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As a Swedish conservationist, Johan Eklöf urges us to think of light pollution as more than a nuisance that obscures our starry skies. . . . well-researched . . . the book is a reflective reminder that our control of the world is as delicate as the smallest of species affected by it.” — Scientific American We have always feared darkness. It is a primal anxiety, founded on apprehensions of lurking predators. No wonder that as soon as technology permitted, we pushed the night away with light. The appearance of electric lighting during the late nineteenth century, in particular, unleashed unrestrained nocturnal brilliance. Our night-time radiances around the globe are now visible from space. Normally they [bird’s foot trefoil] attract large numbers of aphids, but a late flowering or the absence of flowering can decimate entire populations of aphids, which in turn affects green lacewings, damselflies, ladybirds, hoverflies…the domino effect begins, and the ecosystem is disrupted.’ Für die Menschen mag das nur unangenehm oder in manchen Fällen ungesund sein, für Tiere und Pflanzen ist es aber gefährlich. Viele Säugetiere kommen erst im Frühling zur Welt, wenn es warm genug sein wird, dass die Jungen überleben. Durch künstliches Licht verkürzte Nächte gaukeln den Tieren vor, dass der Frühling nah ist. Ein tödlicher Irrtum. Die Auswirkungen der zu kurzen und zu hellen Nächte sind bis in den Ozean zu spüren. Deshalb hat das Verschwinden der Dunkelheit nicht nur auf nachtaktive Tiere und Pflanzen dramatische Auswirkungen, sondern auf das gesamte Ökosystem.
As a Swedish conservationist, Johan Eklöf urges us to think of light pollution as more than a nuisance that obscures our starry skies. . . . well-researched . . . the book is a reflective reminder that our control of the world is as delicate as the smallest of species affected by it.” — Scientific American
Table of Contents
This is an excellent book, full of interesting evidence, arguments, and food for thought. The writer has an engaging style, although he does tend to jump about from one subject to another. It may be Kindle run-on formatting to a certain extent. Eklöf covers a huge amount of material, all of it of interest to me, from bats his specialism) to LEDs. He covers evolution of sight: I’ve not considered how we got from primordial soup to animals with eyes and other sensory organs developed. There is plenty of delving into geological evidence, often in Sweden, in different types of geology from that I’m used to. This timely and captivating look at the hidden impact of light pollution is “rich in revelation and insight…lyrical” (The Wall Street Journal) and urges us to cherish natural darkness for the sake of the environment, our own well-being, and all life on earth. Eye-opening and ultimately encouraging, The Darkness Manifesto offers simple steps that can benefit ourselves and the planet. An] eye-opening treatise on light pollution. . . . Urgent and vivid, this account shines." — Publishers Weekly Eklöf introduces the term "light pollution" early on here, noting that it was only used by astronomers until just recently:
The Darkness Manifesto’ is a thorough examination of the dangerous impact that light pollution is having on eco-systems and biodiversity around the world and is a call to arms, or ‘a stirring manifesto for natural darkness.’ Eklöf defines light pollution as ‘a collective term used for light that can be regarded as superfluous but still has a great impact on our lives and ecosystems.’ And argues that humans have blurred the boundary between night and day with their spreading glow of artificial light to such an extent that nature is being confounded and disorientated. It is altogether natural, and exactly like many other fears and reactions, it has a survival value. Our sense of sight adapts so that we see decently in the dark, but slowly. It takes at least half an hour for the right pigment to build up in our eyes when the daylight’s bombardment of photons has begun to decrease, and a little while more before we reach our maximum light sensitivity, before we can orient ourselves in the dark. And the heightened sensitivity to darkness can be undone in an instant.A scintillating read by a conservationist of true literary flair, who has spent long hours tuning his attention to twilight and nocturnal life.” — Rebecca Giggs, award-winning author of Fathoms Eklöf argues that darkness should not be regarded simply as an absence of light, but that ‘it is my absolute view that darkness has an independent worth.’ That there is a balanced interplay between these two states, ‘Because without light, no darkness, and without darkness, no light.’
In this “well-researched and surprisingly lyrical” ( The New Statesman, UK) book, Swedish conservationist Johan Eklöf urges us to appreciate natural darkness, its creatures, and its unique benefits. He ponders the beauties of the night sky, traces the errant paths of light-drunk moths and the swift dives of keen-eyed owls, and shows us the bioluminescent creatures of the deepest oceans. As a devoted friend of the night, Eklöf reveals the startling domino effect of diminishing darkness: insects, dumbfounded by streetlamps, failing to reproduce; birds blinded and bewildered by artificial lights; and bats starving as they wait in vain for insects that only come out in the dark. For humans, light-induced sleep disturbances impact our hormones and weight, and can contribute to mental health problems like chronic stress and depression. The streetlamps, floodlights, and neon signs of cities are altering entire ecosystems, and scientists are only just beginning to understand their long-term effects. The light bulb—long the symbol of progress and development—needs to be turned off. With this book, I examine the impact that darkness and the night have on all living creatures. In a number of concise chapters, I’ll share my experiences and thoughts stemming from my twenty years in the service of the night, as a bat researcher, traveler, and friend of the darkness. I hope that this book will inspire others, function as a reminder of the importance of letting the night be a part of our lives, and give insight into how much damage artificial light can do—be a challenge and a manifesto for the natural darkness."Author Johan Eklöf, PhD, is a Swedish bat scientist and writer, most known for his work on microbat vision and more recently, light pollution. He lives in the west of Sweden, where he works as a conservationist and copywriter. Eklöf has studied bats for almost twenty years and now has his own consultancy company, hired by authorities, wind companies, municipalities, city planners, and environmental organizations as an expert on bats, night ecology, and nature friendly lighting Why do we try to abolish the dark? No doubt there are often powerful economic interests at work, wanting to squeeze more productive hours out of the day. And some of the explanation lies in our modern addictions. Screens, which have attained almost total mastery of most of us, annihilate the dark. More than 80 per cent of those between fifteen and twenty-nine take their phones to bed. Many bedrooms are dominated by a television. No doubt, too, atavism is at work. At some level we fear that if the lights go off we’ll be at the mercy of the sabre-toothed tigers which prowled through the infancy of our species and now prowl through our unconscious. But I suspect there’s something deeper and less curable going on even than the dread of being eaten. I think we fear what the uninterrupted dark will show us of ourselves. And, even worse, we have abolished the dark because we can. Well-researched and surprisingly lyrical. . . . a powerful contribution to our understanding of the harm we’re causing, and a clarion call for change: unlike many of the complex issues facing the planet, protecting the darkness is truly within our grasp.” — New Statesman (UK) When it comes to discourse about population growth and the environment, we should also be wary of what we’re saying about women’s bodies and control thereof. Poor women, women of color, and women from the global south especially suffer at the hands of population control rhetorics. Such discourse can also negatively affect people with physical or mental illnesses. To me, at least, our urge to secure the environment derives from an urge to protect one another. If we’re not doing that, what are we fighting for?
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