Darkness is disappearing from the face of the Earth, blinding wildlife in the light. While humans may experience light pollution, this loss of darkness is also replaced by other forms of information from the digital world. For wildlife, the loss of information from the night’s sky and natural daylight cycles is simply a void. Moreover, artificial light disorients, distracts, and fixates wildlife, while also shifting the concept of time and falsely triggering instincts developed over lifetimes of evolution. From microscopic organisms such as Zooplankton, to some of the largest organisms on Earth such as Whales, the language of light is becoming uninterpretable to wildlife. This session discusses wildlife examples and case studies, both harmful and helpful, of how to address light pollution.

Programming descriptions are generated by participants and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of SXSW.