An international study involving researchers from the University of Granada (UGR), Spain, and the University of Krakow (Poland) has found that Spain's current regulations on light pollution are inadequate, as they fail to take into account all the necessary factors--including the key factor of human vision itself.
An international study involving researchers from the University of Granada (UGR), Spain, and the University of Krakow (Poland) has found that Spain's current regulations on light pollution are inadequate, as they fail to take into account all the necessary factors--including the key factor of human vision itself.
In an article published in LEUKOS, the high-impact US Journal of the Illuminating Engineering Society, the scientists call on the government and regulatory bodies to use white rather than yellow light to illuminate areas that require special protection from light pollution (for example, those close to scientific observatories or nature parks). They claim white light is much more beneficial, both economically and environmentally.
In their study, the researchers propose a change in the current paradigm, to approach the fight against light pollution "from a much broader and more holistic perspective." Light pollution is a problem of the first order, in terms of energy consumption, the environment, and the economy. Its effects on public health, the equilibrium of ecosystems, and observational astronomy, to name but a few areas, have led governments worldwide to pass laws to minimize it.
Read more at University of Granada
Image: Light pollution is a major problem, in energy, environmental, and economic terms. (Credit: UGR)
