Abstract
Human beings’ poor night vision and primitive fear of the dark are reflected in an imperative need to use artificial light to illuminate their environment. Outdoor illumination undoubtedly contributes to the enhancement of practical opportunities for social and economic developments. Considered as a necessity, a means of security, and an attraction or valorization, city lighting growth has been literally exponential in the last half century. Beyond the financial and energy resources that it absorbs, the artificial lighting of urban spaces overflows its objective by polluting our nights to the point that, in our modern megacities, the stars disappear. Apart from the fact that stars are no longer visible, the scientific community is increasingly interested in the direct and indirect impacts of artificial lighting on biodiversity. In parallel, some studies have shown recently that stray light may have direct or indirect effects on human health and mood. The scope of this Special Issue, dedicated to the memory of Prof. Abraham Haim and Dr. Thomas Posch, is to put together a series of high-level papers treating light pollution in a holistic manner that goes from technological advances to policies, passing through impacts on biotopes and human health. Beyond its evident scientific interest, this Special Issue is also contributing to awareness raising, aimed at decision- and policy-makers.
Highlights
The human being is not a night animal, even if the night sky has fascinated our species since the dawn of our existence
Our poor night vision and our primitive fear of the dark are reflected in an imperative need to use artificial light to illuminate our environment
Beyond the financial and energy resources that it absorbs, the artificial lighting of urban spaces overflows its objective by polluting our nights to the point that, in our modern megacities, the stars disappear from the night sky when, just 100 years ago, the milky way could be observed from almost everywhere
Summary
The human being is not a night animal, even if the night sky has fascinated our species since the dawn of our existence. Our poor night vision and our primitive fear of the dark are reflected in an imperative need to use artificial light to illuminate our environment. The power to artificially override the natural cycle of light and dark is recent, but decisive, event for human society.
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