-cancer drug’s effects

Rats taking tamoxifen who were exposed to dim lighting at night didn’t produce normal amounts of melatonin, and their tumors grew quickly as a result. But when they were given a melatonin supplement, their tumors shrank.

Exposure to dim lighting at night might reduce the effects of tamoxifen, a popular breast cancer drug, because it suppresses melatonin production, a new study has found.

Melatonin has been shown to have “profound inhibitory effects on various cancers, particularly breast cancer,” Dr. Steven M. Hill, professor of structural and cellular biology and the Edmond and Lily Safra chair for breast cancer research at Tulane University School of Medicine in New Orleans, told the News. So it’s important that breast cancer patients are getting their normal amounts.

Hill and his team looked at rats living in conditions that had 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness, and rats exposed to 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of dim lighting.

Read the full story: NY Daily News

Light Pollution May Impact Love Lives of Blue Tits

Light pollution is becoming more widespread as cities branch out and people chase away the darkness with electric lighting. Now, scientists have taken a closer look at how this type of light pollution impacts a species of birds called blue tits.

Circadian rhythm, or the internal “body clock” of a species, influences the behavior of living beings. Light is especially important for regulating circadian rhythm in birds. In order to get a better sense of how light pollution impacts bird behavior, the researchers used LED lights to illuminate various areas of the Viennese Forests for two additional hours in the morning, before sunrise, and in the evening after sunset. During this period, the researchers examined activity patterns that included singing and mating behavior, growth and development of nestlings, and stress hormones.

Read the full story: Science World Report