The progress of mankind has been highly speeded by the discovery of electric energy two centuries ago. The leisure and convenience of turning the light on with the touch of a button and the consequent shift and expansion to nighttime activities and enterprises of the population have contributed enormously to this development. The benefits of these discoveries are evident around our daily life. Electricity has become a part of our daily reality, not to speak about the later developments of electronics, atomic energy, superconductivity, etc.

-Earth @ Night- (N.A.S.A. pic.)

The face of our planet has changed. Great extensions of land are brightened by human settlements in big cities. Just a few regions on the planet remain unelectrified; only those economically poor lack this service. We have learned to handle and manage different types of energy to our own benefit. In recent days the search for balance between development and natural life has become a trendy subject. The fragility of ecosystems and of mankind itself is clearly perceived and threatened by old and wrongful behaviors. We talk about contamination, contaminants, contaminated, about contaminators and decontaminators. What is this contamination? What are these contaminants? Why one moment are our own products useful, and the next they are not?
It reads in the Merriam-Webster dictionary:

Pronunciation: k&n-'ta-m&-"nAt Function: transitive verb
Inflected Form(s): -nat·ed; -nat·ing
Etymology: Middle English, from Latin contaminatus, past participle of contaminare; akin to Latincontagio contagion Date: 15th century
1 a : to soil, stain, corrupt, or infect by contact or association contaminated the wound> b : to make inferior or impure by admixture contaminated with phosphorus>
2 : to make unfit for use by the introduction of unwholesome or undesirable elements - con·tam·i·na·tive /-"nA-tiv/ adjective
- con·tam·i·na·tor /-"nA-t&r/ noun
synonyms CONTAMINATE, TAINT, POLLUTE, DEFILE mean to make impure or unclean. CONTAMINATE implies intrusion of or contact with dirt or foulness from an outside source contaminated by industrial wastes>. TAINT stresses the loss of purity or cleanliness that follows contamination <tainted meat> tainted reputation>. POLLUTE, sometimes interchangeable with contaminate, distinctively may imply that the process which begins with contamination is complete and that what was pure or clean has been made foul, poisoned, or filthy polluted waters of the river>.

If we take definition 1b on which we would like to expound, we understand that anything that alters the pureness or the natural conditions of a thing or environment can be called a contaminant. The normal state or condition of things should be understood as natural.

There are important contaminations, including air contamination, water, that of sound (noise), etc. A type of contamination commonly overlooked is that of electric lighting and this is so because it happens at night when we all are resting. It is not the type of contamination that threatens our lives or our health directly and that is why probably almost no one cares.

More so, some animal species are affected by this excess lighting ― marine turtles, for example. During nesting season, nesting mothers and young hatchlings get disoriented by the bright lights. Some birds migrate away from the illuminated areas and, in general, any nocturnal species will run away from their habitat when it’s brightened at night.

One of the subtle effects, but not the least important, is in the line of economy and tourism. The effect to these branches of society is of real importance in the medium and long term ranges. We can not lose sight of the time in which the state of Quintana Roo has emerged as an international tourist destiny in the world context and the different causes and reasons of why it has. Those of us who witnessed that time can not forget that sensation of distance from the urban life, the contact with the barely touched and genuinely natural. I am sure that some of what made most of the immigrants to this beautiful state move here were the nightly strolls with our closest acquaintances or loved ones to admire the firmament with infinite stars, most of which are not visible from the big cities from where we come. In big cities today, only around 100 stars can be observed on a good and clear night, out of the millions that exist. This is a kind of show that strengthens the idea of wanting more, more of that, more of contemplating that cosmic reality which is our place in the universe, as mankind, as a living planet. Looking up towards the night sky and just admiring and watching the show is, and has been, one of the favorite activities of our present visitors, who, being captivated with the same of what strikes us, who live here, search at night for those almost solitary beaches with all that it contributes to relaxation and the spirit.

For the new city generations, the Milky Way exists only in books and can only be seen when they go out of the city and go to places like the Riviera Maya.

The tendency nowadays is for developments and developers to imitate big urban sites. People, who used to live in big cities, miss in a way their home places and would like to find “The Big City” in the jungle away from the city. People, who have had little or no contact with nature during all their lives until they came to Quintana Roo and who now are in positions where they can decide the appearance of our towns, cities and roads, do it with the fixed model of the cosmopolitan city, when what attracts visitors and tourists is what distinguishes us from other tourist destinations―that is the natural state of our coast, our reefs, cenotes and the territory in general.

The recently-installed road lights on 307, with the best security intentions for the by passer, particularly from around Paamul to Puerto Aventuras, affects nature in all the previously mentioned ways. Besides its primary function of illuminating the road, it lights up the sky with no purpose whatsoever; it makes no sense to try to illuminate the stars since they have their own light. It affects wildlife and tourism looking for natural darkness, who otherwise would stay in one of the fine and well-illuminated hotels of the well-illuminated Cancún or the recently well-illuminated Playa del Carmen. The big amount of lights, besides lighting the road, causes glare to those who travel there; the human eye can adjust to darkness easily but when the source of light is visible, it catches the eye more than what it is supposed to light (the road). The lack of proper aiming and shielding by light fixtures does not allow nighttime lighting to be easily controlled, shining beyond the horizontal plane and on to the sky. This is contamination by electric lights.

Light pollution is the sky glow produced by the scattering of artificial light in the gases and particles of the air caused by the poor quality of outdoor lighting. These poor fixtures send part of the light up to the sky instead of projecting it down. This also results in light trespass, glare and energy waste. Additionally is the electric energy waste, energy which is needed. This waste represents an important amount of money the government loses during the night. It is, of course, necessary to save energy and to make it efficient where needed. Wanting to transform night into day is neither prudent nor necessary.

The cure for this needless waste of electricity and extra light spillage is relatively simple to achieve. Use properly aimed shielded fixtures that keep the illumination within the property line where the light is installed. Use low wattage energy efficient bulbs that provide only as much illumination as needed. Distribute the illumination using shielded fixtures that point light downward and do not shine glare above the horizontal plane to keep a clean night sky.

Basic Criteria

Only use outdoor nighttime lighting for as long as it is absolutely necessary. Security lighting provides the best performance when administered using infrared proximity sensors that cause lights to turn on suddenly when someone approaches a building. This causes an immediate change of the surrounding environment that will drive most people with ill-intent away and it also raises immediate attention to the area from both neighbors and law enforcement officials. Security lighting that remains on all night draws absolutely no attention. The less harmful bulbs are low pressure sodium lamps; they emit in a narrow band of the visible spectrum leaving the rest clean. These types of bulbs consume 5 times less than incandescent bulbs, 2.2 times less than mercury bulbs and 1.5 times less than high pressure sodium and fluorescent bulbs. The light bulbs which are less harmful for astronomy are also the most energy efficient light source. The more harmful bulbs are those emitting in the UV spectrum because these radiations are the most strongly dispersed by the atmosphere and are of no value for illumination.,br>
Advantages and Benefits

• Reduce energy consumption and indirectly the use of fuel, CO2, NO4, SO2 emission and other particles.
• Protect the nocturnal environment, reducing the disturbance of natural habitats (animals, plants and ecological processes).
• Avoid glare for aircraft and ships.
• Avoid disturbing neighbors.
• Ease astronomy for both professionals and amateurs.
• Preserve a dark sky in harmony with the UNESCO universal declaration of future generation rights:

" Future generations have the right to an undamaged and unpolluted Earth, including the right to a clean sky." In Mexico still there are no laws to this respect. This is why people interested in the subject should take initiatives to regulate waste and contamination due to electric light. This wasted light costs you money, robs your rights to see the stars, and invades your right to privacy! Many people are still in the dark on the electric light contamination subject.

We can change from this!!
To This!!!!

Emilio C. Talancón D.
Public and Government Relations
Centro Ecológico Akumal

More information in: