중2 천재 이재영 – 해석하기 Lesson 4. Earth, Our Only Home
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Lesson 4. Earth, Our Only Home Is It a Light Problem?
Look at this beautiful painting.
It was created by the famous Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh in 1889.
In Van Gogh's time, almost everyone could look up and see a wonderful starry night sky.
Now, how many of us are as lucky as Van Gogh?
In fact, many people in today's world cannot enjoy a starry night sky.
This is so because of light pollution.
Most of us are familiar with air, water, and land pollution.
We know that they are serious problems, and we are taking action to solve them.
But did you know that light can also cause pollution?
Light pollution ― too much light in the wrong place at the wrong time ― is almost everywhere around the world.
It can have serious effects on humans and wildlife.
중2 천재 이재영 – 해석하기 Lesson 4. Earth, Our Only Home
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According to a recent report, about 80% of the world's population lives under skies that are not dark enough at night.
Especially in big cities, people often cannot see a starry night.
They can also suffer from sleep problems because the natural rhythm of day and night is disturbed by artificial light.
Wildlife is threatened by light pollution, too.
Birds that migrate or hunt at night find their way by natural light, but light in big cities can cause them to wander off course.
Every year millions of birds die after hitting buildings that have bright lights.
Sea turtles cannot easily find a place to lay eggs since beaches are too bright at night.
Also, many baby sea turtles die because artificial light draws them away from the ocean.
Clearly, light pollution is as serious as other forms of pollution.
We have to find ways to solve the problem.
If we do not, we may see stars only in our dreams or paintings.
