Sea Turtles: The Moths of the Ocean

Imagine, if you will, a world of no darkness, one that has embraced mankind's desire to make the world more technologically fit. A world, consumed by lights of man's own innovation and accomplishments, is imminent in our desire to vanquish darkness. However, we do not understand the consequences that lie ahead with this innovation. The light that we so desire will soon destroy what we have once beloved. The animals of the world are threatened by our need to light up the world. The sea turtle is patient zero of this widespread epidemic of technology
and artificial lighting.

Imagine Sitting in a Dark Movie Theater. The light of the projector on the screen is clear, until the lights suddenly blare. While the movie is still playing, it isn't visible anymore, as there is too much external light.

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What Is Light Pollution?

• Light Pollution is the emittance of blue light in the atmosphere, causing the night sky to become brighter
• While a portion of the blue light is a natural occurrence (light refracted from the sun), a large chunk is caused by artificial light sources, such as LED light bulbs.
• When light is emitted, it is very dense. As it nears the various gas molecules in the atmosphere, it begins to granulate (spread), and it becomes less dense. Blue is one of the least dense colors on the color spectrum, so as the blue light is absorbed, the gas molecules spread along the atmosphere. This causes the sky to be blue.
• However, with artificial light sources, too much blue light is emitted, and the sky becomes lighter and lighter as night comes.
• That is why large urban areas, such as Paris, do not become dark until late at night.

Why Should We Be Worried?

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How Does Light Pollution Affect Humans?

• Sure, it may be nicer to have more light, but too much can have some disastrous effects.
• For one, blue light suppresses melatonin production. Melatonin is the sleep hormone secreted by the pineal gland in the brain. Without it, we will have great difficulty falling asleep. Melatonin is only activated in the dark; the increasing amount of blue light in the atmosphere causes the night sky to become brighter.
• This leads to sleep deprivation, as well as sleep-induced disorders such as circadian rhythm sleep disorder (A misalignment with the endogenous sleep cycle and the circadian rhythm, usually caused by a irregular sleep-wake cycle) and insomnia.

How Does Light Pollution Affects Animals?

• " 'Over millions of years, animals have come to depend on seasonal, monthly, and daily patterns of light and dark,' says Longcore. 'Only recently have humans lit up the night on a global scale.' "
• This quote accurately describes the impact light pollution has had on animals that tend to sojourn near urban areas (on beaches and coasts).
• Through millions of years, animals have depended on light to determine where to sleep, where to go, and what to do.
• Animals that live near large urban areas depend on the moon for migratory or navigation purposes.
• However, light pollution has made the night sky brighter, and the moon is practically invisible to the eyes of the animals who depend on it most. The excessive amount of external artificial light has caused confusion and overall death to many marine and sky animals.
• Take for example the migratory bird. It depends on the moon and many other significant light sources for navigation and direction. However, external light sources confuse these animals, and they end up flying straight into large buildings that were not visible.
• Light pollution is impacting animals' perception of light, and they are not able to navigate, migrate, or do anything else.

LIGHT POLLUTION AND THE SEA TURTLE

"Nesting sea turtles, which show a natural predisposition for dark beaches, find fewer and fewer of them to nest on. Their hatchlings,me hick gravitate towards the brighter, more reflective sea horizon, find themselves confused by artificial lighting found behind the beach. In Florida alone, hatchling losses range in the hundreds to thousands."