Humans Are Turning Mammals More Nocturnal

https://www.outsideonline.com/2317506/nocturnal-animals-humans

by adamnemecek • 8 years ago

116 29 8 years ago

jedberg4• 8 years ago

Relatedly, we're screwing up the already nocturnal animals too. Street lights get mis-perceived as sunlight, keeping them in.

We actually started fixing this by switching to sodium bulbs, which was better for humans too, but now with the push to LED, we're undoing the fix that we did, again hurting both the wildlife and ourselves in the process.

icelancer• 8 years ago

> We actually started fixing this by switching to sodium bulbs, which was better for humans too, but now with the push to LED, we're undoing the fix that we did, again hurting both the wildlife and ourselves in the process.

What's the tradeoff on electricity use, though?

jedberg4• 8 years ago

HPS uses slightly more energy than LED, but since the power comes from the grid, if you power it with "green energy" then it doesn't really matter pollution-wise, and cost-wise it takes a long time to recoup the cost of switching all the bulbs in energy savings.

The more important reason to switch is that the LEDs give a whiter light, which improves driver reaction time at night.

However, there have been no studies comparing if accidents have actually gone down in cities that switched to LED, which would in theory account for increased sleep deprivation due to more white light at night.

214• 8 years ago

Cities look much better at night on white light. I doubt we will ever go back to yellow light.

st26• 8 years ago

Thanks for bringing this up!

It can be addressed with warmer LED's, filtered LED, narrow-band LED... trouble is the bulk of the market is at 4K & 5K white balance, so that's the default choice to put in.

The good news about LED is, due to more even color profile, they can use dramatically less lux, but that requires adjustment to lighting level too.

jedberg4• 8 years ago

they can use dramatically less lux

They can, but at least what I've seen around California is that they don't. The one outside my window is a good example. It was replaced with LED and now it's like a spotlight right into my window. I didn't even realize there was a light there when it was HPS.

pokemongoaway2• 8 years ago

How would you create an LED with these properties that is equally efficient as the white light LEDs on the market? Geniunely curious.

always_good• 8 years ago

we're screwing up the already nocturnal animals too

Every night I look up at my exterior lights to admire the horde of geckos waiting patiently around each one for the onslaught of bugs to begin bumping into the lights.

I always wondered how different the gecko vs bug population would be without night lights. I've always felt bad for bugs.

corbpie• 8 years ago

Surely animals learn and adapt. A possum wont spend its whole life in its hollow because the light pole nearby is making it believe daytime is 24hrs 7 days a week.

pdpi• 8 years ago

Sure. It can come out while there’s (artificial) light out, which probably means that it’s exposed to predators who, in between artificial light and human activity, have moved their hours of activity into the later hours. Riskier behaviour means more chances to get themselves killed.

xg15• 8 years ago

Not sure if this was studied here, but I wonder if it's really "humans" or if its humans of modern-day, industrialized, "western" culture. E.g., do indigenous populations have the same effect on animals?

214• 8 years ago

I think it's more about human occupied area than modernity. There just isn't much space which doesn't have constant human presence through it.

perpetualcrayon• 8 years ago

Once technology allows us to more completely bridge the communication gap between humans and animals I think we'll realize that animals have been communicating amongst themselves in sophisticated ways for a long time and they won't have very nice things to say about us.

KempFood• 8 years ago

I don’t like the thought of yammering livestock.

I prefer a gentle mooing. Who cares what my burger thinks?

KMag• 8 years ago

Perhaps you're right about cetaceans or octopi, but as far as terrestrial animals, I haven't seen any evidence that any of them are smarter than a young human child.

What makes you think terrestrial animals are smarter than young children, or that something less intelligent than a young child has any coherent commentary?

Humans Are Turning Mammals More Nocturnal

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