The problem of light pollution -- and 5 ridiculously easy ways to fix it | Kelsey Johnson

Translator: Ivana Korom Reviewer: Joanna Pietrulewicz

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: Helen Chang

Unless you've spent quality time on the International Space Station,

除非你曾經好好地在 國際太空站待過很長的時間，

this is probably not a view you are super familiar with.

不然你應該不會很熟悉這個景象。

This is the east coast of the United States.

這是美國的東岸。

That's New York down there in the lower right,

在右下方這裡的是紐約，

and it's a band of light all the way up through Washington DC.

這是一條光帶，一路穿過 華盛頓哥倫比亞特區。

Those cities are shining like jewels,

那些城市像珠寶一樣在發光，

highways are traced by webs of light.

可以用光的網絡來追蹤高速公路。

And all of that light is super photogenic.

所有這些光都非常上相。

But there's a problem.

但，有一個問題。

That light is meant to be illuminating our sidewalks,

那些光的目的是要 照亮我們的人行道、

and our streets and our houses.

我們的街道、我們的房子。

Instead, it's actually going up into the sky

可是這些光反而 向上發散，進入天空，

and out into the universe,

再向外進入宇宙，

where it's not doing any of us any good.

那對我們一點好處也沒有。

When I see photos of this, of the Earth,

當我看到地球這樣的照片，

I see environmental catastrophe.

我看到的是環境大災難。

Those aren't jewels,

那些並不是珠寶，

those are tumors.

那些是腫瘤。

I'm an astronomer,

我是天文學家，所以，

so it's really no surprise probably to anyone

大家應該不意外，

that I've always loved the night sky.

我向來都很熱愛夜空。

I'm kind of a walking cliché.

我算是個有腳的陳詞濫調。

But when I was growing up in Minnesota,

但當我在明尼蘇達長大時，

one of my favorite things to do on a summer evening

夏天晚上我最喜歡做的其中一件事

was grab my old Raggedy Ann sleeping bag

就是帶著（印著布娃娃） 拉基德·安的老睡袋，

and take it out into a field behind my house,

跑到我房子後面的野外去，

where I would spend hours looking at the night sky.

花數小時的時間看著夜空。

And to do this, I had to brave not only the darkness,

為了做這件事，我得要 勇敢面對的不僅是黑暗，

but also swarms of mosquitoes,

還有成群的蚊子，

and my sleeping bag really didn't smell very good.

且我的睡袋味道也不是很好聞。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

But there was one particular star

但，我特別喜歡尋找某一顆星星，

that I would look for, night after night.

每晚都在找它。

And then I would play this game

接著，我會玩一個遊戲，

where I would try to focus on that star so intensely,

我會試著非常努力地 聚焦在那顆星星上，

that everything else would fade from my view

讓我視線中的其他 一切都漸漸消失，

and that single star would be all that I could see.

最後我眼中就只有那顆星星。

I could only ever hold on to that focus

我只能短暫保持那樣專注的聚焦。

for a few fleeting moments.

But when I did,

但，當我做到時，

I felt this deep sense of connection to the universe.

我能深刻感受到和宇宙的連結。

And almost a sense of vertigo,

幾乎會有一種眩暈感，

like I was going to fall into space.

好像我會掉入到太空中。

And when this happened --

這種情況發生時——

I know this sounds kind of ridiculous,

我知道聽起來有點荒謬， 但我會同時有種

but I would simultaneously feel unfathomably insignificant

深不可測的渺小感，

and also kind of weirdly important.

以及奇怪的重要感。

That star I looked to night after night was called Vega.

我每晚都在找的星星 叫做「織女一」。

Vega is the brightest star in the constellation Lyra,

織女一是天琴座最明亮的一顆星，

which is not coincidentally the name of one of my dogs.

我有一隻狗也叫天琴， 這並非巧合。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

But this experience is being lost.

但這種體驗正在消逝。

My favorite constellation, Lyra,

我最愛的星座，天琴座，

this is what it would look like from Manhattan.

這是從曼哈頓看到的天琴座。

For people who live in urban and suburban environments,

住在都市和近郊環境中的人，

if they go outside at night and look up,

如果晚上他們走出門向上看，

instead of being awestruck by the majesty of the universe,

他們不會對宇宙的宏偉 感到驚奇不已，

they see pretty much nothing.

反而幾乎什麼都看不到。

These unremarkable, completely blank night skies,

夜空會變成這樣 平凡無奇、一片空白，

of course are due to all of the light we produce at night.

原因當然是我們 在夜晚所產生出的光。

Those very same lights we see all the way from space

我們遠從太空看見的那些光，

are shining up into the atmosphere,

向上照射到大氣層，

where they bounce around and create this featureless smog of light.

在那裡，它們會彈來彈去， 創造出這種沒有特色的光霧。

And that featureless smog of light has a name.

這種沒有特色的光霧有個名字，

It's called light pollution.

叫做光害（光污染）。

As an astronomer,

身為天文學家，我可以

I can actually tell how bad light pollution is

根據夜空中星星的亮度，

by the brightness of stars I can see in the sky.

來判斷出光害的嚴重程度。

And it turns out

結果發現，

that when you're trying to unlock the secrets of the cosmos,

如果你想要試著解開宇宙的秘密，

it's really helpful to be able to see the cosmos.

若能夠看見宇宙就會很有幫助。

And --

且——

[Laughs]

（笑聲）

Truth.

真的。

And this light that we're trying to detect

我們想要試著偵測的光，

is coming from millions or billions of light-years away,

來自數百萬或數十億 光年之外的地方，

and so it's generally pretty faint.

一般來說這些光相當微弱。

And as an astronomer,

身為天文學家，

I fight with this every day to do my job,

我每天的工作都得要處理這個問題，

and I have to tell you, it is a really big problem.

我必須告訴各位，這是個「大」問題。

But the problem is far worse

這個問題並不只是失去觀星的

than just losing some whimsical ability to gaze at the stars.

古怪能力而已，還要更糟糕許多。

For example,

比如，無數的星球 和動物物種會受到影響。

countless plant and animal species are affected.

So we could talk about sea turtles

所以我們可以來談海龜、

or pollinators

傳粉昆蟲，

or any of these super important species

或者任何其他超級重要的物種，

that are also cute.

牠們都相當可愛。

Instead, I want to talk

但，我想要談談這些安靜 又不出風頭的狗海螺。

about these quietly unassuming dog whelks.

You may have seen them around

各位可能見過牠們， 只是沒有想太多。

and not given them really a whole lot of thought.

But they're pretty cool.

但，牠們很酷。

So in an entire year

在一整年的時間中，

a dog whelk will rarely move more than about 10 meters.

狗海螺很少會移動超過十公尺。

That means that when they are attacking their prey

那就表示，當牠們 攻擊牠們的獵物時，

they can hit this brisk pace of about a millimeter an hour.

牠們可以達到大約 每小時一毫米的輕快速度。

And --

且——

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

This works out OK,

這種方式還行得通，

because they attack things like barnacles.

因為牠們攻擊的對象 是藤壺這類生物。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

So these dog whelks live in the intertidal area of coasts,

這些狗海螺住在 海岸的潮間帶區域，

where, it turns out,

結果發現，牠們對 那裡的生態系統非常重要。

they're a pretty key part of the ecosystem.

牠們不僅是具有主宰地位的 無脊椎獵食動物其中的一種，

Not only are they one of the most dominant invertebrate predators,

but other animals, like crabs and birds, think they're pretty tasty.

其他動物，如螃蟹和鳥類， 還認為牠們相當可口。

So that leaves these poor snails in a kind of precarious situation,

這就讓這些可憐的蝸牛處在 一種很不穩定的情況中，

because if they go too low in the water,

因為，如果牠們到太深的水中，

then crabs are a threat,

那螃蟹就會成為威脅，

but if they come out of the water too far,

但如果牠們離開水太遠，

birds are going to have a feast.

鳥類就會有大餐可吃。

Why is an astronomer telling you about dog whelks?

為什麼天文學家 要跟各位談狗海螺？

I ask that myself.

我問我這個問題。

Because their behavior is impacted by light pollution.

因為牠們的行為 會受到光害的影響。

For example,

比如，如果狗海螺

if dog whelks are subjected to artificial light at night

在晚上受到人工光線的照射，

they're about twice as likely to stay under the water with a predator.

牠們和獵食者一起待在 水底的可能性會變成兩倍。

And that puts them at increased risk.

讓就會讓牠們的風險增加。

And it's not like they can make a speedy escape.

畢竟牠們無法快速逃走。

And so these --

所以，這些——

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

And the other issue is because they literally move

另一個問題是，牠們的移動 速度真的和蝸牛一樣。

at a snail's pace.

If a population is wiped out,

如果一個地區的所有 狗海螺都被消滅，

it can take decades to replenish.

可能要花數十年才能 重新生成出這樣的數量。

And that, in turn, affects the rest of their ecosystem

那接著就會影響到 其生態系統的其他部分，

and the other species, like the birds and the barnacles and the crabs.

以及其他物種， 如鳥類、藤壺，和螃蟹。

So this is just one small and slimy example

這只是一個小小黏黏的例子，

of how light pollution can unleash a cascade effect

說明光害如何對整個生態系統

on an entire ecosystem.

造成災難性的效應。

Virtually every species that has been studied to date

差不多至今所有被研究過的物種

is impacted by light pollution.

都受到光害的影響。

And that includes humans.

包括人類在內。

So let's talk about us.

所以，咱們來談談我們自己。

You are probably not surprised to hear

各位可能不會訝異

that light pollution can affect your ability to sleep well at night.

光害會影響你們晚上睡好的能力。

But you might be surprised to hear that light pollution is linked to obesity.

但各位可能會很訝異 光害和肥胖有關。

In fact, in a recent study

事實上，一項近期研究發現，

they found that light pollution contributed to over 70 percent

在八十個國家中

of the obesity rates in 80 countries.

有至少七成的肥胖要歸因於光害。

More than that,

不僅如此，

light pollution actually contributed about the same amount to excess weight

光害所造成的體重過重

跟吃垃圾食物一樣。

as eating junk food.

And it gets worse.

還有更糟糕的。

For people who are subjected

晚上受到大量

to significant amounts of artificial light at night

人工光線照射的人

they're about 50 percent more likely to get breast cancer.

得到乳癌的可能性高出 50%。

And in fact, light pollution is correlated with types of cancer

事實上，光害和各種癌症都有關。

across the board.

And in controlled lab experiments

在受控制的實驗室實驗中，

there's a direct link between increased artificial light at night

夜晚人工光線照射的增加

和腫瘤成長的速度有直接的關係。

and a rate of tumor growth.

You might be wondering how normal light

各位可能很納悶，正常的光

could possibly impact cancer rates.

怎麼可能會影響癌症增長的速度。

It likely all comes down to the super important hormone

這很可能和一種超級 重要的荷爾蒙有關，

called melatonin,

那就是褪黑素，

which we have evolved over millions of years

人類經過數百萬年的演化， 會以日夜循環的週期

to produce on a day-night cycle, or a circadian rhythm.

或二十四小時生理節奏 來產生褪黑素。

What happens is that when light impacts

發生的狀況是，在晚上，

光照影響到眼睛後面的視網膜時，

the retina at the back of our eye at night

it can disrupt melatonin production,

就可能會打斷褪黑素的製造，

and when melatonin production is disrupted,

當褪黑素的製造被打斷，

a whole chain of other chemical processes are affected,

其他化學過程的整個鏈鎖就受影響，

and that includes estrogen production.

包括雌激素的製造。

And when we throw this chemical balance out of whack,

當我們的化學平衡被破壞，

really bad things can happen.

很糟的事就可能會發生。

In fact, things are so bad,

事實上，糟糕的程度到了

that the International Agency for Cancer Research

國際癌症研究機構都說

has said that disrupting the human circadian rhythm

打斷人類的二十四小時生理節奏

is a probable carcinogen.

是可能的致癌物質。

Also, for fun, I want to let you know

為了好玩，我想告訴大家， 光害也有其他關聯……

that light pollution has been linked to,

let's see -- headaches, anxiety, depression, diabetes,

咱們來瞧瞧——頭痛、 焦慮、憂鬱、糖尿病、

cardiovascular disease and the list goes on.

心血管疾病，及許多其他。

But maybe you don't care about your health.

但，也許你不在乎你的健康。

We're all going to die anyway,

反正我們都會死， 不如就死在很亮的房間裡。

you might as well die in a brightly lit room.

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

The fact that you're laughing about death is kind of amazing.

各位會覺得死很好笑， 這點很不可思議。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

You might still care about money.

各位可能還是會在乎錢。

The money that's spent on that wasted light,

浪費掉的光所造成的花費，

and I mean just the light that's going out into the universe,

我指的只是那些向外射向宇宙， 對我們沒用處的光，

and not doing us any good,

is three billion dollars a year.

一年要花三十億美元。

That's enough money to build, like,

這麼多錢，足以拿來建造， 比如一千座實用等級的風車，

1,000 utility-grade windmills,

or fund the entire DC public-school system for over two years,

或者資助整個華府的 公立學校系統至少兩年，

or -- this is my favorite, because I really want one

或者——這是我的最愛， 因為我真的想要，但買不起——

but I can't afford one --

buy 30,000 Tesla Model X SUVs.

購買三萬台特斯拉 Model X 休旅車。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

And that includes the electric car tax credit.

且這也算入電動車扣抵稅額。

And then there are the existential costs.

另外，還有存在成本。

I don't have any data

我沒有任何資料

on how losing touch with our place in the cosmos

可以說明和我們在宇宙中的位置

失去連結對我們會有什麼影響。

impacts us.

But I believe

但，我相信，

that this probably impacts our humanity

這很可能比我能和各位分享的

more than any of the other scary statistics I can share with you.

任何恐怖統計數據更衝擊人類。

And it's getting worse with time.

隨時間，情況會更糟。

The amount of light pollution is doubling roughly every 35 years.

大約每三十五年， 光害的量就會翻一倍。

That means that within the next decade

那就表示，在接下來的十年間，

virtually the entire eastern half of the United States

幾乎美國的整個東半部

will be perpetually brighter than twilight.

都將會永遠比曙光暮光還要亮。

And there's another issue with light pollution.

光害還有另一個問題。

The problem is way worse than we can see with our own eyes.

這個問題的嚴重程度 比我們看得見的更糟糕。

Our eyes have evolved to just detect this tiny range

我們的眼睛演化到只能偵測 完整光譜中的小小一段範圍。

of the full spectrum of light.

All of this other light that we can't see,

所有我們看不見的光，

this invisible light,

這些隱形的光，

also has a pollution problem.

也有污染問題。

Mostly it's from modern technology,

這些光多半來自現代科技， 比如手機或車對車的雷達，

things like cell phones or car-to-car radar,

or now apparently we need appliances that can talk to each other.

或者，很顯然，我們現在 還需要能彼此交談的器具。

All of this modern technology is putting out strong signals

所有這些現代科技 都會釋出很強的訊號，

that can completely swamp

能夠完全淹沒

this exceedingly faint light we're trying to detect

我們想要偵測的這些極微弱光線，

from the rest of the universe outside Earth,

來自地球外，宇宙其他地方的光線，

which just for the record, is most of the universe.

順便一提，地球外也就是 宇宙大部分的地方。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

And then, there are satellites.

然後，還有衛星。

Satellites are a problem at both visible and invisible wavelengths.

不論是在可見光或不可見光的 波長，衛星都是個問題，

A host of private companies have plans to deploy tens of thousands of satellites

有許多私人公司有計畫 打算要將數萬個衛星

into Earth orbit,

部署到地球的軌道上，

where they will not only outnumber,

這麼一來，它們的數量不僅

literally outnumber the visible stars in the sky,

會真正超過天空中 可見星星的數目，

while also beaming invisible light back to Earth.

同時也會將不可見光照射回地球。

So for astronomers like me,

所以，對我這種使用不可見光 來研究宇宙的天文學家來說，

who use invisible light to study the universe,

it's going to be like staring at the Sun

那就會像是盯著太陽，

and trying to see a birthday candle behind it.

試圖想看到它背後的生日蠟燭。

Alright, I want to be clear

好，我想要澄清一下，

that there's nothing inherently wrong with any of this modern technology.

這些現代科技本身並沒有什麼錯。

With cell phones or satellites or car radar.

不論是手機、衛星，或汽車雷達。

I'm not sure about kitchen appliances.

至於廚房器具我就不太確定了。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

I haven't broken down

我還沒有失控去買一個 會跟我的手機交談的烤箱回來。

and gotten an oven that talks to my cell phone yet.

And I use lights at night like everybody else.

且晚上我也和其他人 一樣會用到光。

But here's the thing.

但，重點來了。

Some problems in the world,

世界上的一些問題，

like we've heard about today and you'll hear more about,

就像我們今天聽到的問題， 之後還會聽到更多

are overwhelming and they seem intractable.

都大到讓人無法招架， 且似乎很棘手。

Visible light pollution is not one of these problems.

可見光的光害並不是這種問題。

This is actually stupidly simple, OK?

它其實無比簡單，好嗎？

So here are five super simple things you can do.

以下有五件超簡單的事， 大家都能做到。

Don't use lights brighter than you need to.

需要多強的光就開多強，不要過度。

Don't use lights when you don't need them.

不需要用光時就不要用光。

Those lights you're using,

你在用光的時候， 確保將它們遮下來，

make sure they're shielded down,

so they're not shining up into the sky.

不要讓它們射入天空中。

And let's talk about LED lights.

咱們來談談 LED 燈。

If you have a choice, don't buy the blue ones.

如果可以選，不要買藍色的 LED 燈。

Look for words like "warm white."

尋找有「溫暖白色」字樣的燈。

If you buy LEDs with words like "natural light" or "daylight,"

如果你買寫著「自然光」 或「日光」的 LED 燈，

that's like saying you hate space.

那就像是在說，你痛恨太空。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

And finally,

最後，

you could advocate for this.

各位可以推動這個觀念。

Even in your local community,

即使是在你當地的社區， 找找燈光的代碼，

find out if there's a lighting code

and whether it could be made more night-sky friendly.

是否能夠調整到對夜空比較友善。

Or dare I say, you could even advocate at the federal level,

我大膽的說，各位甚至可以 在聯邦的層級做推行，

by politely asking our federal officials,

可以禮貌地請求我們的 聯邦官員，在座可能就有，

some of whom may be here,

to please not auction off our view of the invisible universe

請他們不要將我們的隱形宇宙景觀

拍賣給出價最高的人 讓他們任意污染，

to the highest bidder to pollute at will,

現況正是如此。

which is actually what happens.

Now, like a good professor,

我要當個好教授，

I have homework for you.

給各位一些回家功課。

If you have never seen a truly dark night sky,

如果你從來沒有見過 真正的黑暗夜空，

I want you to go out and experience one for yourself.

我希望你能走出去，自己體驗一下。

Because if you don't,

因為，如果你不這麼做，

you don't know what you're missing,

你不會知道你錯失了什麼，

and you don't know what humanity is losing.

你也不會知道人類正在失去什麼。

Thank you.

謝謝。

(Applause)

（掌聲）