2018/5/9 9:51:00
闪亮的夜晚，光污染（light pollution）问题
Satellite observations made by researchers during five consecutive Octobers show Earth’s artificially lit outdoor area grew by 2% a year from 2012 to 2016. So did nighttime brightness.
Light pollution was even worse than that, according to the German-led team, because the sensor used cannot detect some of the LED lighting that is becoming more widespread, specifically blue light.
由德国科学家带领的这一研究团队指出，光污染实际上比数据显示的更糟，因为卫星无法探测到一些LED照明灯，尤其是蓝光，发出的光线。如今人们对LED照明的应用日益普遍。
The biological impact from surging artificial light is also significant, according to the researchers.
研究人员表示，人工照明激增也给生物造成了重大影响。
People’s sleep can be marred, which in turn can affect their health. The migration and reproduction of birds, fish, amphibians, insects and bats can be disrupted. Plants can have abnormally extended growing periods. And forget about seeing stars or the Milky Way if the trend continues.
人们的睡眠质量会受到损害，从而影响到身体健康。鸟类、鱼类、两栖动物、昆虫、蝙蝠的迁徙和繁衍也会被打乱。植物的生长期会异常地延长。如果光污染持续恶化，你再也别想看到星空或银河了。
About the only places with dramatic declines in night light were in areas of conflict such as Syria and Yemen, the researchers found. Australia also reported a noticeable drop, but that was because wildfires were raging early in the study. Researchers were unable to filter out the bright burning light.
研究人员发现，夜间亮度下降的唯一地区是叙利亚和也门这样的战乱国家。根据观测报告，澳大利亚也出现了夜间亮度的明显下降，但那是因为研究早期澳大利亚发生了大火灾，研究人员无法将野火的亮度过滤掉。
Asia, Africa and South America, for the most part, saw a surge in artificial night lighting.
More and more places are installing outdoor lighting, given its low cost and the overall growth in communities’ wealth, the scientists noted. Urban sprawl is also moving towns farther out. The outskirts of major cities in developing nations were brightening quite rapidly, Kyba said.
科学家指出，因为照明成本低，加上社会财富总体水平提高，越来越多的地区安装了室外照明系统。城市扩张也让村镇不停向外延伸。凯巴说，发展中国家大城市郊区的夜间亮度正在迅速上升。
Other especially bright hot spots included sprawling greenhouses in the Netherlands and areas of intensive agriculture.
其他特别亮的区域包括荷兰四处蔓延的温室和开展集约化农业生产的土地。
“Many people are using light at night without really thinking about the cost,” Holker said. Not just the economic cost, “but also the cost that you have to pay from an ecological, environmental perspective”.
霍尔克说：“很多人在晚上随便开灯，从未认真考虑过代价。”不只是经济代价，“还有生态、环境所必须付出的代价”。
Kyba and his colleagues recommend avoiding glaring lamps whenever possible – choosing amber over so-called white LEDs – and using more efficient ways to illuminate places such as parking lots or city streets.
凯巴和他的同事建议尽量避免耀眼的台灯，选择琥珀灯而不是所谓的LED白光灯，用更高效的方式来给停车场或城市街道等地方照明。
For example, dim, closely spaced lights tend to provide better visibility than bright lights that are more spread out.
比如，昏暗而集中的光线比明亮而分散的光线能提供更好的可见度
研究人员连续五年在十月份观测到的卫星数据显示，2012年到2016年间，地球上有人工照明的室外面积每年增加2%，夜间亮度也随之增加。
Light pollution was even worse than that, according to the German-led team, because the sensor used cannot detect some of the LED lighting that is becoming more widespread, specifically blue light.
由德国科学家带领的这一研究团队指出，光污染实际上比数据显示的更糟，因为卫星无法探测到一些LED照明灯，尤其是蓝光，发出的光线。如今人们对LED照明的应用日益普遍。
The biological impact from surging artificial light is also significant, according to the researchers.
研究人员表示，人工照明激增也给生物造成了重大影响。
People’s sleep can be marred, which in turn can affect their health. The migration and reproduction of birds, fish, amphibians, insects and bats can be disrupted. Plants can have abnormally extended growing periods. And forget about seeing stars or the Milky Way if the trend continues.
人们的睡眠质量会受到损害，从而影响到身体健康。鸟类、鱼类、两栖动物、昆虫、蝙蝠的迁徙和繁衍也会被打乱。植物的生长期会异常地延长。如果光污染持续恶化，你再也别想看到星空或银河了。
About the only places with dramatic declines in night light were in areas of conflict such as Syria and Yemen, the researchers found. Australia also reported a noticeable drop, but that was because wildfires were raging early in the study. Researchers were unable to filter out the bright burning light.
研究人员发现，夜间亮度下降的唯一地区是叙利亚和也门这样的战乱国家。根据观测报告，澳大利亚也出现了夜间亮度的明显下降，但那是因为研究早期澳大利亚发生了大火灾，研究人员无法将野火的亮度过滤掉。
Asia, Africa and South America, for the most part, saw a surge in artificial night lighting.
在亚洲、非洲和南美洲的大部分地区，夜间人工照明水平都在迅速上升。
More and more places are installing outdoor lighting, given its low cost and the overall growth in communities’ wealth, the scientists noted. Urban sprawl is also moving towns farther out. The outskirts of major cities in developing nations were brightening quite rapidly, Kyba said.
科学家指出，因为照明成本低，加上社会财富总体水平提高，越来越多的地区安装了室外照明系统。城市扩张也让村镇不停向外延伸。凯巴说，发展中国家大城市郊区的夜间亮度正在迅速上升。
Other especially bright hot spots included sprawling greenhouses in the Netherlands and areas of intensive agriculture.
其他特别亮的区域包括荷兰四处蔓延的温室和开展集约化农业生产的土地。
“Many people are using light at night without really thinking about the cost,” Holker said. Not just the economic cost, “but also the cost that you have to pay from an ecological, environmental perspective”.
霍尔克说：“很多人在晚上随便开灯，从未认真考虑过代价。”不只是经济代价，“还有生态、环境所必须付出的代价”。
Kyba and his colleagues recommend avoiding glaring lamps whenever possible – choosing amber over so-called white LEDs – and using more efficient ways to illuminate places such as parking lots or city streets.
凯巴和他的同事建议尽量避免耀眼的台灯，选择琥珀灯而不是所谓的LED白光灯，用更高效的方式来给停车场或城市街道等地方照明。
For example, dim, closely spaced lights tend to provide better visibility than bright lights that are more spread out.
比如，昏暗而集中的光线比明亮而分散的光线能提供更好的可见度