Civilization pulluted planet with NOISE HEAT & LIGHTS will doom

[Think_PAP]

Lighting our way to darkness: Scientists warn of too much ‘artificial light’ on Earth
Published time: 23 Nov, 2017 05:36
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© Mario Anzuoni / Reuters
A new study conducted using satellite data shows that artificial lighting is growing brighter. The data suggest this is disrupting the order of ecological and human life, which previously depended on natural light sources such as the moon.
The international study led by Christopher Kyba of the GFZ German Research Centre for Geoscience tracks what researchers are calling a negative trend that has implications for the health of human beings and the environment.

The light pollution that humans are creating can affect living things, because they have evolved in accordance with the normal day-night cycle, according to the study.

This is due to the fact that major sources of light during the night would have come only from the moon, or other sources like auroras, volcanoes and wildfires.

Read more
Noise pollution affects majority of US protected areas with 'real impact on animals' – study
An international team of scientists used the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS), a satellite sensor, to find out whether the human demand for light is still on the rise or leveling off. VIIRS is cited as a collaboration between NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Researchers studied data for the report in the month of October every year from 2012 to 2016, and ultimately discovered that the artificially-lit portion of the Earth's surface continued to grow by 2.2 percent per year. During this same period, Earth’s radiance also climbed by 1.8 percent per year.

The growth moved fastest in developing regions like Africa, Asia and South America. However, countries that were already brightly lit, such as the US and Spain, were found to be stable in their brightness.

A small number of war-torn countries like Yemen and Syria saw their artificially lit levels drop.

But even in the brightly lit countries that appeared stable, light levels are most likely still on the rise, according to the study. This is because a lot of well-lit cities have been replacing the yellow-orange sodium lights that they had been using with energy-saving LED lights.

Sodium lights emit a small amount of infrared radiation, which would have made them appear brighter to VIIRS. The combination of losing the infrared signal, coupled with not being able to see blue wavelengths, means that VIIRS would register this particular area with the LED lights as dimmer, even though they may have appeared brighter than they were before to the naked eye.

Many issues can arise if people work against their biological day-night clocks. Specific health problems such as diabetes, obesity and depression-like symptoms may emerge from undertaking these practices, according to the study. Aside from humans, the current use of artificial light can also have a negative effect on plants and microbes. The study points out that 30 percent of vertebrates, and more than 60 percent of invertebrates, are nocturnal.

Read more
Star light, star bright: Light pollution prevents 1/3 of world from seeing Milky Way
“From an evolutionary perspective, now, artificial light at night is a very new stressor,” one of the study's authors, Franz Holker of the Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries said, as reported by the Los Angeles Times. “The problem is that light has been introduced in places, times and intensities at which it does not naturally occur, and many organisms have had no chance to adapt to this new stressor.”

Holker says that the largely new phenomenon of artificial light “threatens biodiversity through changed night habits, such as reproduction or migration patterns, of many different species: insects, amphibians, fish, birds, bats and other animals.”

He added that humans are also impacted by artificial light, because there are certain physiological processes that occur during the day and others that happen at night, and these processes often work against each other.

As the study suggests current trends to be heading in the wrong direction, Christopher Kyba stated there are some possible solutions to thwart them.

He said using LEDs that don't have a blue component is a better choice for people to consider, and there are also ways to position and manage existing light sources, like lamps in parking lots, so they are not as bright, but still remain effective.

 

[Think_PAP]

http://www.asiaone.com/world/future-looks-bright-light-pollution-rises-global-scale

The future looks bright: light pollution rises on a global scale
PHOTO: Japanese Meteorological Agency
Reuters
Nov 23, 2017
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WASHINGTON - The world is getting brighter, but scientists say that may not be a good thing.

Researchers said on Wednesday satellite data showed that Earth's artificially lit outdoor surface at night grew by about 2 per cent annually in brightness and area from 2012 to 2016, underscoring concerns about the ecological effects of light pollution on people and animals.


The rate of growth observed in developing countries was much faster than in already brightly lit rich countries.


The researchers said the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration weather satellite data may understate the situation because its sensor cannot detect some of the LED lighting that is becoming more widespread, specifically blue light.

"Earth's night is getting brighter. And I actually didn't expect it to be so uniformly true that so many countries would be getting brighter," said physicist Christopher Kyba of the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, who led the research published in the journal Science Advances.

With few exceptions, growth in nighttime light was observed throughout South America, Africa and Asia. Light remained stable in only a few countries. These included some of the world's brightest such as Italy, Netherlands, Spain and the United States, although the researchers said the satellite sensor's"blindness" to some LED light may mask an actual increase.

Australia's lit area decreased due to wildfires. Nighttime light declined in war-hit Syrian and Yemen.

Ecologist Franz Hölker of Germany's Leibniz-Institute for Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB) said light pollution has ecological consequences, with natural light cycles disrupted by artificial light introduced into the nighttime environment. Increased sky glow can affect human sleep, he noted.

"In addition to threatening 30 per cent of vertebrates that are nocturnal and over 60 per cent of invertebrates that are nocturnal, artificial light also affects plants and microorganisms," Hölker said. "It threatens biodiversity through changed night habits, such as reproduction or migration patterns, of many different species: insects, amphibians, fish, birds, bats and other animals." Kyba said nighttime lighting also obscures the stars that people have witnessed for millennia.

Experts had hoped the growing use of highly efficient LED lighting might lessen energy usage worldwide. The new findings indicate use of artificial lighting instead is growing, increasing energy demand.

"While we know that LEDs save energy in specific projects, for example when a city transitions all of its street lighting from sodium lamps to LED, when we look at our data and we look at the national and the global level, it indicates that these savings are being offset by either new or brighter lights in other places," Kyba said.

 

[Think_PAP]

http://www.gfz-potsdam.de/en/media-...ltatlas-dokumentiert-kuenstliche-beleuchtung/

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New Atlas of Light Pollution

The Milky Way disappears in artificial light originated by the city light of Berlin. Light pollution dims the view at the stars and affects ecosystems (image: A. Jechow/IGB).

13.06.2016: A new atlas of light pollution documents the degree to which the world is illuminated by artificial skyglow. In addition to being a scourge for astronomers, bright nights also affect nocturnal organisms and the ecosystems in which they live. The “New World Atlas of Artificial Night Sky Brightness” was published an international team of scientists.

Researchers from Italy, Germany, the USA, and Israel carried out the work, which was led by Fabio Falchi from the Italian Light Pollution Science and Technology Institute (ISTIL). “The new atlas provides a critical documentation of the state of the night environment as we stand on the cusp of a worldwide transition to LED technology” explains Falchi. “Unless careful consideration is given to LED color and lighting levels, this transition could unfortunately lead to a 2-3 fold increase in skyglow on clear nights.”

The atlas documents a world that is in many places awash with light. In Western Europe, only a few small areas remain where the night sky remains relatively unpolluted, including areas in Scotland, Sweden, Norway, and parts of Spain and Austria. In addition to a world map, the scientists provide tables showing the area of each country and what fraction of its population live under highly light polluted skies. The authors specifically examined the G20 countries, finding that in terms of area, Italy and South Korea are the most polluted, and Canada and Australia the least. Residents of India and Germany are most likely to be able to see the Milky Way from their home, while those in Saudi Arabia and South Korea are least likely.

Major advances over a similar atlas from 2001 were possible thanks to a new satellite, and to the recent development of inexpensive sky radiance meters. City lighting information for the atlas came from the American Suomi NPP satellite, which includes the first instrument intentionally designed to make accurate observations of urban lights from space. The atlas was calibrated using data from “Sky Quality Meters” at 20,865 individual locations around the world. The participation of citizen scientists in collecting the calibration data was critical, according to Dr. Christopher Kyba, a study co-author, and researcher at the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences. “Citizen scientists provided about 20% of the total data used for the calibration, and without them we would not have had calibration data from countries outside of Europe and North America.”

“The community of scientists who study the night have eagerly anticipated the release of this new Atlas” said Dr. Sibylle Schroer, who coordinates the EU funded Loss of the Night Network and is not one of the study’s authors. Sibylle Schroer is working for the Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB) where the project "Loss of the Night" is affiliated. The IGB developed the app allowing citizen scientists around the globe to measure the night sky's brightness. The director of the International Dark-Sky Association, Scott Feierabend also hailed the work as a major breakthrough, saying “the new atlas acts as a benchmark, which will help to evaluate the success or failure of actions to reduce light pollution in urban and natural areas”.

Falchi, F., Cinzano, P., Duriscoe, D., Kyba, C.M., Elvidge, C.D., Baugh, K., Portnov, B.A., Rybnikova, N.A., Furgoni, R., 2016. The new world atlas of artificial night sky brightness. Science Advances, 2 (6). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.1600377

Contact at GFZ: Dr. Christopher Kyba

 

[Think_PAP]

https://www.conserve-energy-future.com/causes-and-effects-of-thermal-pollution.php

What is Thermal Pollution?
When someone thinks of pollution, the idea of thermal pollution often doesn’t come to mind. People will first think of things like carbon emissions, personal pollution and waste, and a variety of other changing factors. However, thermal pollution is a real and persistent problem in our modern society. In layman’s terms, thermal pollution is when an industry or other human-made organization takes in water from a natural source and either cools it down or heats it up. They then eject that water back into the natural resource, which changes the oxygen levels and can have disastrous effects on local ecosystems and communities.

Thermal pollution is defined as sudden increase or decrease in temperature of a natural body of water which may be ocean, lake, river or pond by human influence. This normally occurs when a plant or facility takes in water from a natural resource and puts it back with an altered temperature. Usually, these facilities use it as a cooling method for their machinery or to help better produce their products.




Plants that produce different products or waste water facilities are often the culprits of this massive exodus of thermal pollution. In order to properly control and maintain thermal pollution, humans and governments have been taking many steps to effectively manage how plants are able to use the water. However, the effects are still lasting today.

Causes of Thermal Pollution
1. Water as Cooling Agent in Power, Manufacturing and Industrial plants: Production and Manufacturing plants are biggest source of thermal pollution. These plants draw water from nearby source to keep machines cool and then release back to the source with higher temperature. When heated water returns to the river or ocean, the water temperature rises sharply. When oxygen levels are altered in the water, this can also degrade the quality and longevity of life in wildlife that lives underwater. This process can also wipe away streamside vegetation, which constantly depends on constant levels of oxygen and temperature. By altering these natural environments, industries are essentially helping decrease the quality of life for these marines based life forms and can ultimately destroy habitats if they are not controlled and careful about their practices.

2. Soil Erosion: Soil erosion is another major factor that causes thermal pollution. Consistent soil erosion causes water bodies to rise, making them more exposed to sunlight. The high temperature could prove fatal for aquatic biomes as it may give rise to anaerobic conditions.

3. Deforestation: Trees and plants prevent sunlight from falling directly on lakes, ponds or rivers. When deforestation takes place, these water bodies are directly exposed to sunlight, thus absorbing more heat and raising its temperature. Deforestation is also a main cause of the higher concentrations of greenhouse gases i.e. global warming in the atmosphere.

4. Runoff from Paved Surfaces: Urban runoff discharged to surface waters from paved surfaces like roads and parking lots can make water warmer. During summer seasons, the pavement gets quite hot, which creates warm runoff that gets into the sewer systems and water bodies.

5. Natural Causes: Natural causes like volcanoes and geothermal activity under the oceans and seas can trigger warm lava to raise the temperature of water bodies. Lightening can also introduce massive amount of heat into the oceans. This means that the overall temperature of the water source will rise, having significant impacts on the environment.



Effects of Thermal Pollution
Among recognized scientists and scholars, there are generally two schools of thought when it comes to the effects of thermal pollution. Some lean on the side of the negatives of this pollution on marine ecosystems and how it is detrimental to positive environmental practices. However, some lean towards the side that without these industries operating the way they do, then some of the most basic parts of human life would be completely obsolete. Waste water would not be able to be properly maintained, we would have no industries that could produce the goods we need, and so on. The effects of thermal pollution on ecosystems, however, greatly outweigh the benefits that industries have by participating in the act.

1. Decrease in DO (Dissolved Oxygen) Levels: The warm temperature reduces the levels of DO (Dissolved Oxygen) in water. The warm water holds relatively less oxygen than cold water. The decrease in DO can create suffocation for plants and animals such as fish, amphibians and copepods, which may give rise to anaerobic conditions. Warmer water allows algae to flourish on surface of water and over the long term growing algae can decrease oxygen levels in the water.

2. Increase in Toxins: With the constant flow of high temperature discharge from industries, there is a huge increase in toxins that are being regurgitated into the natural body of water. These toxins may contain chemicals or radiation that may have harsh impact on the local ecology and make them susceptible to various diseases.

3. Loss of Biodiversity: A dent in the biological activity in the water may cause significant loss of biodiversity. Changes in the environment may cause certain species of organisms to shift their base to some other place while their could be significant number of species that may shift in because of warmer waters. Organisms that can adapt easily may have an advantage over organisms that are not used to the warmer temperatures.

4. Ecological Impact: A sudden thermal shock can result in mass killings of fish, insects, plants or amphibians. Hotter water may prove favorable for some species while it could be lethal for other species. Small water temperature increases the level of activity while higher temperature decreases the level of activity. Many aquatic species are sensitive to small temperature changes such as one degree Celsius that can cause significant changes in organism metabolism and other adverse cellular biology effects.

5. Affects Reproductive Systems: A significant halt in the reproduction of marine wildlife (although this may be true, reproduction can still occur between fish – but the likelihood of defects in newborns is significantly higher) can happen due to increasing temperatures as reproduction can happen with in certain range of temperature. Excessive temperature can cause the release of immature eggs or can prevent normal development of certain eggs.

6. Increases Metabolic Rate: Thermal pollution increases the metabolic rate of organisms as increasing enzyme activity occurs that causes organisms to consume more food than what is normally required, if their environment were not changed. It disrupts the stability of food chain and alter the balance of species composition.

7. Migration: The warm water can also cause particular species of organisms to migrate to suitable environment that would cater to its requirements for survival. This can result in loss for those species that depend on them for their daily food as their food chain is interrupted.


Above all else, the most important thing to consider is that the effects of thermal pollution greatly outweighs the human need for it to be done. Plants and industries have been able to find successful ways around thermal pollution, but many of them are not practicing it because it’s simply easier to work from the traditional model. If we want to promote the thriving environment that surrounds marine biology, then the attitude around thermal pollution needs to take a drastic turn. By being aware of the causes and effects, you can have a significant impact on how these plants choose to operate and you can opt to make change.

Image credit:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/un_photo/5074919525
https://www.flickr.com/photos/greenpeaceuk/5932903289

 

[Think_PAP]

Man's overpopulation is the Terminal Cancer of Planet Earth.

Man's overconsumption is own Suicide plus Murdering other forms of lives.

Modern Civilization is the Toxin / Virus causing Man's Total Extinction Suicide. Humanity is the Worst Component of these Toxins.

 

[Shut Up you are Not MM]

http://edition.cnn.com/2017/11/23/health/light-pollution-increase-study/index.html

Loss of the night: Light pollution rising rapidly on a global scale


By Manisha Ganguly, CNN

Updated 0407 GMT (1207 HKT) November 25, 2017

Story highlights

• Satellites can pick up less light from LEDs
• However, as many countries switch to LEDs, they are also adding more lights
• Light pollution affects many animals as well as human health

(CNN)Artificial lighting at night is contributing to an alarming increase in light pollution, both in amount and in brightness, affecting places all over the world, a new study has found.

Some regions have showed a steady increase in light pollution aligned with economic development, but more developed nations that were thought to be "going dark" by switching to energy-saving LEDs showed no apparent decline in their rates of light pollution.
Globally, there has been a push toward more energy- and cost-efficient light sources, such as LEDs, but this has directly contributed to an alarming increase in light pollution, the researchers believe.
Using the first calibrated satellite radiometer for night lights, which can detect radiance, a team of scientists found a 2.2% increase in the Earth's outdoor artificial lighting each year between 2012 and 2016.
To improve health, cities are changing their streetlights
"I was very surprised by the result of the study, particularly in wealthy well-lit countries like the US," said Christopher Kyba of the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, lead author of the study.
"When we switch from a sodium lamp to a white LED, what we observe is a decrease in the total amount of light that the satellite can see. But what we saw instead for the US was basically a constant amount of light; new lights were added in other places," he said.
In many other developed countries that are already very bright, the team saw an increase in the total amount of light, despite the fact that many cities appear to be "going dark" by switching to LEDs, Kyba added.
As with the US, some of the world's brightest countries like Spain, Italy and the Netherlands showed stability in levels of outdoor light over this time frame.
The United States at night as seen by the Suomi NPP satellite in 2012.
The study also noted a consistent growth in lighting in South America, Africa and Asia, with a few exceptions in regions like Yemen and Syria, which showed a decrease due to escalating conflict and warfare.
The risks from light pollution
The study concluded that a steady increase in the use of energy-efficient lights that are cheap and readily available will result in even more light pollution and a reduction of natural day-night light cycles in areas that still experience them.
Light pollution poses a threat to 30% of vertebrates and more than 60% of invertebrates that are nocturnal, including plants, microorganisms and, most alarmingly, human health, the researchers add.
Neighborhoods with more light have higher breast cancer risk, study says
White LED light has been linked to disruptions in sleep patterns, and the glare is found to affect eyesight.
Last year, the American Medical Association issued an official policy statement about LED street lighting, recommending a radiance and color temperature level less harmful to health.
In August, a Harvard study found an increased risk of breast cancer in women living in neighborhoods with higher outdoor lighting. This was linked to increased brightness at nighttime, as the body expects light during daytime and darkness at night.
The health of birds is also at risk. A study published last month found that high-intensity light in urban areas can alter their behavior in terms of migration, foraging and vocal communication. The impact was especially adverse in nocturnal migrating birds that were used to orienting in darkness and were failing to do so due to light pollution.
Doctors issue warning about LED streetlights
Another landmark study published last year found that 83% of the world's population and more than 99% of the US and European populations were affected by light pollution and could not see the stars at night.
Gareth Jones, professor of biological sciences at the University of Bristol, who was not part of the new study, said it is "an important paper because it uses new and carefully calibrated methods for quantifying light pollution over a wide range of wavelengths at high spatial resolution. The study confirms that light pollution continues to increase and is of global relevance."
"Although there are benefits in terms of greater energy efficiency associated with changes to new lighting technologies such as LEDs, nevertheless light pollution and its associated risks to human health and biodiversity continue to increase," Jones added.
The Rebound Effect: How much is too much light?
The arguments for the transition to LEDs include cost-saving and reductions in energy consumption, but this has led to increased demand and greater use of outdoor lighting.
The Endangered Starry Sky
Large cities like Milan appeared to have a decrease in radiance around the city center but an increase in rural areas, which the scientists attributed to the replacement of older lamps with LEDs.
"From energy economics, there's a phenomenon called The Rebound Effect," Kyba said: If we have an energy-efficient car, for example, we allow ourselves to live farther from work and thus end up driving more. Though there's a limit to the amount of time one spends driving, with LED lights, there seems to be no saturation point.
Milan after transition to LED technology in the city center.
The improved energy efficiency has therefore led to more LED lighting being installed in households and outdoors, Kyba said.
He also highlighted an issue with the way people are using LEDs, which offer features like dimmers that are going unused.
"What is currently happening is that we take take the old lamps out, keep the masts standing and get the new lamp on," he said. "So we're not using these amazing ways of using LEDs."
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He also offered a practical solution to reduce the light being emitted in cities.
"In city centers, we need to completely rethink the way we light by putting people at the center and not cars, which have their own lights," Kyba said. "We shouldn't have streetlights anymore. We should have lighting for pedestrians and for the people riding bikes."