YSM Issue 96.2

THE DARKNESS MANIFESTO
You’ve probably flown over a city at night and noticed the bright glow of
lights staring back at you through the airplane window. As intriguing
and surreal as it feels to see such a sight, these lights are disrupting
the behavioral patterns and circadian rhythms of many organisms across
the globe, from insects and bats to bioluminescent creatures and humans. In
his newly released book, The Darkness Manifesto, Johan Eklöf describes the
myriad consequences related to light pollution and urges readers to defend
the darkness.
The majority of nature’s activities, such as mating and pollination, occur
at night because eighty percent of all organisms are nocturnal. Humans are
diurnal organisms (active during the day) and, as a result, have resorted
to artificial light to extend our activities into the night. Eklöf echoes the
claims that we have entered a new era: the Anthropocene, in which humans
have had a critical impact on the Earth’s ecosystems. In particular, he argues
that man-made sources of light are disrupting Earth’s natural rhythms by
generating light pollution.
Eklöf devotes several chapters to describing the ways in which light
pollution has thrown off the reproductive cycles of organisms across the
planet. For instance, he claims that the pollination rate of some plants like
apple trees has slowed down because moths, which serve as pollinators, get
easily confused by artificial sources of illumination. For animals like our
beloved friend Nemo, the consequences of light pollution are as severe as eggs
failing to hatch since clownfish larvae rely on the darkness to signal when it
is time to break free from their sacs. Without complete darkness at night, the
behavioral patterns of organisms are becoming increasingly out of tune, and
as a result, the ecosystems they inhabit are being destroyed.
But it isn’t just plants and animals that are affected. We humans are facing
serious consequences as well. Because humans aren’t nocturnal, we rely on
our natural sleep cycles to rest. But true rest is difficult to achieve when we are
using our phones too late into the night. Blue light from our phones tricks our
brains into thinking it is still daytime, so we produce insufficient levels of our
natural sleep hormone, melatonin, making it difficult to fall asleep. Similarly,
Eklöf states that people who work night shifts are at a higher risk of hormonal
cancers such as breast and prostate cancer. We can prevent a multitude of
THE
SPOTLIGHT
serious health conditions by restoring our natural circadian rhythms and
avoiding light at night.
In his manifesto at the end of the novel, Eklöf calls upon readers to cherish
and learn more about the darkness due to its importance in our behavioral
patterns. Some countries, like France, are already moving towards decreased use
of artificial light at night, and Eklöf hopes that more countries will follow suit.
“The darkness is not the world of humans. We’re only visitors,” Eklöf reminds
readers. It’s not too late to change our habits and start protecting the darkness. ■
BY FAITH PENA
IMAGE COURTESY OF WALLPAPER FLARE
www.yalescientific.org
May 2023 Yale Scientific Magazine 37