Light pollution, it's more than not seeing the stars

Provided.

To thank Dr. Lewis for her presentation, President Jennifer Palakiko presented her with a certificate, and a donation was made to the Rotary Foundation in her honor.

On Sept. 26, the Rotary Club of Tehachapi welcomed Dr. Denise Lewis from the Bear Valley Springs Astronomy Club, who gave an enlightening presentation titled, "Dark Skies and Wildlife: Detrimental Effects of Artificial Light at Night."

Lewis earned her doctorate from the University of Kentucky College of Public Health. She spent her career at the University of Georgia as a cross-cultural gerontologist and qualitative methodologist. After retirement in 2021, she and her husband, Michael, moved to Bear Valley Springs. She currently spends her time painting, gardening, baking, reading and stargazing. She is active in several Bear Valley Springs organizations, including the Astronomy Club, Cultural Arts Association, Garden Club and Book Club.

Dr. Lewis began by discussing how the nighttime environment is a precious natural resource, and light pollution, the glow from uncontrolled outdoor lighting, often obscures our ability to see the stars. However, she focused her presentation on how light pollution negatively affects many other parts of our world. Wildlife and ecosystems are dramatically affected because of the way it changes the light levels at night from what occurs naturally as produced by the moon and stars.

Plants and animals depend on daily light and dark cycles to guide their behaviors, have a healthy life, and be part of a balanced ecosystem. Scientists are studying how light pollution is disrupting the balance of predators and prey, which causes strong changes in the ecological balance. They have found that light pollution actually provides an advantage to predators because they can see more clearly, and causes a disadvantage to the prey, because they have to work harder to find places to hide and shelter. In addition, scientists have found that mammals experience weight gain, apathetic/depressive behaviors and decreased immune responses with the exposure to increased light pollution.

In studies of the impact of light pollution on birds, scientists have found that their seasonal rhythms are being disrupted. Birds are found to start their activities earlier, and they often breed and molt earlier than normal. Also, scientists are finding that light pollution is disrupting their ability to navigate.

Light pollution has been found to change the times of the wildflower bloom, by disrupting and delaying the natural blooming cycles, which in turn disrupts the pollinators and their ability to collect from their food sources. Although bats and honeybees have been affected, fireflies have been especially disrupted by light pollution, because they cannot glow brightly enough to attract an appropriate mate. Dr. Lewis explained that this is "a pretty big deal" because everything is interconnected: migration, navigation, plant blooming, mating, foraging and sheltering. There is a danger to any shift in the complexity of the ecosystem, which can lead to detrimental changes in the nutrition cycle and a destructive disruption to the food chain.

Dr. Lewis highlighted some of the positive changes that are happening to reduce the impact of light pollution. Kern County has implemented light ordinances, just as many other cities and communities are doing. Many communities are looking to use lighting in a more strategic way, as surprisingly, there is no correlation between bright lighting and safety. In fact, some studies found that increased lighting actually increased crime, graffiti and vandalism. She said that everyone can help decrease light pollution by lighting only the areas you need, use energy efficient bulbs at the brightness level needed, shield lights and point them downward, use timers or motion sensors to use the light only when you need it, and choose warm-colored light bulbs.

The Tehachapi Rotary Club meets at noon every Thursday at Kelcy's. Rotary is committed to "Service Above Self," and devotes time and resources to projects in the local community, scholarships for college-bound high school seniors, and supporting global efforts for polio eradication. For more information about the Rotary Club, you can visit their Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/RotaryClubofTehachapi/.