Plants and animals depend on Earth’s natural cycles of bright days and dark nights to govern their life-sustaining behaviors. Reproduction, nourishment, sleep and protection from predators are all affected by artificial light. Scientific evidence suggests negative and deadly effects on amphibians, birds, mammals, invertebrates, our pollinators and plants.

The Great Barrier Reef near Australia contains more than 130 different species of coral that depend on moonlight for spawning. Bright urban lights spread light pollution far enough to mask the moon’s phases, throwing the coral’s biological clock out of sync. This contributes to the rapid death of coral.

Although sea turtles spend their lives in the waters of the ocean, they hatch on land. Hatchlings emerge from the sand at night and find their way to the sea by detecting the moon and starlight over the ocean. However, artificial lights lure them away from the ocean, causing a state of confusion about which way to run. Florida alone has seen a dramatically reduced number of sea turtles.

Many birds migrate and hunt at night, using moonlight and starlight to navigate. Artificial lights cause confusion, luring them to wander off course toward dangerous nighttime landscapes of city lights. Every year, millions of birds die by colliding with illuminated buildings and towers.

Research has shown that light pollution dramatically reduces the activity of nocturnal pollinators. Although researchers are not sure why, they have found that this impacts the daytime pollinators. We are experiencing a rapid decline worldwide of bees and other daytime pollinators, and light pollution is contributing to the problem.

Being a Dark Sky Community doesn’t mean having no lights. It means using smart lights that are fully shielded with a warm color temperature that are aimed downward at the exact spots where it is needed.

For more information, visit fhdarksky.com.