5/9/2018 9:51:00 AM
閃亮的夜晚，光污染（light pollution）問題
Satellite observations made by researchers during five consecutive Octobers show Earth’s artificially lit outdoor area grew by 2% a year from 2012 to 2016. So did nighttime brightness.
Light pollution was even worse than that, according to the German-led team, because the sensor used cannot detect some of the LED lighting that is becoming more widespread, specifically blue light.
由德國科學家帶領的這一研究團隊指出，光污染實際上比數據顯示的更糟，因為衛星無法探測到一些LED照明燈，尤其是藍光，發出的光線。如今人們對LED照明的應用日益普遍。
The biological impact from surging artificial light is also significant, according to the researchers.
研究人員表示，人工照明激增也給生物造成了重大影響。
People’s sleep can be marred, which in turn can affect their health. The migration and reproduction of birds, fish, amphibians, insects and bats can be disrupted. Plants can have abnormally extended growing periods. And forget about seeing stars or the Milky Way if the trend continues.
人們的睡眠質量會受到損害，從而影響到身體健康。鳥類、魚類、兩棲動物、昆蟲、蝙蝠的遷徙和繁衍也會被打亂。植物的生長期會異常地延長。如果光污染持續惡化，你再也別想看到星空或銀河了。
About the only places with dramatic declines in night light were in areas of conflict such as Syria and Yemen, the researchers found. Australia also reported a noticeable drop, but that was because wildfires were raging early in the study. Researchers were unable to filter out the bright burning light.
研究人員發現，夜間亮度下降的唯一地區是敘利亞和也門這樣的戰亂國家。根據觀測報告，澳大利亞也出現了夜間亮度的明顯下降，但那是因為研究早期澳大利亞發生了大火災，研究人員無法將野火的亮度過濾掉。
Asia, Africa and South America, for the most part, saw a surge in artificial night lighting.
More and more places are installing outdoor lighting, given its low cost and the overall growth in communities’ wealth, the scientists noted. Urban sprawl is also moving towns farther out. The outskirts of major cities in developing nations were brightening quite rapidly, Kyba said.
科學家指出，因為照明成本低，加上社會財富總體水平提高，越來越多的地區安裝了室外照明系統。城市擴張也讓村鎮不停向外延伸。凱巴說，發展中國家大城市郊區的夜間亮度正在迅速上升。
Other especially bright hot spots included sprawling greenhouses in the Netherlands and areas of intensive agriculture.
其他特別亮的區域包括荷蘭四處蔓延的溫室和開展集約化農業生產的土地。
“Many people are using light at night without really thinking about the cost,” Holker said. Not just the economic cost, “but also the cost that you have to pay from an ecological, environmental perspective”.
霍爾克說：“很多人在晚上隨便開燈，從未認真考慮過代價。”不只是經濟代價，“還有生態、環境所必須付出的代價”。
Kyba and his colleagues recommend avoiding glaring lamps whenever possible – choosing amber over so-called white LEDs – and using more efficient ways to illuminate places such as parking lots or city streets.
凱巴和他的同事建議盡量避免耀眼的臺燈，選擇琥珀燈而不是所謂的LED白光燈，用更高效的方式來給停車場或城市街道等地方照明。
For example, dim, closely spaced lights tend to provide better visibility than bright lights that are more spread out.
比如，昏暗而集中的光線比明亮而分散的光線能提供更好的可見度
研究人員連續五年在十月份觀測到的衛星數據顯示，2012年到2016年間，地球上有人工照明的室外面積每年增加2%，夜間亮度也隨之增加。
Light pollution was even worse than that, according to the German-led team, because the sensor used cannot detect some of the LED lighting that is becoming more widespread, specifically blue light.
由德國科學家帶領的這一研究團隊指出，光污染實際上比數據顯示的更糟，因為衛星無法探測到一些LED照明燈，尤其是藍光，發出的光線。如今人們對LED照明的應用日益普遍。
The biological impact from surging artificial light is also significant, according to the researchers.
研究人員表示，人工照明激增也給生物造成了重大影響。
People’s sleep can be marred, which in turn can affect their health. The migration and reproduction of birds, fish, amphibians, insects and bats can be disrupted. Plants can have abnormally extended growing periods. And forget about seeing stars or the Milky Way if the trend continues.
人們的睡眠質量會受到損害，從而影響到身體健康。鳥類、魚類、兩棲動物、昆蟲、蝙蝠的遷徙和繁衍也會被打亂。植物的生長期會異常地延長。如果光污染持續惡化，你再也別想看到星空或銀河了。
About the only places with dramatic declines in night light were in areas of conflict such as Syria and Yemen, the researchers found. Australia also reported a noticeable drop, but that was because wildfires were raging early in the study. Researchers were unable to filter out the bright burning light.
研究人員發現，夜間亮度下降的唯一地區是敘利亞和也門這樣的戰亂國家。根據觀測報告，澳大利亞也出現了夜間亮度的明顯下降，但那是因為研究早期澳大利亞發生了大火災，研究人員無法將野火的亮度過濾掉。
Asia, Africa and South America, for the most part, saw a surge in artificial night lighting.
在亞洲、非洲和南美洲的大部分地區，夜間人工照明水平都在迅速上升。
More and more places are installing outdoor lighting, given its low cost and the overall growth in communities’ wealth, the scientists noted. Urban sprawl is also moving towns farther out. The outskirts of major cities in developing nations were brightening quite rapidly, Kyba said.
科學家指出，因為照明成本低，加上社會財富總體水平提高，越來越多的地區安裝了室外照明系統。城市擴張也讓村鎮不停向外延伸。凱巴說，發展中國家大城市郊區的夜間亮度正在迅速上升。
Other especially bright hot spots included sprawling greenhouses in the Netherlands and areas of intensive agriculture.
其他特別亮的區域包括荷蘭四處蔓延的溫室和開展集約化農業生產的土地。
“Many people are using light at night without really thinking about the cost,” Holker said. Not just the economic cost, “but also the cost that you have to pay from an ecological, environmental perspective”.
霍爾克說：“很多人在晚上隨便開燈，從未認真考慮過代價。”不只是經濟代價，“還有生態、環境所必須付出的代價”。
Kyba and his colleagues recommend avoiding glaring lamps whenever possible – choosing amber over so-called white LEDs – and using more efficient ways to illuminate places such as parking lots or city streets.
凱巴和他的同事建議盡量避免耀眼的臺燈，選擇琥珀燈而不是所謂的LED白光燈，用更高效的方式來給停車場或城市街道等地方照明。
For example, dim, closely spaced lights tend to provide better visibility than bright lights that are more spread out.
比如，昏暗而集中的光線比明亮而分散的光線能提供更好的可見度