Hi everyone! My name is Lisa Zaretskaya. I would like to draw your attention to my 2^nd report related to LIGHT POLLUTION IN TAIWAN.

The second meeting of our ecological club in this new semester was devoted to LIGHT POLLUTION IN TAIWAN. The student Ludmila Lai made a report on this problem. (Sorry for being late but I was busy because of the school). Because Taipei city is such that the residential always mixes with the commercial, and since commercial buildings here often leave their lights on after closing, we have a really bad case of nightly light pollution. If you don?t have proper blinds and an eye mask, light sleepers and insomniacs may have a tough time sleeping. The Taipei City Department tries to regulate light pollution.

But guess who else suffers from this light pollution?  The birds! I was shocked to know that. Introducing electric light into the landscape and into the atmosphere, in the form of skyglow, can disrupt these cycles and patterns. Today, people are spilling massive amounts of money paying for electricity to light their store signs at night on streets where no one is walking or paying attention to stores that are shut tight till the morning. It?s a huge waste of personal resources and national stores of electricity, not to mention the light pollution!

So, what?s the solution? Taiwan needs codes and legislation around urban lighting. Store owners, residents, and skyscrapers, please turn your lights off at night! Save the money, and burn less coal in thermal power plants while you?re at it!

Thank you for your attention. Our marathon will be continued??