Quantitative Research Into Light Pollution
Light Pollution has become a growing issue that is plaguing many parts of the world. As cities get more brightly lit and LED technology gets cheaper, more and more people are becoming increasingly aware of the negative effects that their lighting choices and high color temperature LED’s have on the environment and people around them. Color temperature, light orientation, shielding, and bounce light solutions present many ways to easily reduce the impact of excessive, harsh lighting. Thankfully, light pollution is as easy to get rid of as a flick of a switch. My research included various different quantitative research practices of light pollution, including: Bounce light analysis using multiple spectrometers, looking into the correlation between air quality and sky glow, and what might be done to reduce health and environmental impacts. I found that bounce light could be a leading cause of light pollution. I also found the beginnings of a statistically significant relationship between air pollution and light pollution. Ultimately, I concluded that light pollution is caused by many fixable offenses that need only awareness and eco-friendly decisions.