Running head: LIGHT POLLUTION IN HONG KONG Light pollution in Hong Kong: Negative effects and possible solutions

Hong Kong, known as the Pearl of the Orient, is renowned for its spectacular night scene. However, not every Hong Kong citizen gains pleasure from it. Those

magnificent lights on one hand attract millions of tourists every year, but on the other hand cause severe light pollution in the city. According to the statistics released by

Hong Kongs Information Services Department (2010), the total number of complaints about light nuisance received by various government departments rose dramatically from 103 in 2007 to 389 in 2009. Notwithstanding the unprecedentedly huge number of complaints and its dramatic effects, the government still does not have any effective policies on combating light pollution. To solve the deteriorating situation of light annoyance, legislation to regulate the use of lights and education can be considered as the practicable solutions.

Light pollution is defined as ... any adverse effect of artificial light, including sky glow, glare, light trespass, light clutter, decreased visibility at night, and energy waste (International Dark-Sky Association, n.d., paragraph 1). Hong Kong, as a

densely populated metropolis, unfortunately has the most deplorable light pollution problem in the world due to its ubiquitous illuminations all around the city. Owing

to the inadequate regulation to monitor the use of lights, thousands of neon signs can be found in some districts such as Mong Kok and Tsim Sha Tsui and many shops will not turn off the lights even during midnight (2008). These lights

coming from street lamps, neon lights, flashing advertisement signs and sometimes indoor lightings can be considered as the major sources of light pollution in Hong Kong as they cause nuisance to plenty of Hong Kong people.

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The reasons why so many people express grave concern over this problem are its far-reaching consequences to both human health and the ecology. According to the

research conducted by Navara and Nelson (2007), over-illumination can lead to metabolic disruption, sleep deprivation and immunological modulation in humans. Some studies even found that over-illumination raises the risk of breast cancer (West, n.d.). To the ecology, unshielded lights will reduce the amount of visible stars (Rich There are also numerous adverse effects on animals such as

& Longcore, 2006).

affecting their success of reproduction, mating behaviour as well as the search for food (McDonnell, Hahs, & Breuste, 2009). What is more, the excessive use of Due to these

illuminations will waste a large amount of energy every year.

detrimental impacts, environmental groups and citizens expect the government takes immediate actions to deal with the deteriorating problem.

In reality, the government has recently recommended using voluntary guidelines to ameliorate the current situation. What the government suggested include

installing timer switches, choosing energy-saving devices, and turning off lights after business hours (Wong, 2012). Nonetheless, the guidelines are just implemented on a

voluntary basis and the shop owners can choose not to follow the guidelines so this measure is not effective. Better solutions should be adopted with a view to

alleviating the problem of light pollution.

To solve the problem, the government can consider enacting legislation as the first choice because it can ensure that all citizens comply with the law and takes immediate action. Despite the fact that environmental groups keep urging the

government to set up laws to regulate the use of lights, no laws have been established in Hong Kong yet for so many years. The government can indeed consider

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legislation in three aspects: restriction on lighting hours, control of light intensity, and control on lighting fixtures. First, the government can ban the use of unnecessary This is viable because it is

lightings such as advertisements signs after 12 midnight.

effectual in Japan, which also has a similar regulation (Legislative Council Secretariat, 2008). Second, the Hong Kong government can set up a particular level of light In California, the outdoor lighting power must be

intensity for all citizens to follow.

smaller than the allowed power as indicated in the 2007 California Energy Code as well as the 2008 Standards (Legislative Council Secretariat, 2008). We may draw on Third, the

the successful experience of California and control the intensity of lights.

government can have a tighter regulation of lighting fixtures by requiring all of them to be energy efficient and at the same time banning all searchlights or laser beam in advertisement lightings. In addition, according to a recent research study, the night

vision and humans health are more impaired by lamps with a strong blue emission, like Metal Halide and white LEDs (Falchi, Cinzano, Elvidge, Keith, & Haim, 2011). The government can also restrict the use of lamps with short wavelength blue light, and presumably this can minimize the effects of light pollution

Besides legislation, stepping up the enforcement of the law is of fundamental importance. The government can take setting up an independent department into

account so as to handle the complaints about light nuisance from citizens and prosecute offenders. Similar to that in the UK, a certain period of time of

imprisonment or a fine high enough that can act as a deterrent should also be used as a punishment for offenders (Legislative Council Secretariat, 2008).

Finally, education is another possible means that we can also think of when coping with the problem of light pollution. In particular, the government and

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environmental groups can organise more programmes to inform the public about the gravity of light pollution. There are various positive examples all over the world During this activity, citizens

such as Flex your power in California in 2001.

developed a habit of turning off lights when not in use and the energy consumption that year in California really dropped significantly by 56 trillion watts ( 2008). Other examples like Die helle Not in Austria in 2003 (McDonnell et al.,

2009), Night blight! in England in 2003 (McDonnell et al., 2009) and Earth Hour every year all over the world also manifested the effectiveness of education. If more

educational campaigns can be taken place in Hong Kong, citizens can understand more about the problem of light pollution and participate more actively to help mitigating light pollution in the city.

To conclude, solving the problem of light pollution brooks no delay due to its adverse impacts and the worsening situation. At the same time, as the problem of

light pollution in Hong Kong is much more complicated than in other countries due to the high density of population and the mixing of residential and commercial areas, we could not rely merely on others experience. The government ought to consider

more feasible solutions to cope with light pollution in the future such as better urban planning. Also, self-discipline is also of the utmost importance. Hopefully, the

government, citizens, environmental groups, and all other stakeholders can cooperate with each other so that light pollution can really be solved in Hong Kong in the foreseeable future.

LIGHT POLLUTION IN HONG KONG References

Falchi, F., Cinzano, P., Elvidge, C. D., Keith, D. M., & Haim, A. (2011). Limiting the impact of light pollution on human health, environment and stellar visibility. Journal of Environmental Management, 92(10), 27142722.

Hong Kongs Information Services Department. (2010). LCQ17: Light pollution. Retrieved http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201011/03/P201011030131.htm from

International Dark-Sky Association [IDA]. (n.d.). Light Pollution and the Natural Night. Retrieved from http://www.darksky.org/about-ida/faqs

Legislative Council Secretariat. (2008). Light pollution and the regulation of outdoor lighting in selected places. Retrieved from

http://www.legco.gov.hk/yr08-09/english/sec/library/0809in08-e.pdf

McDonnell, M. J., Hahs, A. K., & Breuste, J. H. (Eds). (2009). Ecology of cities and towns: A comparative approach. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Navara, K. J., & Nelson, R. J. (2007). The dark side of light at night: physiological, epidemiological, and ecological consequences. Journal of Pineal Research, 43(3), 215224.

Rich, C., & Longcore, T. (Eds). (2006). Ecological consequences of artificial night lighting. Washington, DC: Island Press.

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West, L. (n.d.). Light pollution raises risks of breast cancer. Retrieved from http://environment.about.com/od/pollution/a/light_pollution.htm

Wong, O. (2012, January 27). Advice on cutting light pollution not that bright. South China Morning Post, pp. C1.

. (2008). [Gou Zhou]. : .