‘Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark’ presentation describes how light pollution can affect our environment

SIOUX CITY (KTIV) - Sunday afternoon the League of Women Voters and Sierra Club hosted a presentation to help raise awareness about light pollution.

They gathered Sunday at the Sioux City Public Museum with the theme, ‘Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark’.

The speaker, David Hoferer, a Briar Cliff Professor of Biology and Environmental Studies, discussed what studies have been done on how light pollution affects humans and nature. Most importantly, he touched on how it affects bird migration.

80% of the birds that migrate to North America fly at night. This means when they encounter a city at night, those lights may disrupt their navigation.

Hoferer also shared ways an individual can help improve the impact of light pollution.

“The fixes for this are pretty easy. It’s about the color of lights that we use and also simple things such as, do you really need your back porch light on all night,” said Hoferer.

He also shared that using streetlamps that point down towards the street also can also help.