Skip to Content
Climate change and energy

Artificial Lighting Is Hurting Ecosystems, and Tech Tweaks Can Fix It

January 17, 2018

We’re starting to understand the true effects of light pollution on the natural world—and as we do, we’ll be able to tune lights to counter the effects.

Blinded by the light: The world is incredibly illuminated. More than 10 percent of Earth’s land can be bathed in artificial light at night. That more than doubles if you include “skyglow,” where the atmosphere backscatters light.

Upsetting natural rhythms: A Nature article explains that many new studies confirm light is changing the natural world. It upsets the health of wild animals, changes the dynamics of ecosystems in grassland, and skews pollination so plants produce less fruit, among other things.

The tech fix: Many such effects are brought about by specific wavelengths of light that impact plants and animals. As more results pour in, we should be able to tune increasingly popular LED lighting so it doesn’t emit the frequencies that affect particular ecosystems.

Deep Dive

Climate change and energy

Harvard has halted its long-planned atmospheric geoengineering experiment

The decision follows years of controversy and the departure of one of the program’s key researchers.

Why hydrogen is losing the race to power cleaner cars

Batteries are dominating zero-emissions vehicles, and the fuel has better uses elsewhere.

How virtual power plants are shaping tomorrow’s energy system

By orchestrating EVs, batteries, and smart home devices, VPPs can help make the grid cleaner and more efficient.

Trump wants to unravel Biden’s landmark climate law. Here is what’s most at risk.

The Inflation Reduction Act’s support for EVs and clean power could land on the chopping block if the Republican front-runner returns to the White House.

Stay connected

Illustration by Rose Wong

Get the latest updates from
MIT Technology Review

Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.

Thank you for submitting your email!

Explore more newsletters

It looks like something went wrong.

We’re having trouble saving your preferences. Try refreshing this page and updating them one more time. If you continue to get this message, reach out to us at customer-service@technologyreview.com with a list of newsletters you’d like to receive.