Open letters sent to the Prime Minister regarding artificial light pollution

The Polish Astronomical Society and the Light Pollution Think Tank have sent open letters to the Prime Minister in support of legal changes to counteract the growing pollution from artificial light. The increasing illumination of the sky at night has a negative impact on people's health and makes it difficult to observe the sky.

The Polish Astronomical Society (PTA), which brings together professional astronomers, has sent an open letter to Prime Minister Donald Tusk. The occasion is the International Dark Sky Week , which lasts from April 21 to 28, as well as recent activities in the Sejm. A few weeks earlier, the Sejm's Committee on Petitions sent a desideratum to the Prime Minister, indicating the need to introduce legal changes as part of counteracting the effects of excessive artificial light pollution.

Light pollution (light pollution) is called "light pollution" in English. It affects many countries in the world, especially Europe. This term refers to the uncontrolled and excessive emission of artificial light at night.

Artificial light pollution at night has a number of negative consequences. In particular, it affects human health, as it causes sleep problems in some people. It also has a disruptive effect on the functioning of plants and animals. What's more, it also affects the state of the environment around us, because in Poland most electricity comes from burning coal.

Another argument is financial. Poorly constructed street lamp fixtures cause them to shine in all directions (including sometimes upwards into the sky) instead of lighting a given street or square in a directionally appropriate manner. This causes losses in electricity, and therefore unnecessarily burdens the budgets of cities and municipalities. It is also not always necessary to have the lamps on at one hundred percent power all night long.

“We would like to emphasize that the goal is not to turn off all light sources, but to illuminate individual areas in an appropriately economical (directional) manner,” explains the PTA.

From the perspective of its field – astronomy – the Polish Astronomical Society points out that the increasing illumination of the sky with artificial light significantly complicates conducting space research from the surface of the Earth. Perhaps it is worth considering some kind of protective zones around the main astronomical observatories.

The Polish Astronomical Society included the above arguments in its letter to the Prime Minister. A separate open letter was also sent by the Light Pollution Think Tank (LPTT), which brings together organizations from various fields. LPTT also pointed out that excess electric light at night is currently considered a form of environmental pollution, also in Community legislation. It also emphasized the degradation of the natural and cultural night landscape and the loss of the starry sky as an element of cultural heritage.

The Polish Astronomical Society indicated that correspondence with the Ministry of Climate and Environment shows that the ministry understands the problem and the need to introduce comprehensive legal solutions. Attention was also drawn to the actions of the Commissioner for Human Rights in this matter.

In its announcement, the PTA also mentioned the statements of the presidential candidates, recently published on the Urania website, of which the PTA is the publisher, and concerning the issue of light pollution. For example, Szymon Hołownia (current Speaker of the Sejm) declares in this statement an appropriate legislative initiative.

Attempts to reduce the problem of light pollution are being made in various countries around the world. Examples from Europe include France and Croatia. At the European Union level, this problem has also been noticed and initial work has begun during the Spanish presidency in 2023. International organizations, such as DarkSky International, are also operating. Dark sky parks are being created in various places (including in Poland, e.g. the Izera Dark Sky Park). The International Astronomical Union (IAU) is also taking global action.

Scientific conferences on the issue of "light pollution" are regularly organized in Poland, and the Space Research Center of the Polish Academy of Sciences has published a study entitled "Light Pollution in Poland. Report 2023". (PAP)

Science in Poland

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