May 2015

I was born in a small town. Visits to Cape Town were big events. I remember the beautiful beaches, the cable car, the steepness of Kloofnek Road, my grandmother’s balcony and the fascinating lights at night. White, red, blue, yellow, and orange – shining, pulsating and blinking put on a spectacular show. Nights in our little town were quiet and lit up by the Moon and thousands of twinkling stars. If one stood really still, you could hear the high pitched buzzing sounds of insects and soft shuffling of nocturnal animals. Fireflies were abundant. If you lay on your back long enough, just looking at the stars, you were bound to see a few meteors streak across the sky.
I live in a city now. Visits to small towns are big events now. My body needs to escape from the extended run of the greatest show on Earth: The incandescent, compact fluorescent, mercury vapour, metal halide, halogen, low pressure/high pressure sodium vapour and LED spectacle.
Staging this ongoing show of lights, comes at a major cost – financially, environmentally and medically. One of the biggest disappointments: we were made to believe that excessive lighting would halt criminal activity.
As major infrastructure starts to crumble under the heavy burden of trying to keep this artificial show on the road, small towns need to start leading by example.
Does the community of Betty’s Bay feel deprived because they do not have the orange glow of high pressure sodium vapour lamps flooding the fynbos and into their bedrooms at night? It is a question of one or the other. We can “threaten wildlife, ruin habitats, foul the air, squanders resources, and blocks our view of the heavens” or have a kaleidoscope of lights switched on constantly. Even if we don’t care so much for the environment we can suppress the production of Melatonin in our own bodies and give rise to the disruption of our circadian rhythms (believe me we should not be messing with those) or we can prove that living without excessive illumination is the most natural thing in the world.

This is not only my take but research has shown “that blue light-emitting diodes (LED) pose a more serious threat. Blue light is dispersed through the atmosphere more easily than red (the reason why the sky is blue). To change from red/orange to blue-white blue lights means an increase in light pollution and a waste of energy. Thus, the use of the blue-biased LED is discouraged. (Example: This effect is particularly noticeable when meeting vehicles equipped with high intensity blue-white LED headlights)”
I would advocate that all external alarm lights be orange/red rather than blue. I have a neighbour who has a flashing blue LED to ward off criminals? These I feel should not be allowed at all. For me one of the most precious things about Betty’s Bay is its night sky and I spend a lot of time looking at the stars. Unfortunately the quality of Betty’s Bay’s night sky has diminished, especially in the last decade. Having a flashing blue LED disturb the serenity and beauty of the night is a worrying factor. If I feel so disturbed by this, how more so for all the nocturnal creatures?

(The quotes I’ve used come from various internet sites which deal with light pollution around the globe.)
One site worth visiting is The international Dark Sky Association www.darksky.org)