Wednesday, September 27, 2017

Haley Reading Group: The Health Effects of a World Without Darkness


[The Best American Science and Nature Writing (2015)]

In her article “The Health Effects of a World Without Darkness,” Rebecca Boyle discusses the sometimes troubling consequences of living in a world where light and lighting matters so much. Boyle explains how apparently advanced countries like the United States depend on lights opposed to how some developing nations depend on darkness. The article raises a range of issues concerning the implications of light in our society and the world.

Boyle discusses the relationship between light and health problems. At one point, the author suggests that "depression, obesity, and cancer" could all be linked to light (52).

When you read Boyle’s article, what was something related to the dangers of artificial light that compelled you? Why did that idea interest you? Please provide a page number citation.

69 comments:

Kobi Phillips said...

While reading The Health Effects of A world Without Darkness by Rebecca Doyle I have learned quite a bit about the dangers of artificial light exposure. One quote that immediately compelled me regarding artificial light was her quote that "Using a phone after lights -out about once a week increased the risk of being 'very tired' by five times."(page 51) This really compelled me only because I am on my cellphone without a doubt almost every single night, that might explain why I always feel so tired!

Christine Sheriff said...

In Rebecca Doyle's piece, "The Health Effects of A World Without Darkness," Boyle focuses on concerns human created light creates. She speaks of how light pollution keeps us from seeing the stars our ancestors relied on in the past. I agree with this because one of my friends lives in cabin in Worden, which is a very small town and the homes are very spread out along the country road. It is there that I can see the constellations that Edwardsville lacks do to all the light posts we have here in town. However I liked how she offered problems to this growing problem at the end of the piece such as using red shifted lights.

Anonymous said...

The Health Effects of A World Without Darkness highlights many negative aspects of light pollution. The topic that impacted me the most is how light affects health. Knowing that "a growing body of evidence shows that light pollution exacerbates, and might directly cause,cancer,obesity,and depression" makes me worry for the future of humanity(pg 48). Kids being born now are exposed more to artificial light than previous generations. If more evidence supports the quoted claim, a bleak future awaits the present generations and those yet to come. -Desmond C

Alliyah M. said...

In Rebecca Doyle's article "The Effects of a World Without Darkness", Doyle stated "In 2010 Stevens published a review of breast cancer sensitivity in 164 countries and found a 30 to 50 percent increased risk of cancer in nations with the worst light pollution, but no increased prevalence of non-hormonally dependent cancers in the same populations" (52).

I found this shocking because I never thought that something so commonly used like artificial light can have this detrimental impact on our health. I have always considered lights harmless until reading this article. This impacted my perspective on how harmful sleep deprivation is and the importance of tracking how much blue light I am seeing before going to sleep.

Anonymous said...

Reading The Health Effects of A World Without Darkness by Rebecca Doyle opened my eyes to how much my life is affected by artificial light exposure. When Rebecca wrote, "Using a phone after lights-out about once a week increased the risk of being "very tired" by five times," I was completely dumbfounded.
Every night, I am on my phone for at least an hour until I fall asleep. I'm always exhausted the next day, thinking it was from lack of sleep. But, sometimes, even when I do get a full 8 hour sleep cycle in, I wake up tired and confused as to why I am tired after getting so much sleep in.
-Shaina F.

Quinn Cadwell said...

During my reading of The Health Effects of A world without Darkness by Rebecca Doyle the issue that stood out the most to me was how light pollution led endangered sea turtles to their deaths. "Newly hatched on the Atlantic coast , they are confused by beaches bathed in light and followed a false moon, turning away from the safety of the sea."(Page 47) This is concerning because the sea turtle plays a crucial role in it's ecosystem. A loss of this species would deal a huge blow to the local coral reefs they reside in.

Qcadwell said...

.In The Health Effects of A World Without darkness by Rebecca Doyle a quote that particularly appealed to me was a segment about how light pollution impacts the critically endangered sea turtle. In page 47 it says " Newly hatched on the Atlantic coast, they are confused by beaches bathed in light and follow a false moon, turning away from the safety of the sea." This is impactful because it puts the turtles at risk for extinction. These animals play a huge part in how the ecosystems they reside in interact with each other. Without them the local coral reefs are negatively impacted

Ivyanne B. said...

In The Health Effects of a World Without Darkness by Rebecca Doyle she talked about how light pollution effects everyone. One thing that really stuck out to me is when she talked about how being on our phones causes a decrease in melatonin. It states, " Polytechnic institute showed that two hours of exposure to a bright light tablet screen at night reduced melatonin by 22 percent" (pg. 51). I think that this is impactful to know because it can help all of us live a better life. If everyone knew the effects of using our phones after the sun goes down we all could increase our melatonin and live a healthier life. It will impact me because I now know why i'm tired all the time and I can fix It.
-Ivyanne B.

Daeja Daniels said...

Daeja Daniels

In the Health Effects a World Without darkness by Rebecca Doyle she mentions a variety of effects that light pollution can have on a person. One of the things I found interesting and compelling was when she said , " A growing body of evidence shows that light pollution exacerbates, and might directly cause cancer, obesity, and depression, the troublesome triumvirate of industrialized society."(pg.48)This interest me because I never once would have thought to make that connection,she also states that 99 percent of America live under " yellow sky polluted light." America has one of the highest obesity rates around the world. Knowing this now makes me wonder about the connection.

Jasmyn Kloster said...

In Rebecca Doyle's "The Health Effects of a World Without Darkness", I found it extremely interesting all the effects man-made lights had on animals. Not only does it disrupt the pathway new born sea turtles have to take to get to the sea (47), it also takes a toll on many different bird species, and bats. On page 47, Doyle goes into great detail about bats. Bats use echolocation rather than their sight to track their prey, but all the extra artificial light we humans are producing does not lend a helping hand. Because of the light, it changes the bats eating habits. As physiological effects, "bats hailed from illuminated buildings were smaller- their wings were shorter and they weighed less-than those born into the dark." I was not aware artificial light had such a great impact on bats, so this paragraph was highly informational, as well as the rest of the reading.

Unknown said...

In Rebecca Doyle's, "The Health Effects of a World Without Darkness", I found it extremely interesting when she discussed how light pollution could lead to cancer, depression, or even obesity. In addition, I also found it interesting how using a tablet for two hours at night can reduce melatonin by more than twenty percent. I believe this story was packed with useful information that will help humans live better, healthier lives.

Adejoke Adanri said...

While Reading Rebecca Doyle's "The Health Effects of a World Without Darkness" I was shocked by how little I knew about the effect artificial light has on nature. I never took to consideration the problem that lights shining upwards or lighthouses would have on birds, especially during migration season"( 47). I also never even considered the way artificial lights would disturb the sleeping patterns of nocturnal animals (46). I think its interesting that this is such an issue that cities like Chicago and Toronto had to establish a lights out period during migration (47), but its one I had never even heard of or thought to consider until now.

Tomika Collins said...

"The Health Effects of a World Without Darkness"by Rebecca Doyle was truly an eye opener for me. Doyle makes the argument that our brains and bodies cannot cope in a world without darkness. She discusses several studies about the effects of near-constant light in modern society on animals' migratory patterns, human sleep patterns and possibly humans' depression, cancer, and weight gain. Some of the ways animals are affected by light pollution include migrating birds, trying to navigate by the moon and stars, fly into brightly shining buildings and lighthouses and end up stunned or injured. Sea turtles also follow the moon and are confused by bright light shining from highways and launch pads onto beaches. Fruit bats choose different foraging routes in order to avoid even small amounts of light. Pelagic ocean animals, living between the surface and the sea floor, are lured to the surface by bright boats and other lights, and this interferes with their navigation, hunting and mating habits. All of this so much to grasp and also a lot to take in. Who knew? I for one love artificial light and always assumed necessary in everyday life for both humans and animals. Boy was I wrong.

Brianna Pickens said...

In Rebecca Doyle's article "The Effects of a World Without Darkness", Doyle stated "In 2010 Stevens published a review of breast cancer sensitivity in 164 countries and found a 30 to 50 percent increased risk of cancer in nations with the worst light pollution, but no increased prevalence of non-hormonally dependent cancers in the same populations”(52). I took this to heart. A family friend of mine recently passed due to breast cancer, and ever since then I have been more involved in the fight than ever before. I have done s lot of research on possible causes for breast cancer, or any type of cancer in general, and I have never come across an article that has stated that light could be a potential cause.
I had no clue that light could have such an influence on our lives. Now that I think about it, I have never gotten a chance to stare at a clean and clear night sky. I have only heard about it in stories from relatives who have traveled the world. I am truly going to be more cautious with the light in my life.

Unknown said...

From the passage in Rebecca's Doyle's " The Health Effects of a World Without Darkness, "I learned about light pollution and the animals it puts in danger. On page 46 she states that,"a typical shopping mall gushes 10 to 20 lux at night. That is 200,000 times brighter than the illuminance of a moonless night." This makes me think about how us humans treat the earth so badly and how even a harmless thing like light can affect nature. It affects how birds migrate, how sea turtles find their way and how bats hunt in the dark. Light affects all of these organisms and how they survive.

Raillane Kamdem said...

While reading Rebecca Boyle's, "The Health Effects of a World Without Darkness", The health effect that compelled me the most was the light from our smart phones and devices contributing to insomnia. I was not aware that these two things were in any way correlated and it really drives close to home for me. Looking at my phone in the darkness before going to bed is a habit of mine, and something I haven't been able to shake. Boyle states that "In 2007 Belgian researchers surveyed 1,656 teenagers about their use of mobile phones after lights out and found that those who used a phone less than once per week were more than twice as likely to be 'very tired' a year later than those who never did."(51). This idea didn't so much interest me as it scared me. It made me really think about the habits I have before going to bed and the best possible ways I can get the sleep I need. This page was not only informational to me, it lead my life to a more positive direction.
-Raillane Kamdem

Unknown said...

In Rebecca Boyle's article it is mentioned that "We are all descended from astronomers"(44). This idea was interesting to me as well as the author. Boyle explains that artificial light has ruined human kind's intimacy with the night sky. It was a bond as old as humanity itself until Edison invented the light bulb and artificial light began to take over the sky. I have always noticed how much technology has began to interfere with human interaction and intimacy. However, it was almost disheartening to think about how something as commonly and widely used as artificial light can not only have harmful effects on our bodies but ruin our relationship with our surroundings. The night sky used to inspire culture and stories, as the text says, "Ancient civilizations from the Greeks to the Pawnees looked to the stars and saw not only creation tales but active participants in their lives."(44). Its ironic how something that humans created takes away an ascpect of our lives that created our own religion, culture and way of life.
Lena Searcy

Tyla Lucas said...

What I found compelling while reading Rebecca Doyle's "The Health Effects of a World Without Darkness" is that light pollution has caused us to disconnect from our history. Technology has advanced at an amazing rate and we are able to do things that were once only dreams. As we move towards the future we also "...look at our glowing rectangles, and we opt out of the shared heritage" (page 45). The sky is how different cultures all over the world explained how we came to be and how they despite their differences connect. We in the modern era all descend from these cultures that celebrated the stars and now we ignore and neglect them. We obscure them from our view with light pollution and our phones. I found what Doyle had to say as beautiful and has made me appreciate the stars in a way I have never thought about.

Diana L said...

While reading Rebecca Doyle's "The Health Effects of a World Without Darkness," a lot of it was information I have already known. However, I was dumbfounded when she stated "Using a phone after lights -out about once a week increased the risk of being 'very tired' by five times"(page 51). There are so many people, myself included, that are on their phones every single night before going to sleep and complain in the morning about how tired they are; it all makes sense now.

Gabriel Bressendorff said...

Going into this, I thought I would be reading an article about health effects. However, in the beginning of the story, I was surprised to see it was more about the concept of light pollution. Not that it was actually a physically harming concept. When data began to surface, and facts as to the health effects of light pollution were shown, it gave me another surprise. Not only is light pollution a problem, but it does affect us.

Kelsey McNeil said...

Something that caught my eye while reading "The Health Effects of a World Without Darkness" by Rebecca Boyle, was the part when she was a very in depth description of how obvious the light pollution is in the world. She does by saying "Nowhere is light pollution more apparent, almost achingly so, than in the satellite images of Earth from space" (45). This stood out to me because we use so much light and energy and don't event take time to notice or appreciate the natural light that we do have in the world and we don't even get to see the beauty that is the stars in the sky because of all of our artificial lighting. It was really interesting to read so much about how light effects every living thing differently and how it is put to use.

Breonna Roberts said...

Rebecca Boyle did a fantastic job at trying to spread awareness of artificial lighting in her passage, The Health Effects of a World Without Darkness. As an animal lover I found the facts she shared about animals to be very shocking. I was completely unaware of all the harmful effects artificial light had on animal species. I did already know some facts about birds going blind due to overly bright lights. I have actually read some horror stories about birds getting blinded by bright lights and flying into walls or other items they could have avoided if they were able to see properly.
I was unaware of, however, the effects artificial lighting has on bats and turtles. I did not know they turtles follow the moonlight to find the ocean waves and because of bright lights on land, they can mistake that for moonlight and end up lost or even used as prey. It makes me sad for the turtles because it is just their natural instincts to follow light because that is how they have survived for years. I also did not know it was even possible for lighting to effect echolocation. I knew bat use echolocation to 'see' since they are mostly blind. Bugs are usually strongly influenced by lights and after some research to better understand the topic, the light can also emit LED that can change rapidly confusing the bats echolocation.
I was completely unaware of how strongly lightening effects human and animal everyday life. I am very happy I was able to read this and educate myself on something that I did not even know was a problem.

Kalonji said...

In Doyle's "The Health Effects of a World Without Darkness" she says, "From where I live in the Midwest, the stars might as well note even exist"(pg.44). This quote was somewhat eye opening to me and it reminded me of a couple things. One being is that technology makes our day to day lives easier, but despite this it still comes with consequence. I don't even mean this from a perspective of general health. The luxuries that we provide ourselves with rob us of the some of the simplest things in life. You rarely see people say "hi" to each other anymore as they walk by because they are to entrenched in their phones. In Doyle's case, light pollution has robbed her of the natural beauty that the stars provide to the world.

James Beverly III said...

In Doyle’s “The Health Effects of a World Without Darkness,” she focuses on the various effects (most negative) on light. She shows how light pollution affects us from seeing the stars in the sky. On a clear night, I can see some stars in Edwardsville. But I cannot see all of them. When I was in New Mexico, I remember seeing a full sky of stars - it was breathtaking. Doyle also talks about how being on our phones (or exposed to light) can decrease our melatonin, therefore effecting our sleep cycles. I’m always on my phone at night and Inconstantly wake up in a state of confusion.
- James Beverly III

Unknown said...

While reading "The Health Effects of a World Without Darkness", I have learned much about how light pollution or artificial light effects us. I have also learned that it not only effects us, but many animals on the planet. Rebecca Boyle states, "For migratory birds that fly at night, artificial light is a deadly siren." (page 47) Then she goes on to talk about how the birds migration routes are thrown off due to our city lights, add sea turtles also. This idea interested me because it is it shows how our lights not only effect us but also the animals in our surrounding environments.

Marley McCoy said...

After reading "The Health Effects of a World Without Darkness", I feel like I have a much better understanding of the effects of artificial. I found it particularly interesting when Doyle mentioned the effect of cell phones and other electronics on sleep. Doyle mentions research that showed that teens who use their phones after lights out are more likely to be "very tired" during the day.(p.51)I thought this was very interesting and it may explain why lots of students are very tired during the day. - Marley McCoy

Marley McCoy said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Kameryn Sabino said...

This article has brought the attention of the dangers of artificial light. On page 47, it says how bats who were raised in illuminated buildings had shorter wings and weighed less than bats born to darkness.

It is kind of scary seeing how artificial light can affect the growth of bats. On page 50 the two grad students wanted to test why the person was stressed and had insomnia. They tested the effects of light on rodents, and the result was depressed rats. I sleep with the T.V on and my phone right near my face so that makes it a little scary to know that I could get health problems all because I forget to turn off my devices.

Jonathan Sanchez said...

In Rebecca Boyle's essay, "The Health effects of a World Without Darkness", She mentioned many issues involving natural light being a guide for the ecosystem around. on page 47, Boyle writes," Sea turtles also need a dark sky atlas to find their way. Newly hatched on the Atlantic coast, they are confused by beaches bathed in light and follow a false moon, turning away from the safety of the sea." This quote is astonishing to me because I personally happen to like sea turtles and to imagine a species already endangered being put into danger simply because of light is mind blowing. Maybe lights do pose more of an issue than anyone really knew about.

Jada James said...

Before reading "The Health Effect of a World Without Darkness," I was unaware of many of the very real issues caused by light pollution. The most shocking health effect, to me, was insomnia being caused by artificial light. "There is a great difference between natural night waking and electronic-induced insomnia" (51). I was originally unaware of the difference. I think it's important that Doyle is drawing attention to the effects of light pollution that can harm us in our everyday lives without us even knowing.

Kailey Main said...

While reading Rebecca Boyle's, "The Health effects of a World Without Darkness" the part that compelled me was when she was talking about the artificial light disrupting Diurnal creatures. Boyle says, "On land, artificial lighting causes a cascade of negative physiological changes in diurnal creatures, many brought about by delayed release of the hormone Melatonin"(Boyle pg.48). This part stuck out to me because I have problems with sleep insomnia and take Melatonin to help with it. It is strange to think that light is in correalation with the release of Melatonin. I wonder if I were to not be around as many lights if it would somehow help with sleep insomnia.
-Kailey M

Christen King said...

Boyle's piece was very informative about a problem that very few people know is a problem. I feel as if we all know looking at our phones or computer at night is bad, but I had no idea the extent. I never thought how if affected nocturnal and migrating animals so much; I also never knew that the insects buzzing around street lights would later die of exhaustion. Artificial light can cause diseases in humans such as cancer, obesity, depression and insomnia.
Although, it causes so many problems I'm doubtful artificial light will reduce in such a progressive world. As Boyle said on page 53, "And even as I mourn the loss of night, I am no Luddite myself." Now that I know all this information, I do not believe I will change my poor habits nor will anyone else who reads this piece. It's compelling, but technology has overtaken us, and in today's time we prefer comfort and convenience over our health.

Avant Hall said...

After reading "The Health Effects of a World Without Darkness" by Rebecca Boyle, I realized that light pollution may be a problem that is unavoidable. This work really does inform us on many problems regarding light pollution, but it has very few solutions. there are some preventable ones, like we don't have to look at our phones at bedtime. Some other ones like harming animals probably won't change because there is not enough support and there are no practical solutions. Although this passage is incredibly insightful, we can't do much about the problems in it unless it is high priority.

Kamela Cross said...

In Doyle's "The Health Effects of a World Without Darkness", I read, "After journeying millions of years, their light is swallowed by city glare and my porch lantern" (p.44). This quote really relates to me because I live in a city where the neighborhood is full of trees and streetlights that block the view of the stars. We're never really taught about the constellations and how far away the stars really are compared to us, so when we ignore them shining on us in exchange for the artificial light that we create it really make me feel that we've been ungrateful. The fact that we create tall buildings, bright signs, streetlights, and traffic lights that block our view to the stars, shows our selfishness. It says that we don't care about what goes on outside of world and anything out there isn't as important as us.

T-Bird For real said...

When reading about how light could cause so many problems shocked me. " A growing body of evidence shows that light pollution exacerbates, and might directly cause, cancer, obesity, and depression," (p. 48). People don't tell you that having light at night could cause all these problems for us humans.
-Tara Thompson

Kiara Coker said...

In "The Health Effects of a World Without Darkness" Rebecca Doyle expresses her profound thoughts about the use of electronic devices and the effect it has on today's health. Reading this made me realize how much of a correlation electronic devices and health really have. On page 48, it states " Street lighting changes the environment at higher levels of biological organization than previously recognized." This fact surprised me because I would not have thought that basic street lights, a common necessity, have such an effect on our environment. This short story opened my eyes to things that I could change in my life to live a healthier and more productive lifestyle.

Samontriona P said...

As I read Rebecca Boyle's "The Health Effects of a World Without Darkness," I realized that artificial light has a dangerous effect on on animals. I found it very interesting when she discussed the measurement of illuminance (in lux) that animals are exposed to in the natural nightscape(46).Those measuremens are from 0.1 to 0.3 lux maximum.She then goes to explain how "a typical shopping mall gushes 10 to 20 lux at night"(46).As I read those numbers it really opened my eyes because from .1 to 20 lux that is a tremendous difference.Boyle states "For migratory birds that fly at night, artificial light is a deadly siren"(47).After reading this article I feel that I have a better understanding of man made light and its effects on our animals and living things in general.

Anonymous said...

IN "The Health Effects of a World without Darkness" by Rebecca Doyle, the author cites a report from a 2012 report from the American Medical Association. It refers to light being a "man-made self experiment"(46). She then goes on the give several examples of the effect of unnatural man made light on all living specimens. While light has been beneficial to humans, it has been the opposite to most wildlife. Our selfishness of removing darkness from the world has taken a toll on birds, bats, owls, turtles, and even more animals and wildlife. Slowly the world is losing it's naturalness and becoming an entirely man made habitat.


Abraham C.

Stella Nguepnang said...

In Rebecca Doyle's "The Health Effects of a World Without Darkness" I read some very shocking theories. The effects of light on your sleep and the diseases that scientist have found to be related to lack of darkness really scared me. My older sister, who is studying to become a physician has always told me to watch how much screen time I get during in night time. Recently, with the new iPhone I was able to set my phone on a schedule to have warm hue instead of a blue undertone while I was on it during the night time. In the past few years I've been trying to get more sleep and making sure I had enough melatonin was just part of it.
That being said, besides making it easier for me to sleep, I had no idea what else melatonin really did for me. This essay really opened my eyes up to the dangers of constant lighting. It made me think of how we are supposed to run as humans. I was also very interesting because the less harmful variation of light is the red hue one. Which makes since considering that is the lighting humans have been used to for hundreds of centuries-fire. So when Boyle states, "As NASA has found, redshifted lamps, rather than a blue hue, are a better choice for bedside reading," (Pg 53) I found myself wanting to go to all my friends and family and tell them how to turn the lighting on their phones from blue to red.

Unknown said...

The most striking detail I read in Rebecca Doyle's "The Health Effects of a World Without Darkness" is when she mentioned how the unnatural light at night disrupts the human body's natural sense of telling time (Page 46). This really struck me because that can have severe effects on us, such as tiredness (Page 51). not only that, but it disrupts our ability to tell time, and thus disrupts our body's ability to go to go to sleep. On page 47, Doyle talks about how this effects animals, such as it's disruption of birds trying to navigate at night via the moon and stars, crashing to their deaths. Another thing that struck me is a shopping mall's lux, transmitting 200,000 times more light than a natural, moonless evening. Just imagine a cellphone, videogame system, television, or computer in your face, which is more direct than passing by a mall at night. I agree with Doyle's claim stating this could really mess us up, and our future generations.

Youssef Hassan said...

Reading Rebecca Doyle's, "The health effects of a World Without darkness", made me think more about how light effects our view and understanding of astronomy. Not only that, but i never thought about how artificial light creates negative effects on animals and and our health since, I would always think of light as a positive thing in our lives. It is good to know that their is more research being done about the harmful effects of light.

Chidera Onyeizeh said...

Yeah artificial lights effects our circadian rhythm in a negative way.

Thomas Moses said...

Rebecca Doyle's " The Health Effects of a World Without Darkness" has informed me on the effects of light on society and the human body. Plants and animals are usually exposed to around "0.1 to 0.3 lux , during the week around a full moon. By contrast, a typical shopping mall gushes 10 to 20 lux at night"(46). This huge increase of light intensity could have various effects on the society and environment we live in.

Jayla Pierce said...

I never really thought about how much light plays about in our everyday life. "But since Edison's light bulbs colonized our cities, the vast majority of humans has ceases to see those skies". I never realized how much the lights those we rely on and use everyday effect mother nature and the all things natural. The stars on the sky give us natural light everyday and we don't take the time to realize and appreciate it. It's such a beautiful thing and we take it for granted.

Jayla Pierce said...

I never really thought about how much light plays about in our everyday life. "But since Edison's light bulbs colonized our cities, the vast majority of humans has ceases to see those skies". I never realized how much the lights those we rely on and use everyday effect mother nature and the all things natural. The stars on the sky give us natural light everyday and we don't take the time to realize and appreciate it. It's such a beautiful thing and we take it for granted.

Rodney Clark said...

"The Health Effects of a World Without Darkness", by Rebecca Boyle was a very interesting read. In this section she described how light changes creatures, how light is rated, and even what different color lights can do. I've heard of Light pollution quite a few times, but never understood the gravity of the situation. "their wings were shorter and they weighed less"(47). That really stuck out to me because it reminded me of what I heard radiation can do. Rather than just harming your eyes it can alter your entire body. This could very well mean any light is dangerous. The author also did a very good job of connecting with the audience when she explained what light can do to humans. Many people use their phones while sleeping and may unknowingly be ruining their sleeping pattern. The mention of blue light is also good to showcase how wavelength could be a factor in how dangerous light can be. Research in this area could mean a change in what colors companies use inside and outside of their buildings. After reading this I think most people can think of good ways to change their habits.

Rodney C.

Chikelue Nkemeh said...

I find the chapter of "The Health Effects of a World Without Darkness" relatable in my daily life. In my hometown of Bolingbrook Illinois, near the school were there are no brightly lit buildings, you can gaze into the night sky and experience the presence of stars surrounding the atmosphere above you. However, in the city of Chicago, a concrete jungle packed with luminous skyscrapers, the night sky is an eerie shade of black and dimly visible rays from the adjacent buildings.

Personally, it's truly said to see the build up of artificial light and light pollution in general affecting of beautiful night sky in the environment in which we live in. A sky we used to gaze upon to see night constellations, now replaced by what seems to be a dense fog of light that blocks our view from the vast galaxy.

Dasia Anderson said...

I never knew how badly artificial light affected animals outside of humans. Migrating birds, sea turtles, pelagic ocean animals, bats and other nocturnal are all affected. But it may be worse for humans, as Boyle links artificial light to human's depression, cancer, and obesity. I don't see the world going light-less at night but Boyle states that there are small things that could help. Will we take the steps for change or are we too comfortable in convenience

Kayla Summy said...

In reading Boyle's "The Health Effects of a World Without Darkness", her description on the sky without the light to drown it out drew me in immediately. Reading as the "Countless stars blazed into view as I stared into the smear of the Milky Way(44)", I realized all that I was missing out on, the natural light that doesn't hurt when I look at it or make it difficult to sleep. As I read further I found the connection between the lights and melatonin development in our bodies. "all such creatures have been equipped to track the day and night and calibrate their metabolic cycles accordingly.(50)" I think of every student I pass daily, glued to their phones, unable to look away for 50 minutes of class time until they finally set it down to sleep. In the morning I will see them once again on their phones and they'll complain of being tired. We don't let our bodies sleep, despite laying down and getting comfortable, the constant viewing of artificial light will never allow easy sleep at night.

Precious Middleton said...

When I read section "The Health Effects of a World Without Darkness", I learned a lot of information. Darkness is essential for living organisms. Light creates pollution. This creates many problems for people. Artificial lighting is one of the causes of insomnia. This is however not the worst because light pollution increases the risk of cancer. Humans are inconsiderate of what artificial light do to living things. We need to figure out different alternative for artificial light that is less harmful.

Anonymous said...

Something that was very interesting to me in Rebecca Doyle's "The health Effects of a World Without Darkness" was the fact that after some countries had left the Soviet Union, their satellite images became noticeably than when they were in the Union. That is interesting because of the immediate impact that the economy had on the amount of light pollution that these countries had put out.
Also, the statement Neil deGrasse Tyson's statement that "We are all descended from astronomers" was very interesting because of the truth behind the statement. All of our ancestors navigated via the stars, and now most humans know very few about the stars at all.

Devon Chu said...

Reading this article was really an eye opener for me. I use my phone before bed just about every night. I never knew the possible side effects of constant exposure to artificial light. Now I know that getting a lack of sleep could be the least of my problems. The possibility of increasing my risk for cancer just because I use my phone at night will definitely make me think twice before I use it.

Kendall Clark said...

On page 47 of "The Effects of a World Without Darnkess," Rebecca Boyle discuses the things we don't see when we turn on our lights, such as the different species that are effected by our use of artificial lighting. From the sea turtles who cannot find their way to the ocean for safety, to the birds who are left lost as their natural navigator, the moon, is interrupted by the thousands of lights below, we as humans unknowingly cause harmful effects on the living organisms around us everyday. It is eye opening to understand what we unconsciously cause just by turning on an artificial light. Boyle does a great job on shedding a light on the importance of being knoweledgable about how we change and effect our environment.

Kiana S said...

One of the things that mostly caught my attention in this chapter was the correlation to the light and cancer. On page 49, Rebecca Boyle states "And melatonin is an antioxidant, which protects DNA from damage; this has important implication for cancer biology. Stevens has published research demonstrating that melatonin can prevent breast tumors in rats." I think it is so crazy to think about something so common in our lives to be potentially so harmful to our health. It puts some scientific thought behind an idea which makes it seem more real, but at the same time, we're at a point where what doesn't cause cancer anymore?

Anonymous said...

When I read Boyle's article about artificial light, the thing that stood out to me the most was the connection between bright lights and a depressing mood. Boyle writes, "The student complained bitterly about the bright lights in his room and in the hospital hallway, which robbed him of sleep and stressed him out... [after an experiment]... They found that mice who were exposed to constant bright light exhibited depressive symptoms, behaving listlessly and ignoring their sugar-water treats" (Boyle 50). This utterly surprises me because for the longest time, I was in this same situation and the people around me didn't understand why. Bright lights and most times lights in general give me a huge migraine. It got to the point that in high school I had to get medicated sunglasses to wear in and outside because I was so light sensitive. Whenever I would request for someone to dim the lights or just turn them off, people would act like I asked them to commit murder. It's completely unfathomable how much we, as a society, depend on light. When less than 300 years ago, we didn't even have it. Toriel S.

Anonymous said...

In reading "the Health Effects of a World Without Darkness," my eyes were opened to the many negative effects that artificial light can have. I was always sad that I was unable to see the beautiful stars at night, but I never realized that there are many more effects that artificial light has on us that is much more serious. Particularly the fact that it can cause certain types of cancer was especially shocking. It also makes sense that it can lead to depression and obesity, which are both major problems in today's society. It really made me think about ways that I can limit my exposure to artificial light.

Mackenzie C.

Anonymous said...

While reading The Health Effects of a World Without Darkness, I was overwhelmed with the amount of negative things that can come from artificial light. One quote that stood out to me was “Shift workers, who rise with the night and work awash in blue light, experience not only disrupted circadian rhythms and sleep deprivation but an increased risk of breast and prostate cancer.” (Pg. 52) This quote stood out to me because it is saying that someone can get cancer just from working the night shift. This is scary because some people are only able to work the night shift because of school, family, etc.

Jada B.

Anonymous said...

The article, The Health Effects of a World Without Darkness, has brought the attention of the dangers of artificial light. On page 47, it says how bats who were raised in illuminated buildings had shorter wings and weighed less than bats born to darkness. It is kind of scary seeing how artificial light can affect the growth of bats.

On page 50, two grad students ran tests on mice to see if they could figure out why lights made the person in the hospital have insomnia and is stressed out. They found that it causes depression. It is really crazy because I sleep with my T.V and phone near my face. I feel like these symptoms could happen to me over time.

Kameryn S.

Anonymous said...

The Health Effects of a World Without Darkness by Rebecca Boyle had a lot of information that took my interests. The main thing that I thought was interesting was about the bird migration in New York. It states that " Birds also collide with glittering buildings and lighthouses and are stunned, falling to their deaths" (47). This grabbed my attention because the birds follow the moon and the stars to navigate to their destinations. Artificial lights has a negative effect on bird migration because the bright beams confused them into thinking that the artificial lights were the moon and the stars.

Alishiana I.

Unknown said...

"The Health Effects of a World Without Darkness" talks about the harmful effects that light has on people today. As stated in the context, "Blue light also pours from the phone, tablet, or computer screen on which you're reading this. This light, in a wavelength very similar to daylight, has been shown to exacerbate insomnia in scores of studies" (Boyle 51). The exposure to harmful light radiation is being brought out into our world by modern inventions such as the new Apple Laptop, smart/iPhone, nook Tablet, and a other new tech innovations. You make think that the rise of these new inventions are a benefit for now, but pretty soon the drawbacks of these inventions will show their negative presence very soon, and I fear for the day that we will all be harmed by these drawbacks.

Ronald A.

Jina Gary said...

"The Health Effects of a World Without Darkness" by Rebecca Boyle hits some interesting points. I became  most struck by page 47 where she talks about how there are lights out campaigns in certain cities during peak migration. They do this because birds use the stars and moon to navigate and will be stunned/confused by buildings and lighthouse. They may crash into them and fall to their death. Its interesting to even imagine. This happened so often that lights needed to be shut off. 

Unknown said...

In "The Health Effects of a World Without Darkness" Boyle highlights many reasons for why lights can trouble not only humans, but nature and other animals also in different ways. The most troubling to me was the fact that "light pollution could lead to a 30 to 50 percent risk increase in one developing breast or prostate cancer" (Boyle 52). I wouldn't think that something as simple as working the night shift or things of that nature would affect the body in such a way, but knowing that now does make me a little more wary.

Anonymous said...

In "The Health Effects of a World Without Darkness" Boyle talks about many different ways that light effects not only humans, but nature and other animals also. The most troubling to me was the fact that "light pollution could lead to a 30 to 50 percent risk increase in one developing breast or prostate cancer" (Boyle 52). I never thought that something as simple as working the night shift would have such an effect on the body but after reading this, I definitely am more wary of things of this nature.

Unknown said...

In Doyle's article "The Health Effects of a World Without Darkness" on page 51, she caught my attention when she talked about artificial lighting in cellphones, computers, and tablets. What got my attention was the fact that she said that using these devices makes your brain stop producing a certain chemical that causes you not become drowsy. This relates to me very much because I always watch movies on my computer and use my phone before bed. This article makes me realize that that is the reason why I continue to stay up, even if I was tired before I opened up my computer.
Daye'Jah Coates

Devin Ellis-Martin said...

In “ The Health Effects of a World Without Darkness”, I found many things to be interesting to me. First, effects of looking at your phone before bed, I was unaware of. Also, light pollution can cause cancer. On page 52, it is stated that, “ There is a 30 to 50 percent chance increase in one developing breast or prostate cancer” from light pollution.

Overall, the article was interesting to read and I learned much from it.

Unknown said...

Joshua Tibbs

The side effect of artificial light that intrigued me the most was the effect it had on the animals i their eco systems in page 46-48 because it is just so many animals. Many of thes animals from birds to bats to sea life they were all effected at night due to the use of artificial light. The birds in New York would get confused and fall to their deaths because of the lights used for this World Trade Center memorial. The bats were effected because the ones the were exposed to the artificial light would be smaller and wheigh less than bats that weren’t exposed as much to artificial light. New born sea turtles are effected because they can’t find their way to the ocean due to lights from space and dazzling boats.

Joshua Tibbs

Unknown said...

Joshua Tibbs

The side effect of artificial light that intrigued me the most was the effect it had on the animals i their eco systems in page 46-48 because it is just so many animals. Many of thes animals from birds to bats to sea life they were all effected at night due to the use of artificial light. The birds in New York would get confused and fall to their deaths because of the lights used for this World Trade Center memorial. The bats were effected because the ones the were exposed to the artificial light would be smaller and wheigh less than bats that weren’t exposed as much to artificial light. New born sea turtles are effected because they can’t find their way to the ocean due to lights from space and dazzling boats.

Joshua Tibbs

dgeeter said...

Dejanee G

Reading pages 46-48 in “The Health Effects In A World Without Darkness” really explained how from the air to the ground nature would be effected. The world would fall apart with artificial light. I can personally connect to not being allowed to get sleepy due to using artificial light, and I liked this article, it was eye opening

Dej

dgeeter said...

Dejanee G

When reading pages 46-48 of “The Health Effects of a World Without Darkness ” it showed how from the air to beyond the ground nature would be effected by this artificial light. Crazy thing is I always use these devices that emit this artificial light which explains why I’m always tired because doing so prevents me from becoming drowsy. Overall this article was interesting and the world would fall apart without darkness.