When I go to Colter Bay, Cole flips the lights back from red to white, and I shiver. The added light seems uncomfortable and harsh. The stars appear fainter. Sensory pollution is a result caused by disconnection. It disconnects us from the cosmic sphere. It blocks out the signals that connect animals to their surroundings as well as to each other.
As we make the planet more brighter and louder we’ve ruined sensory environments for many animals in ways that are not as aggravating as clear-cut rainforests and coral reefs bleached however, they are no less devastating. Bird Flying This must change. It is possible to save the peace and protect the darkness.
Every year on the 11th of September the sky
over New York City is pierced by two columns of intense blue light. This art installation that takes place every year is known as Tribute to Light pays tribute to the 2001 attacks on the world that killed thousands of people in which the beams that ascend are serving as the destroyed Twin Towers.
Each one is created by 44 xenon lamps with 7000-watt intensity. The light they emit can be seen from up to 60 miles away. When you look closer, viewers are often able to see small flecks floating in the beams, like soft snowflakes. These flecks are actually birds. They are thousands.
The annual ritual occurs during the autumn migration
season in which billions of tiny songbirds make long journeys across North American skies. Under the cover of darkness, these birds travel in huge quantities that they appear on the radar. Analyzing radar images of meteorological conditions, Benjamin Van Doren discovered The Tribute of Light during the course of seven consecutive nights tracking around 1.1 million bird species.
The beams are so powerful they can be seen from altitudes that exceed several miles, birds passing by are attracted by the beams. Warblers and other species of small size gather in the light at around 150 times their usual density. They circle in a slow, sluggish manner like they’re locked in an insular cage. They call frequently and loudly. They sometimes strike buildings in the vicinity.
The grueling nature of migrations can make small birds
reach their limits in terms of physical fitness. Even a long, night-long journey could reduce their energy reserves to a point of death. Therefore, whenever more than 1,000 birds are captured in the Tribute to Light The lights are switched off for the duration of 20 minutes in order to let the birds return to their normal course. However, that’s only one of the sources of light of many, and despite being bright and vertical, it’s only once per year. In other seasons the light reflects off from tourist spots oil rigs, and office structures. This slams back the darkness and attract birds to migrate to the area.
In 1886, just a few years following the time that Thomas Edison commercialized the electric light bulb, more than 1,000 birds perished after colliding with towers illuminated by the light within Decatur, Illinois. Over a century later, a scientist studying the environment Travis Longcore and his colleagues estimated that more than 7 million birds die every year across
The United States and Canada
after landing on communication towers. The towers’ lights are intended to alert aircraft pilots but they also disturb the direction of night-time birds, and they fly into wires or one another. Tropical Birds A lot of fatalities could be prevented by replacing the steady light with flashing lights.
We often forget that we do not see the world the same as other species which is why we tend to ignore things that aren’t ours,” Longcore tells me in his Los Angeles office. Eyes are some of the sharpest among animals, however, their superior resolution comes at the price of low sensitivity. Contrary to the majority of animals, our eyes fail at night, which is why we require more nocturnal light but not less.