There is enough evidence to indicate we may be damaging non-human species at ecosystem and biosphere levels across all taxa from rising background levels of anthropogenic non-ionizing electromagnetic fields (EMF) from 0 Hz to 300 GHz. The focus of this Perspective paper is on the unique physiology of non-human species, their extraordinary sensitivity to both natural and anthropogenic EMF, and the likelihood that artificial EMF in the static, extremely low frequency (ELF) and radiofrequency (RF) ranges of the non-ionizing electromagnetic spectrum are capable at very low intensities of adversely affecting both fauna and flora in all species studied. Any existing exposure standards are for humans only; wildlife is unprotected, including within the safety margins of existing guidelines, which are inappropriate for trans-species sensitivities and different non-human physiology. Mechanistic, genotoxic, and potential ecosystem effects are discussed.

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2022.1000840/full

The post Low-level EMF effects on wildlife and plants: What research tells us about an ecosystem approach appeared first on EMFSA.

The intentions are good: help save the planet by reducing energy consumption from streetlights. Claims also include the reduction of light pollution.

However, there could be unintended consequences associated with energy saving LED streetlights.

Artificial Light at Night (ALAN), Light Pollution and Circadian Disruption:

In many cases these new LED streetlights are contributing to light pollution, with serious environmental consequences for humans, wildlife, and our climate.

Since 2017 there is general scientific consensus that light has the most significant outcome on altering any biochemistry in life, either positively or negatively.

So-called “white” LEDs emit a portion of their light at wavelengths below 500 nm (blue). These wavelengths are not beneficial to human and environmental health.

The 2022 National WHO EMF Project Report IAC-ZA  mandates that streetlights are modified/adjusted by changing from an energy flux model (white) to a photon flux model (orange/red). UV is included too and flicker. A photon flux model results in significantly lower energy inputs and is much more beneficial to human health.

Mounting evidence indicates that disruption of circadian regulation is associated with a wide variety of adverse health consequences, including increased risk for premature death, cancer, metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular dysfunction, immune dysregulation, reproductive problems, mood disorders, and learning deficits. Of particular interest here is obesity and breast cancer.

•In 2019 a working group from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) concluded that “shift work that involves circadian disruption is probably carcinogenic to humans” (Group 2A): IARC Monographs Vol 124 group. Carcinogenicity of night shift work: Lancet Oncology; Published 4 July 2019. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S1470-2045(19)30455-3

•2 June 2020 IARC Monographs Volume 124: Night Shift Work https://tinyurl.com/5tk2y76v

 •In 2016, the American Medical Association responded to the growing body of evidence suggesting that intense LEDs are harmful to human health by recommending that communities change streetlights to “minimize and control blue-rich environmental lighting.”

Energy Flux versus Photon Flux model

Video

25:39 Night Sky, Satellites

26:19 Energy Flux versus Photon Flux model

Western Cape Nature residential estate:

Prone to wildfires, drought and high winds on the coast dune line.

Intervention: external building lighting changed to a Photon-flux model.

Outcome:

•Night sky constellations and satellites were significantly more visible.

•Significant increase in wildlife visibility and engagement within the area. 

•Residents went to sleep earlier and there was a decrease of reported health complaints.

•Decrease in property break in attempts at night. 

•Neighboring vegetation growth on the dune increased, and grass lawn resilience to the summer elements, heat and winds significantly increased as illustrated in the images below.

A Human Right:

On the 28th of July 2022 the UN General Assembly adopted a landmark resolution recognizing the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment as a human right and calling for greater global efforts to ensure that principle is upheld. 

This resolution updates the Equality Act under the heading of International Binding Treaties, as per the 2022 National WHO EMF Project Report IAC-ZA

This is not progress!

A LED energy saving street light is placed in very close proximity to a residence (without any warning or consultation with the homeowner). 

The light is so bright that it is impossible to spend time outside at night in the garden.

To make matters worse, the light is on all day.

Imagine the frustration- attempts to resolve the matter are ignored;  enquiries to the municipality in regards to the specifications of the light are ignored or sent from pillar to post.

The public is aware that some smart cities incorporate sensors for air quality, pedestrian traffic, monitoring electricity use and more. In addition some streetlights are equipped for telecommunication purposes. Is it a wonder then that conspiracy theories flourish – when there is such a lack of transparency and cooperation?

“Done well, LEDs could save the planet, in the sense of reining in light pollution,” says astronomer John Barentine, also of International Dark-Sky Association. “Done carelessly, it could be devastating.”

References:

2022 National WHO EMF Project Report IAC-ZA

American Medical Association warns of health and safety problems from ‘white’ LED streetlights https://tinyurl.com/bdcs76cz

UN General Assembly Resolution https://tinyurl.com/y9ksmcyz

Thomas Münzel, Omar Hahad, Andreas Daiber, The dark side of nocturnal light pollution. Outdoor light at night increases risk of coronary heart disease, European Heart Journal, Volume 42, Issue 8, 21 February 2021, Pages 831–834, https://doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehaa866

Miao Cao, Ting Xu, Daqiang Yin, Understanding light pollution: Recent advances on its health threats and regulations, Journal of Environmental Sciences, Volume 127, 2023, Pages 589-602, 1001-0742, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jes.2022.06.020

Bright LEDs could spell the end of dark skies MIT Technology Review https://www.technologyreview.com/2022/08/17/1057652/outdoor-led-lighting/

Our nights are getting brighter and Earth is paying the price https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/nights-are-getting-brighter-earth-paying-the-price-light-pollution-dark-skies

Shanghai wants to dim light pollution https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202208/05/WS62ec779ea310fd2b29e70776.html

The post Energy Saving LED Street Lights-The Unintended Consequences appeared first on EMFSA.

the night sky (Section 1);

wildlife and ecology (Section 2);

human health (Section 3);

public safety (Section 4);

energy security and climate change (Section 5);

and social justice (Section 6).

It also includes a discussion of the emerging threat from light pollution caused by objects orbiting the Earth (Section 7).

Finally, it concludes with a discussion of the knowledge gaps that exist within these topics and the research questions whose answers can fill the gaps (Section 8).

It is intended be useful to those seeking to broaden their understanding of research on the causes and consequences of artificial light at night.

Source:

https://www.darksky.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/SOTS-post-final-version-220527.pdf

https://www.darksky.org/artificial-light-at-night-state-of-the-science-2022-report/

The post Artificial Light at Night: State of the Science 2022 International Dark-Sky Association appeared first on EMFSA.

Answering emails after sunset?

Zoonotic diseases, EMF exposure, lighting conditions and light pollution.

 Animals, including household pets and livestock.

Link to the newsletter https://mailchi.mp/emfsa/zoonoses-emf-exposure-light-pollution

The post EMFSA May 2022 Newsletter appeared first on EMFSA.

Whitening the Sky: light pollution as a form of cultural genocide
Duane W. Hamacher 1, Krystal De Napoli 2, and Bon Mott 3
1 ASTRO-3D Centre of Excellence, School of Physics, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, 3010, Australia. 2 School of Physics & Astronomy, Monash University, Clayton VIC, 3080, Australia
3 Faculty of Fine Arts & Music, University of Melbourne, Southbank, VIC, 3006, Australia

Abstract: Light pollution is actively destroying our ability to see the stars. Many Indigenous traditions
and knowledge systems around the world are based on the stars, and the peoples’ ability to observe
and interpret stellar positions and properties is of critical importance for daily life and cultural
continuity. The erasure of the night sky acts to erase Indigenous connection to the stars, acting as a
form of ongoing cultural and ecological genocide. Efforts to reduce, minimise, or eliminate light
pollution are being achieved with varying degrees of success, but urban expansion, poor lighting
design, and the increased use of blue-light emitting LEDs as a cost-effective solution is worsening
problems related to human health, wildlife, and astronomical heritage for the benefit of capitalistic
economic growth. We provide a brief overview of the issue, illustrating some of the important
connections that the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people of Australia maintain with the stars,
as well as the impact growing light pollution has on this ancient knowledge. We propose a
transdisciplinary approach to solving these issues, using a foundation based on Indigenous
philosophies and decolonising methodologies.

https://arxiv.org/abs/2001.11527

https://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/2001/2001.11527.pdf

The post Whitening the Sky: light pollution as a form of cultural genocide appeared first on EMFSA.

Abstract

Understanding how artificial light at night (ALAN) impacts wildlife is increasingly important because more and more species are colonizing urban areas. As most of the bird studies on ALAN use controlled light set inside or around nest-boxes, the ecological effect of ALAN resulting from in situ streetlight on birds remains contentious. The barn swallow (Hirundo rustica) often builds open nests on buildings, which are directly exposed to varying intensity of ALAN, and thus provides a good system to examine the effect of in situ ALAN on birds. By examining the nest-site selection, reproductive success and behavior of barn swallows under various ALAN intensity in Taipei City, we found a positive effect of ALAN on their fledging success; nonetheless, such effect was only found in the swallows’ first brood, but not second one. We also found that parent birds in the nests with higher ALAN intensity had higher feeding rates and more extended feeding time past sunset, which were likely stimulated by the increased begging behavior of their chicks. The night-feeding behavior might contribute to the increased fledging success, especially at the early breeding season. Interestingly, despite of the reproductive benefits obtained from ALAN, we found that the barn swallows did not select nest sites regarding ALAN intensity. The weak nest-site selection perhaps result from the complex life history interactions involving ALAN and/or confounding factors associated with ALAN in cities. This study improves our understanding of how urban birds, especially open-nesting ones, respond to in situ ALAN and provides useful information for developing urban conservation strategies.

Extract, for the full study see https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0269749121013877

5. Conclusions

Our study suggests that barn swallows may gain reproductive benefits, at least in fledging success, from ALAN and can build nests at sites with various intensity of ALAN. Their high tolerance to ALAN may explain why they can thrive in urban areas. Barn swallows now almost solely nest on human buildings, which provide great protection to this bird from natural disturbances, such as severe weather or predators (Speich et al., 1986). However, the high vigilance and reduced sleeping time under strong light pollution or other human disturbances associated with ALAN in cities can still possibly cause long-term negative impacts on barn swallows. Therefore, artificial light in buildings (e.g., verandahs), where swallows build nests, may have stronger impacts than lampposts along streets; consequently, the former should be carefully deployed to reduce the impact of light pollution on barn swallows nesting in cities. Many other open-nesting birds also breed in or near cities and are directly exposed to high intensity of ALAN. However, most of them may not as highly adapt to human disturbances as barn swallows do and thus are likely to suffer more negative impacts from ALAN than what we found in barn swallows. As urbanization becomes an inevitable trend globally, understanding how ALAN influences the behavior and populations of open-nesting birds and also other urban wildlife species is of increasing importance in conservation (Lao et al., 2020; Rodríguez et al., 2021).

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0269749121013877

The post Effects of artificial light at night on the nest-site selection, reproductive success and behavior of a synanthropic bird appeared first on EMFSA.

Extract

1.1.3 Biological impacts of light pollution
Organisms have evolved under consistent light conditions with day and night, lunar cycles and seasonality (Seymoure, 2018). Natural light is used by wildlife as a resource and to gain information about their environment (Gaston, 2013). It is also involved in mechanisms essential for regulating metabolism, growth and behaviour, including synchronisation of internal circadian clocks (Kyba et al., 2011; Falcón et al., 2020).

It is increasingly recognised that hormonal synthesis and secretion are often under circadian and circannual control, meaning that perturbation of these internal clocks will lead to hormonal imbalances and other problems (Falcón et al., 2020). Circadian rhythms are endogenous biological rhythms with 24-hour periods and though they persist without environmental cues, these cues (including light) are used by organisms to entrain their circadian rhythms (Russart and Nelson, 2018b). Light is the most effective entraining agent or zeitgeber.

In their recent review, Falcón et al. (2020) describe how:“… most of the basic functions of living organisms are controlled by these internal, genetically determined, clocks. These clocks depend absolutely on the 24 h LD2 cycle to accurately synchronize their activity with solar time, and in turn they orchestrate a myriad of downstream biochemical, physiological and behavioural events so that the right process occurs at the right time. Thus, changing the natural LD cycle cannot be without consequences for biological organisms.”

PDF https://www.cms.int/sites/default/files/document/cms_scc-sc5_inf.7_impact-of-light-pollution-on-migratory-species_e.pdf

The post UN Environment Program – IMPACT OF LIGHT POLLUTION ON DIFFERENT TAXA OF MIGRATORY SPECIES appeared first on EMFSA.

30-06-2021

Telecommunication networks use radio-frequency electromagnetic fields to enable wireless communication. These networks have evolved over time, and have been launched in successive generations. The fifth generation of telecommunication networks will operate at frequencies that were not commonly used in previous generations, changing the exposure of wildlife to these waves. This report reviews the literature on the exposure of vertebrates, invertebrates and plants to radio-frequency electromagnetic fields in anticipation of this change. The review shows that dielectric heating can occur at all considered frequencies (0.4-300 GHz) and for all studied organisms. Summarising and discussing the results of a series of studies of radio-frequency electromagnetic field exposure of wildlife, the review shows that several studies into the effects of radio-frequency electromagnetic field exposure on invertebrates and plants in the frequency bands considered demonstrate experimental shortcomings. Furthermore, the literature on invertebrate and plant exposure to radio-frequency electromagnetic fields above 6 GHz is very limited. More research is needed in this field.

External author

This study has been written by Arno Thielens, Ghent University, Belgium, at the request of the Panel for the Future of Science and Technology (STOA) and managed by the Scientific Foresight Unit, within the Directorate-General for Parliamentary Research Services (EPRS) of the Secretariat of the European Parliament.

https://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/document.html?reference=EPRS_STU(2021)690021

https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2021/690021/EPRS_STU(2021)690021_EN.pdf

The post Environmental impacts of 5G appeared first on EMFSA.

Light pollution is defined as the inappropriate or excessive use of artificial light at night, and it is the fastest growing pollutant on the planet. Whilst astronomers lament the loss of stars, preventing over 80% of the world’s population from access to a natural sky, light pollution’s impacts are far more reaching. At the same time, it is also the easiest pollutant to address.

Light pollution negatively impacts on wildlife, which, much like humans, rely on the cycle of night and day to determine the timing of their biological activity. Studies have shown these impacts to include everything from wide-ranging effects on species physiology; seasonal disruptions; rate and timing of reproduction; alteration of daily activity patterns; and changes to species populations. These impacts are occurring under a range of lighting intensities, including very low lighting levels below 1 lux, and the consequences can be long-term and, in some cases, irreversible.

Light pollution by its very nature is also wasted energy, adding significant amounts of greenhouse gas emissions to our planet. There are also associated implications in the disruption of the human circadian system and our health. Without question, the outdoor lighting that once defined human progress has now become a serious human and environmental problem.

Light hasn’t historically been considered as a pollutant, but the weight of scientific evidence in recent years is now overwhelming. Indeed, there is sufficient demonstrated risk to both people and the environment that we must now adopt the ‘precautionary principle’, which places the burden of proof on those supplying, designing, installing and managing lighting to demonstrate that their products and lighting installations are not harmful. The importance of committing to environmentally sensitive design has never been more important.

To be clear, this is not just a story about street lighting. There are many other forms of public lighting that are contributing to the global light pollution problem. These include lighting from sports fields, advertising signage, media screens, facade lighting, public space lighting, not to mention the vast amounts of spill light that escapes from practically unoccupied commercial buildings on a nightly basis. It is little wonder that light pollution is increasing at a global rate of over 2% per annum.

Read more at: https://insite.ipwea.org/the-urgency-of-controlling-light-pollution/

The post The Urgency of Controlling Light Pollution by Landon Bannister appeared first on EMFSA.

Abstract

Artificial light at night (ALAN) is an increasing anthropogenic pollutant, closely associated with human population density, and now well recognized in both terrestrial and aquatic environments. However, we have a relatively poor understanding of the effects of ALAN in the marine realm. Here, we carried out a field experiment in the coral reef lagoon of Moorea, French Polynesia, to investigate the effects of long-term exposure (18–23 months) to chronic light pollution at night on the survival and growth of wild juvenile orange-fin anemonefish, Amphiprion chrysopterus. Long-term exposure to environmentally relevant underwater illuminance (mean: 4.3 lux), reduced survival (mean: 36%) and growth (mean: 44%) of juvenile anemonefish compared to that of juveniles exposed to natural moonlight underwater (mean: 0.03 lux). Our study carried out in an ecologically realistic situation in which the direct effects of artificial lighting on juvenile anemonefish are combined with the indirect consequences of artificial lighting on other species, such as their competitors, predators, and prey, revealed the negative impacts of ALAN on life-history traits. Not only are there immediate impacts of ALAN on mortality, but the decreased growth of surviving individuals may also have considerable fitness consequences later in life. Future studies examining the mechanisms behind these findings are vital to understand how organisms can cope and survive in nature under this globally increasing pollutant.

Extract

In conclusion, combining the growing number of studies showing the negative impacts of ALAN in marine ecosystems with the projections of global population increases, especially along coastlines and the close association with levels of light pollution and population density, ALAN is already a risk to our marine ecosystems and will only exacerbate in the future. Marine-protected areas (MPAs) are not excluded from ALAN and due to the current lack of legislation, 20% of MPAs are already exposed to ALAN and 14.7% are exposed to increasing levels of light pollution [79], therefore mitigation measures should be of paramount importance. Mitigation measures and policy changes are urgently needed including maintaining and creating dark areas, only lighting part of the night and improving lighting technology in terms of directing light where it is needed, reducing light intensities, and changing spectra [80]. There is also growing concern regarding the combined interactions of multiple anthropogenic stressors, such as light and sound pollution [29,30] and the worldwide impact of these cumulative stressors needs to be better understood to help future management strategies [81].

https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2021.0454

The post Long-term exposure to artificial light at night in the wild decreases survival and growth of a coral reef fish appeared first on EMFSA.