New York Climate Week brings together activists, politicians and business figures each year for hundreds of events to brainstorm ways to tackle the environmental crisis.
But the dazzling lights, which make the “city that never sleeps” what it is, have long been a source of frustration for activists, who note a contradiction with the spirit of energy sobriety embodied by this summit meeting . “I think there’s still a way to go before we see a brightly lit city for what it is, which is a blatant waste of energy and something that has a direct impact on nature,” Ruskin Hartley, director of the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA), which campaigns for the skies to remain dark at night, told AFP.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, outdoor lighting in the United States uses enough energy to power 35 million homes for a year. Estimates by city are difficult to obtain, but it is clear that New York is one of the worst performers in this area in the United States, a country which according to researchers wastes much more than Europe.
As New York Climate Week attendees discuss a range of environmental topics, from reducing the carbon footprint of food to the role of art in activism, light pollution is expected be addressed, argues Mr. Hartley. “I think people are looking for ways to make an impact quickly, given the scope of the crisis we’re facing. And one of the simplest things we can do is look around us and see where we can reduce waste,” he adds.
The IDA estimates that outdoor lighting that can be seen into space represents 1% of annual greenhouse gas emissions.
Birds and human health
It’s not just a question of wasting energy. New York is in fact located along a bird migration route used by millions of birds each year, explains to AFP Dustin Partridge, a manager of New York City Audubon, an association campaigning for the protection of birds. .
Artificial light attracts birds to the city. During the day, they crash into buildings because they see reflections of vegetation in the windows. At night, they fly directly into lit windows. “In New York, we have about 250,000 birds dying in collisions every year,” says Partridge. And Climate Week falls right in the middle of the fall migration.
But the seeds they spread are vital to the health of carbon-trapping ecosystems from Canada, where they begin their journey, to their various destinations in South America. “You can go out in the evening in New York and see that there is a simple solution to protect biodiversity and contribute to the fight against climate change,” argues Mr. Partridge.
Another victim of light pollution: stargazing. This is also the reason why the IDA was created. “Light that has traveled millions of light years is absorbed and hidden in the last nanosecond. What a loss for society,” laments Mr. Hartley.
Other research has highlighted potential impacts on human health such as an increase in cancer cases, which could be linked to circadian rhythm disruptions. And because light attracts insects, a 2020 paper found a link between artificial light and increased transmission of the mosquito-borne West Nile virus.
New York passed a law in 2021 requiring all city-owned buildings to turn off non-essential lights from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. during spring and fall migrations. But these represent only a small percentage of all buildings. And a more recent bill introduced in May, which would extend the same rules to private and industrial buildings, is still before the city assembly.
Critics point out that New York’s iconic nighttime “skyline” is essential to the city’s identity. To this, activists respond by citing European cities that have started turning off their lights when the majority of the population is asleep. Like Paris, the “City of Lights”.
2023-09-19 07:00:00
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