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An Enlightened Look at an Over-Lighted World

Posted by michael on from the we're-trying-to-sleep dept.

Saige writes "Every night, as darkness descends, countless street lamps and lights turn on to keep the darkness at bay, bathing countless square feet of the planet in light that sometimes rivals daytime. But has anyone stopped to consider what effect all this light may have on people and animals that have evolved to fit an environment where a significant part of the 24 hour day is spent in lightless conditions? Some scientists have, and they are claiming that all this light is causing numerous problems."

2 of 522 comments (clear)

  1. Do your duty by SugoiMonkey · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    I don't know about you, but I turn my lights off when I go to bed. The darn animals can come out then.

  2. You can find a downside to anything by TheNarrator · · Score: 1, Flamebait
    The problem with all these new "studies" is that they fall under the you can find a downside to anything rule.


    Given enough time I could find a downside to anything. For instance, breathing is bad because it increases the amount of CO2 in the air and thus helps global warming, etc. The point is is that just because you can find something bad about something you have to think what is GOOD about something and then weigh the differences. Since we've had light for so long we hardly realize its benefits. Going back to the dawn of electric lighting it was certainly very welcomed in its day. Just like Rouseau or many philosophers before and after, we realize that we are unhappy and we look back to some idealized vision of the past (where people had half the life expectancy they do now) and think that they were happier, but really, they weren't.