Light pollution is obscuring the night sky光污染在遮蔽夜空

Lisa Grossman

The night sky has been brightening2 faster than researchers realized， thanks tothe use of artificial3 lights at night. A study shows that the night sky grew about 10percent brighter， on average， every year from 2011 to 2022.

A baby born in a region4 where about 250 stars can be seen every night wouldsee only 100 stars on his 18th birthday.

The perils5 of light pollution go far beyond not being able to see as many stars.Too much brightness at night can harm peoples health， send birds flying intobuildings， and draw pollinating6 insects toward lights instead of plants.

In a way， this is a call to action. People should consider that this does haveinfluence on our lives. It influences our health. It influences other animals whocannot speak for themselves.

Some simple solutions7 include dimming8 or turning off lights overnight，especially floodlighting or lights in empty parking lots.

The good news is that you just have to turn a switch9 and the problem goesaway. However， its easier said than done. This problem of light pollution is madeby billions of individual10 decisions.

由于夜間使用了人造光，夜空变亮的速度比研究人员想象的要快。一项研究显示，从2011 年到2022 年，夜空平均每年变亮10%左右。

一个出生在每晚大约有250 颗星星可见的地区的婴儿，在18 岁生日时也许只能看到100 颗星星。

光污染的危害远不止看不到那么多星星。夜晚过亮会损害人们的健康，会让鸟飞进建筑物，会把授粉昆虫引向灯光而不是植物。

从某种程度上来说，这是一个行动的号召。人们应该考虑到，这确实对我们的生活产生了影响。它影响我们的健康。它影响到其他无法为自己发声的动物。

一些简单的解决方案包括夜间调暗或关闭灯光，尤其是泛光灯或空停车场的灯。

好消息是，你只要拨动开关，问题就会迎刃而解。然而，说起来容易做起来难。

光污染的这个问题是由数十亿人的个人决定造成的。

Notes

1. obscure  遮掩；遮蔽

2. brighten  使明亮

3. artificial 人造的；人工的

4. region 地区；区域

5. peril 危险；问题

6. pollinate  对……授粉

7. solution  解决办法

8. dim  使……变暗

9. switch 开关；电闸

10. individual 个人的