Causes and effects of light pollution

What you'll need

• Digital projector and screen
• Students electronic devices with access to internet
• "Light pollution 101" video
• "Light at night" image
• "Exploring the effects of light pollution on living things" handout
• "The important effects of light pollution" worksheet

1. Provide each student with a copy of the activity sheet "The important effects of light pollution".
2. Begin this activity by inviting your students to think about the three most important effects that light pollution has on living things. Although it may sound strange, too much light is a form of pollution, especially at night. This wasted light is costly and negatively affects humans, wildlife, plants, and entire ecosystems. 
3. Invite students to share their reasoning for why each effect is important. For example, students may suggest that lights at night can simulate moonlight and lead birds off their migratory paths. As students share their thinking, co-create or present the criteria for an important effect:

• Breadth: An important effect will impact many living creatures or different areas of life
• Depth: An important effect will have deep or meaningful impacts 
• Duration: An important effect will be long-lasting

1. Display or provide your students with copies of the image "Light at night" and briefly explain that this 2012 satellite image shows light rays traveling from earth through the atmosphere and into space. 
2. Together with your students, consider additional effects of light pollution by viewing the following short video, "Light pollution 101". Encourage your students to note any additional effects on their activity sheet as they view the watch the video. 
3. Arrange your students into groups of 3-4 and provide each group with a copy of the "Exploring the effects of light pollution on living things" handout. Ask groups to think of any additional effects of light pollution, and prompt them to note their ideas on the activity sheet. Remind them to use the criteria for an important effect to guide their thinking. 
4. Guide your students’ attention back to the decisions they made at the beginning of this lesson about the three most important effects of light pollution on living things: Has their thinking changed or stayed the same? 
5. Conclude the activity by inviting your students to suggest how addressing the causes and effects of light pollution could be connected to important concepts like conservation and sustainability.