Light

Light can be both a blessing and a nuisance. Natural light, or solar radiation, is essential to life as we know it but it has its limitations; it is only present when the sun visits us once a day. Prehistoric man very sensibly went to bed at nightfall until he discovered fire and used simple combustion to provide light. Eventually, scientists such as Michael Faraday devised more sophisticated methods so modern man now defies nature by creating his own form of illumination without which our civilisation as we know it would not exist. But this has its shortcomings.

The world now suffers from increasing pollution caused by mankind and, surprisingly, light is one of them. Astronauts viewing the South East of England see a mass of illumination interspersed with some dark (light free) areas. A particular local “bright spot” is the junction of the M11 and M25 motorways which forms a great illuminated cross when viewed from the high point at Mount End. This illumination together with that from Epping and Loughton provide reasonable background lighting for the villagers of Theydon Bois who have strongly resisted the installation of street lighting to preserve their rural environment. Many residents here have installed their own exterior lighting instead, which is adequate for their needs. But residential and industrial lighting can be a nuisance, to say the least, when it is of unnecessarily high intensity and badly sited; golf driving ranges and car parks are typical examples.

The Council for the Protection of Rural England has launched a light pollution awareness campaign, which warns of the problem of nuisance lighting and its affect on the environment, generally. Quite often birds, especially Robins, are confused by the absence of darkness, sing through the night and then either drop off their perch through fatigue or sleep through the dawn chorus. But a most serious aspect is the resulting colossal waste of energy in a world where natural resources, which are not infinite, are in increasing demand.

But there can be a bright side. In the small hours of a morning some while ago, an expectant mother from Debden was returning home from the Princess Alexander Hospital in Harlow following a false alarm for the birth of her child. However, on passing through Theydon Bois the alarm became reality with the baby demanding to enter the world. The grandmother who was driving, stopped the car and looked for help (mobile phones had yet to appear). She spotted a solitary light in the darkness, which proved to be a house porch lamp, and so knocked on the door. This was opened by a lady, who by chance, was a nurse and who immediately took charge. With the expectant mum safely in her house she then left and promptly returned with a neighbour who, again by chance, was a doctor and who was pleased to be involved, even at this early hour. Within a short time both had successfully delivered a healthy baby girl.

So this combination of useful light acting as a beacon in the darkness of the countryside, and the actions of a very Good Samaritan and Michael Faraday, helped bring a child into an increasingly polluted world suffering from energy waste and excessive illumination.

Do you need all that lighting?