Global light population increasing at 2.2% per year

[gary]

Edit. Apologies. Noticed Luka published same story in this thread here :-
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/s...d.php?t=163001

This post contains link to published paper.

In a 22 Nov 2017 article at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics
Engineers Spectrum Magazine web site, Jeff Hecht reports on an analysis
of satellite data that shows that the brightness of the world, due to artificial
lighting, is increasing at about 2.2% per year.

Originally Posted by Jeff Hecht, IEEE

Around the world, more lights keep being switched on. A new analysis of satellite data from the past four years shows that the total acreage lit by artificial light at night increased by an average of 2.2 percent a year. The brightness of the areas lit at the start of the study also increased by the same rate—2.2 percent annually—around the globe.

That growth is disappointing, says Christopher Kyba of the GFZ German Research Center for Geoscience in Potsdam. A member of the International Dark-Sky Association, he had hoped that efforts to switch outdoor lighting from sodium lamps to efficient LEDs would reverse the loss of the night.

Originally Posted by Jeff Hecht, IEEE

Thus, although LED lighting has saved energy, people have been turning on more lights rather than pocketing their savings. It's called the rebound effect, and it's been going on for centuries, write Kyba and his colleagues: "Regardless of historical or geographical context, humans tend to use as much artificial light as they can buy for about 0.7 percent of [gross domestic product]."

Full story here :-
https://spectrum.ieee.org/energywise...hter-each-year

A published paper entitled "Artificially lit surface of Earth at night increasing in radiance and extent" by et. al. appears in Science Advances :-
http://advances.sciencemag.org/conte.../e1701528.full

[skysurfer]

There is only one reason for that.
As long as mankind considers growth, growth, growth and more, more, more and $$$ more important than living on a planet with limited resources for 8 billion people, this will finally result in an Armageddon of non dark nights, plastic filled oceans, too warm climate, flooded low countries, etc.

[AndrewJ]

Sounds like Trantor
Andrew

[jimmyh1555 (James)]

Growth, growth, growth??? You are not kidding. We all seem to need bigger and bigger and brighter and brighter. 30 years ago I had an 848cc Mini . It could propel 4 of us at 70 mph easily. Now we have to have 3000 or 4000cc engine 4WD's to do the same job.
Gas lights used to be ok in towns. Now we need humungous sodium vapour lamps that turn everything yellow Isn't it a fact that the greatest use (waste) of electricity for any one item worldwide, is for street lighting? Are we any safer as result? Stupidity rules