CBCGDF Dark & Starry Sky Committee: Legislation on Light Pollution, Support to Starry Sky (I)
2019/2/15 20:00:00 本站

In the last century, excessive uses of lighting have caused tremendous disruption and destruction to the night environment of human and the entire biosphere. As a result, two-thirds of cities globally have lost sights of galaxies and constellations. It is the light pollution that disturbs animal and plant ecology and human health, causes energy waste and the poor sight of beautiful night sky, when millions of children have never seen the real galaxy from where they live. Not only has the growing and widespread use of artificial lighting been affecting our observation of the universe, but threatening our environment and energy, safety and health.

 

To this end, the Dark & Starry Sky Committee of the China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation (CBCGDF Dark & Starry Sky Committee) has put forward a proposal to legislate on light pollution, attract attention and support for the protection of night and the development of Star Culture. It is hoped that this proposal will arouse the attention and get support of the representatives of the "Two Sessions (NPC & CPPCC)".

 

Suggestions on Legislation of Light Pollution and Concern and Support for the Protection of Night Sky

 

[Cause of action]

 

As early as the 1930s, the concept of light pollution has been put forward by the international astronomy community.

 

Light pollution is a side-effect of industrial civilization.  Its sources include building exterior and interior lighting, advertising, commercial real estate, factories, streetlights, and illuminated sporting venues. In fact, many outdoor lightings at night is excessively bright, used inefficiently on inappropriate or even unneeded targets or shading. Consequently, this kind of use of light and electricity is responsible for a considerable amount of energy wasted in the sky, rather than directing on given visual tasks as needed.

 

For three billion years, the rhythm of life is orchestrated by the natural diurnal patterns of light and dark. Now artificial light illuminates the darkness, and our cities glow at night, destroying the natural diurnal pattern and challenging the delicate balance of our environment. The adverse effects of natural loses seem intangible, but evidences linked to measurable negative impacts increase, including energy consumption, disruption of organisms and ecosystems, threat to human health and safety. Besides, resulted in extra heat into atmosphere, light pollution is also responsible for the global climate change.

 

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Like other countries in the world, China's light pollution has been intensely unpleasant. From the satellite imaging, the luminance of the night sky of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and other big cities in China is no less than that of New York and Paris; the light pollution in the economically developed areas of the mid-east region has been cluttered; even in some places, where the urbanization process is relatively fast, situations of light pollution are severe. Accordingly, many young people born in cities after the 1980s have never caught sight of a star-filled sky, and many observatories in the suburbs have been abandoned or disturbed. In addition, as the night city lights are getting continuously brighter, a greater impact on astronomical observation has occurred. Some of the stars which used to be easily observed have turned invisible, leading to a descending efficiency of astronomical telescopes combined with reduction of the "magnitude" of the observed stars and planets. In order to improve the accuracy of observation, we have to increase the aperture of astronomical telescopes as well as transfer the astronomical observatories to remote areas, which undoubtedly raises the cost of observation and resource consumption. Therefore, controlling light pollution plays a significantly important role in astronomy.

 

At present, in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea and other parts of the world, various institutions and organizations are carrying out the promotion of the protection of the night sky. Controlling light pollution and protecting the night time environment is a new topic that the international community has begun to pay attention to. There are three main levels to control light pollution internationally:

First, lighting pollution should be curbed by national legislation.

 

The second is to normalize light use by administrative measures. For instance, Seoul, Korea, divides the city into six types of light environment control zones. Managements of big cities such as New York and London often make detailed regulations on the opening time of building lights, the form of lamps and the distance of light sources from houses.

 

Thirdly, we ought to encourage and support organizations, including the International Night Association (IDA) and the Night Advisory Committee of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), to conduct publicity.

 

The eighteenth National Congress of the Communist Party of China put forward the strategic goal of building a beautiful China. Starry sky is not only a kind of profound natural beauty, but also a natural accomplishment formed by the national spirit. The history and culture of thousands of years of human looking up to the sky should not be lost in our generation.

 

Beautiful China needs beautiful starry sky. In September 2015, in order to promote the participation of social forces in public welfare undertakings, jointly promote biodiversity conservation and green development, and comprehensively implement the overall goal of national ecological civilization construction, the China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation formally established the Star Space Working Committee, named Dark & Starry Sky Committee of the China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation (CBCGDF Dark & Starry Sky Committee). After its establishment, the Working Committee actively promotes the establishment and popularization of the "Dark Sky Protected Areas" in Tibet, Inner Mongolia, Zhejiang, Shanxi, Jiangsu and Jiangxi, protects the wildlife and habitat environment damaged and affected by light pollution, and issues the "Dark Sky Protected Areas Project Standard" which is suitable for China to carry out dark sky protection projects in accordance with international standards. It sets up the construction and evaluation standards and certification management methods of dark sky places, actively carries out exchanges and cooperation with relevant international organizations and agencies and coordinates relations with various places and institutions. The Working Committee also integrates social forces to lead the development of China's night environmental protection and star culture industry.

 

In general, however, it is not enough to control light pollution and protect the night time environment only by the full support and advocation of civil society and organizations. This work should be done at the country level, attracting more attention to light pollution and night environmental protection, and gaining more guidance and support to social organizations.


By / Wang Yanqing