HIV? Let's Talk About It.

 By: Hannah Clay

Infographic by: Hannah Clay

The Human Immunodeficiency Virus, or HIV, continues to be a serious global health threat that affects millions of people globally and has a significant negative economic impact on communities.

 

Metro-Atlanta is now the third highest ranked city in the United States. 

 

In 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 2,371 new HIV diagnoses reported in Georgia and a total of 59,422 people living with HIV in the state altogether. 

 

It has been reported that the city of Atlanta makes up more than half of the new HIV cases according to the CDC.

 

The CDC also reports that there are 1.2 million people in the United States living with HIV at the end of 2021.

 

What is HIV?

 

“HIV weakens the immune system, making the body less capable of fending off illness and infection,” Dr. Edward Spilker, a primary care physician said. 

 

HIV starts to infect and kill CD4 cells as soon as it enters the bloodstream. CD4 cells are crucial for organizing the body's defenses against infections. 

 

The immune system is gradually weakened as the virus spreads and the number of CD4 cells drops, making the body more susceptible to infectious diseases and malignancies that a healthy immune system would normally be able to fight off.

 

It is very common for people to experience flu-like symptoms in the early stages of HIV infection, including fever, exhaustion, sore throats, enlarged lymph nodes, and rash. 

 

“The symptoms of HIV can be mild and may not be detected,” Spilker said. 

 

HIV can enter a clinical latency stage after this initial acute phase, during which the virus stays in the body and replicates at low levels without producing noticeable symptoms.

 

If HIV is left without treatment, it will eventually turn into Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, also known as AIDS. 

 

How does HIV spread?

 

Blood, semen, vaginal fluids, and breast milk are among the body fluids that carry the HIV virus and are the main means of transmission. 

 

Common routes of transmission include unprotected sexual contact, sharing syringes or needles tainted with HIV-positive blood, and perinatal transmission—the transfer of HIV from an HIV-positive mother to her child during pregnancy, childbirth, or breastfeeding. 

 

HIV transmission can also occur through occupational exposure among healthcare professionals and transfusion of tainted blood products; however, these are uncommon in areas with strict blood screening guidelines.

 

Who should worry?

 

HIV can impact people of any age, gender, or socioeconomic background, yet it disproportionately affects some communities. 

 

Men who have sexual intercourse with other men, transgender persons, people who inject drugs (PWID), sex workers, and members of marginalized communities who experience restricted access to healthcare facilities and socioeconomic inequality are among the key affected populations.

 

64% of new diagnosis in the United States comes from male-to-male sexual contact. 22% comes from heterosexual contact according to data from the CDC.

 

Moreover, a combination of biological, societal, and economic variables puts young people at higher risk of contracting HIV.

 

“As a gay black man, it is important for me to be educated on things that could directly affect me. It is scary that I live in a city where the rates are so high,” Evan Livesey, a Georgia college student said.

 

How can it be prevented?

 

The cornerstone of HIV control initiatives is prevention, which involves a variety of approaches adapted to various settings and populations. 

 

Important preventive measures include encouraging the use of condoms and providing access to sterile injecting supplies, putting in place thorough sex education programs, increasing the availability of HIV testing and counseling services, and increasing the number of people who can receive pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for those who are at high risk of contracting the virus. 

 

“I think that it is important for all gay men to be educated and if not on PrEP. This will not only protect ourselves but others around us,” Nick Ike said.

 

Furthermore, programs aimed at addressing the structural factors that contribute to HIV transmission—such as prejudice, stigma, and poverty—are essential to creating an atmosphere that is supportive of successful preventative measures.

 

How is it treated?

 

Antiretroviral therapy (ART) advancements have allowed people living with HIV to live long, healthy lives, transforming the virus from a potentially fatal sickness to a chronic condition that can be managed. 

 

In order to lower the amount of HIV virus in the blood and maintain immune function, antiretroviral therapy suppresses viral replication. After an HIV diagnosis, starting ART as soon as possible is essential to attaining viral suppression and stopping the disease's development. 

 

Furthermore, antiretroviral therapy is essential for HIV prevention since it lowers the chance of viral suppression, often known as "treatment as prevention" (TasP). 

 

Apart from conventional antiretroviral therapy regimens, innovative treatment approaches like long-acting injectable formulations and new medication classes have the potential to improve treatment compliance and streamline HIV care.

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Solar Eclipse

 By: Ariana Walker 

                                  

During this cosmic dance between the sun and moon, people explore the fascinating event of how a solar eclipse may change the colors we see, revealing the mysteries and miracles of our own eyes' perception.

A solar eclipse happens when the moon moves in front of the Earth and the sun, blocks some or all of the sun's light. Only during a new moon, when the moon's orbit is exactly between the Earth and the sun and casts its shadow on the surface, does this celestial pairing occur.

A solar eclipse's time can vary based on several variables, such as the kind of eclipse and the part of the world from which it is watched.

Three types of solar eclipses mostly occur around the world which is total, partial, and Annular eclipses.

When the moon fully obscures the sun's disk, a momentary state of darkness known as totality is produced. This is the case during total solar eclipses. Totality lasts anything from a few seconds to a maximum of around seven minutes and thirty-one seconds. 

However, the majority of total solar eclipses only last a few minutes.

Only a bit of the sun is hidden from view by the moon when there is a partial solar eclipse. The length of a partial eclipse can change based on how much of the moon is obscured by the sun. From the start of the partial phase until the finish, it might take several hours.

Annular solar eclipses happen when the moon is too far away from Earth to fully cover the sun's disk. This makes the "ring of fire" of sunlight around the moon.

When looking at the eclipse people are told to wear a specific type of glass so people won’t mess up their eyes because you can go blind. Looking at it the eclipse can be very fun because people are looking at the moon and sun cross each other. This is something that rarely happens.

One of the main questions is how people can see different colors when looking at them.

“In this zone, our eyes are utilizing both the cone and rod cells. So while warmer colors like reds and oranges will appear as being less vibrant, greens and blues will get brighter and more vibrant.”

“This unique effect is known as the Purkinje effect. This is a phenomenon that changes how we perceive colors in low light.”

Wearing the glasses that most people got handed out to them will let them  be able to see the lighting for the eclipse without going home.

“Our perception of this color transformation arises from the specific anatomy of our eyes. Working within the retina—a light-reactive layer of tissue at the back of the human 

eye—are two types of cells called cones and rods.” (Williams, 2024)

The eyes are compassionate so that the people can see the eclipse they are surprised.

“Cone cells provide photopic vision, or the ability to see clearly and perceive colors in well-lit spaces, whereas rod cells give scotopic vision, or the ability to see in dim light but with much less color.” (Williams, 2024)

In conclusion, a solar eclipse is itself an amazing astrological occurrence, but the event of seeing different hues throughout one adds even more wonder to it. The moon modifies the way light is scattered and refracted in Earth's atmosphere by blocking out the sun's brightness.

Smart technology and health monitoring

 By: Tyra Redmond

                                                        Multimedia By Author 

From wearable devices to sleep trackers, data-driven technology is advancing and there’s more to explore. 
 
Smart technology combined with AI algorithms is increasingly popular for recording health patterns with personalized features that monitor well-being. 
 
Professor Jasleen Kaur is a computer scientist and engineer who studies health informatics at Waterloo University. Kaur is also the developer manager for the  Ubiquitous Health Technology Lab. The lab relies on subjective questionnaires and variable devices for sleep monitoring, behavioral patterns, and physical activity. Their recent testing has shown motion sensing data to be the most accurate in sleep quality metrics that generate cues of sleep disturbance, durations, and sleep quality. 
 
“Starting with the collection of data we begin with a pilot study, then recruit 10-15 participants and spend months collecting information based on individual activity, from that evaluation we do an analysis,” Kaur said. 
 
Kaur uses smart thermostats as a data source for evaluating sleep quality and health monitoring.  She aims to find sleep improvement strategies for sleep technologists and healthcare policymakers.
 
She believes wearable technology is effective in tracking the accuracy of sleep and health with a minor setback.  
 
“The main limitation is the batteries in variable devices,” Kaur said. “When the smartwatch, phone, or ring dies, that data cannot be recorded, energy efficiency is crucial.” 
 
Professor. Kaur dedicates the first few months of a new study to selecting efficient technology to support viable findings. 
 
“Majority of engineers' research is related to the embedded process,” Kaur said. “But sensory analysis research is most accurate when paired with existing technology. When we conduct studies  we create predictions based on individual physical activity impacting sleep.” 
 
Biomedical Sensory Monitoring 

Pulkit Grover is a Biomedical Engineer at Carnegie Mellon University. He depends on information theory to assess bias in existing biomedical systems, including EEG to design neural sensing and stimulation interfaces.
 
Grover uses AI to design stimulation parameters for neurostimulation, e.g. for cell-type specific stimulation.
 
“I am not directly working on energy efficiency at this point, but overall, this would be about designing better algorithms that do not require high power and integrating the hardware with power,” Grover said. 
 
Therefore, he finds wireless, wearable neurostimulation devices very exciting.
 
For conducting research, Grover does animal and phantom experiments to ensure systems are reliable for unique testing.
 
Thomas Murphy is a professor at Georgia Southern’s Armstrong campus. Unlike Grover, he designs sensor circuits and digital filters of health data for the Biodynamics and Human Performance Center.
 
Most of Murphy’s work stems from noninvasive techniques involved with human subjects. However, since COVID-19 the lab has lost its ability to have physical subjects.
 
Understanding innovative advancements is essential for learning sensors and their limitations. 
 
“Luckily, there's a standard procedure for designing technology and most of it isn't changing that rapidly in the market right now. If anything, it's improving rather than differentiating: such as camera sensors and revolution,” Murphy said. “In today's technology, we have more computing power that is  faster with sophisticated analysis.”
 
Even though research indicates smart devices offer a reasonable degree of accuracy, they do not substitute the standards of a clinical setting or a sleep laboratory.
 
“Anything where you’re trying to make a judgement based on data requires some kind of algorithm for your program or application to come from,” Murphy said.  “They play a large role from the designers' standpoint, whoever creates the app on wearable devices develops a claim based on their sensor measurements.” 
 
Murphy believes the' fit' is the biggest inaccuracy of wearable devices when tracking health.  He made an analogy to the reliability of ECG readings on skin that needs to be properly prepped with shaving or gel application.
 
“This has always been an issue when tracking any biomedical sensors doing surface measurements,” Murphy said. 
 
Even more, Apple and Fitbit products mention the proper fit of their device is very important to receive precise information.

“Sensors have an inherent limitation on what they can detect. If it’s a poor fit, that contributes to error,” Murphy said. 

Can Running Actually Be Easy?

 By: Zoey Pittman 

By: Zoey Pittman 

When you think of heart-health, Honey Nut Cheerios and running so fast your heart feels like it’ll burst out of your chest probably comes to mind. However, there are other ways to achieve cardiovascular health without your heart feeling like it is going to explode every time you run. 

Influencers like Andrew Huberman, a neuroscientist, and Nick Bare, CEO of Nick Bare Nutrition, often talk about the benefits of Zone Two cardio with how it can not only improve one’s health, but also improve endurance. 

Cardio is any exercise that strengthens the heart, Dr. Gary Elkon, cardiologist, explained. There are five different zones that the heart works at during an exercise and each zone is targeted for a specific purpose during an elite runner’s training. 

Zone one is light exercise, like a brisk walk. Zone two is an easy, conversational pace. zone three, is still conversational but becomes harder to talk. 

Zone four is running at a pace that you can not hold for long, think about almost red lining a car, and zone five is an all-out sprint, the car has reached the red line.

There are formulas to use to give an estimate of an individual’s max aerobic, meaning muscles are still using oxygen to run (subtract age from 220) based on their age. Smart watch devices such as Garmin and Coro also give a projection of a person’s heart rate zones based on the formulas the watches use. 

“I believe that the lower heart rate zones are a way to allow people who are not particularly active to maintain a good lifestyle,” Dr. Elkon said. 

With zone two cardio, it is easy enough for someone to maintain for long periods of time while also preventing injury, but also challenging for people who are beginning to exercise and not over exert themselves. 

The levels of heart rate zones that are individualized for people. For instance, someone who is an experienced runner may be able to run with a heart rate of 150 bpm, which is zone two for them. 

Although someone is just starting out running, may not be able to comfortably hold a heart rate the same as the elite runners. Therefore they have two different levels of zone two cardio. 

“You do not have to go from zero to 100 in your car to get from A to B. You can do that by going from zero to 40, and the same applies for heart rate training,” Dr. Elkon said. 

While the idea of zone two training is great, there are other things to consider that can impact your heart rate daily. 

“For the general population, I recommend a little bit of both. I think there is a purpose of doing a little bit of elevated zone two training,” Danielle Johnson said, who is a personal trainer. 

Stress, medications, environment, how much sleep a person got can all play a part in elevating the heart rate. This is when solely running off the numbers can become a little tricky.

“Going by the numbers can be challenging because of the different variables, but going by conversation pace is easier to follow,” Brittany Taylor said, who is a run coach. 

Relying on a watch to determine if one’s heart rate is staying in zone two is like putting all the eggs in one basket. Watches are not always accurate, although still a good tool to use for training, but going by feel is also a good assurance. 

A person does not necessarily need a watch that tracks their heart rate to know if they are running in zone two, they can figure out if they are going at a zone two pace because it feels easy. 

The idea of zone two cardio is to alway the body to build muscular endurance without overworking itself. Using the concept of running at a conversion pace, can help ensure that the runner is staying in that easy, lower heart rate zone. 

A runner, running too fast will not be able to hold a conversation while their heart rate is in zone four and beating at 175 bpm. 

Zone two, which has been established as easy cardio, is a zone that helps strengthen the heart to pump blood more efficiently, which will also help lower blood pressure, according to Johnson. 

Doing lower heart rate training will not in itself make the runner faster, but it will build an aerobic foundation, allow the body to recover from anaerobic speed training (muscles are working without oxygen), which will improve a runner’s speed in the long run. 

“Watches are great for when it is hot because you can keep more of an eye on your heart rate not getting too high, but it is always a good idea to go by your conversion pace which helps keep the easy runs easy,” said Taylor. 

Turf Wars: Is Synthetic Turf Grass Safe?

 

Pictured is the synthetic turf grass, located at Georgia Southern's Anthony P. Tippins Training Facility, that many athletes train on during their season.  

By: Emily Potter

"Will my child be playing on a turf field?" was a popular question asked this year to Bulloch County Recreational soccer coach Owen Buff. 

"This year was my first year coaching youth soccer for the Rec. department," Buff said. "I was shocked at the first team meeting when a mom asked if her child would be playing on turf or not, I didn't know that was even a concern."  

Synthetic turf grass has become a staple in sporting fields, community parks, and playgrounds across the country. In 2019, it was recorded that in the U.S. there were roughly around 12,000 synthetic turf fields, according to news blog Beyond Pesticides.  

What is synthetic turf grass?

To simply put it, synthetic turf grass looks like real grass but instead is composed of green, plastic blades -that look like the real thing- and a filling that is a mixture of crumb rubber, flexible plastic pellets, and sand, according to New York State Department of Health.  

This artificial grass is used all over the U.S. and has become increasingly a new norm, especially in urban areas.

Synthetic turf grass is not a new invention when it comes to being used in sporting facilities, playgrounds, or public outdoor spaces. It has been used since its introduction in the 1960s, according to the Synthetic Turf Council (STC). However, there is a new question that has been raised: is synthetic turf grass safe for athlete's health?  

Parents, athletes, and even coaches have concerns of playing on synthetic turf grass due to the unknown affects of chemicals used within synthetic turf filling can have on an individual's health long term. 

"As a former collegiate soccer player, coach, and now father, I have seen the conversation around the safety of synthetic grass become more and more heavily talked about," Omar Morales, former soccer player and coach said. "I know parents of kids on my children's soccer team discusses its safety all the time on facebook soccer groups."

But what's the cause of concern? PFAS. 

PFAS stands for per- and polufluoroalkyl substances and are a group of man-made chemicals. These chemicals can be found in different consumer, commercial, and industrial industries. 

Scientific studies have shown that exposure to some PFAS in the environment may be linked to harmful health effects in humans and animals, according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency.  

"This is the concern many parents have about turf, they are worried about these chemicals found in the turf rubber to be linked to cancer," Morales said. "But this is all they just hear about from a crazy post on Facebook."

Although there seems to be much of a concern from parents, there seems to be little concern from the athletes themselves.

Walker Bradberry, Georgia Southern Football punter and kicker, has been playing football for eight years. As a collegiate athlete with years of experience, it comes to a surprise that Bradberry has never heard of PFAS before.  

"I have been playing on turf since my senior year of high school and have had some good and bad experiences on artificial turf," Bradberry said. "I have heard about a lot of issues when it comes to turf burn and the cleanliness of turf but I haven't ever heard of PFA chemicals."

For many athletes, like Bradberry, they seem to not be concerned if there is a health risk involved in playing their sport. They would rather simply just play.

Trace Morales, son of Omar Morales and also a soccer player, has also never heard about the concern with PFAS in turf but doesn't think much of it.

"I haven't heard of PFAS chemicals before, but as a player, you never really think too much about the risks and dangers...you just play," Morales said.

Research is still being conducted and studied in order to better understand PFAS and their effects on human health.

However, there are thousands of PFAS chemicals that are found in many different consumer, commercial, and industrial products. This makes it challenging to study and assess the potential human health risks, according to the EPA. 

A recent report published by the EPA in April 2024, reaffirms the safety of synthetic turf sports fields that use crumb rubber infill. For agencies like the STC, this is exciting data to share with those who are concerned with PFAS and is considered a breakthrough in the research done on PFAS before.

"We were pleased to see that in the EPA report it reaffirms what other research has shown, that synthetic turf and its system components are safe," Synthetic Turf Council CEO Melanie Taylor said. 

The Synthetic Turf Council was founded in 2003, and their mission is to lead, educate, and advocate for the synthetic turf industry. With turf being so widely used, is is clear to see why a council is in-place to help protect a multimillion-dollar industry. 

"Synthetic turf systems unlock thousands of hours of additional play across America, save millions of gallons of water annually, and provide a more consistent playing surface." Taylor said. This is why it has become so prevalent across the U.S.  

Although new research points to PFAS being more than likely safer than originally thought to be, turf grass still has physical effects on athlete's health. Turf grass has been linked to joint injuries, turf rubber in eyes, and turf burn. 

"Turf is a lot tougher than real grass, so I have seen and experienced more injuries on turf than I have on regular grass," Morales said. "I have experienced a sprained AC joint in my shoulder after landing on a turf field." 

Bradberry also recalls in his experience that turf for other football players raises a lot of injury risk. 

"It raises the risk of injury especially for some positions such as wide receivers, running backs, and cornerbacks," Bradberry said. "Sometimes for kickers, certain turf fields - not Georgia Southern - can be very hard and can cause issues with our joints and can hurt to kick on."

Although the benefits and research on synthetic turf seems to make strides to being safe, there are still few parents who are not fully bought into the idea of turf grass playing fields. Therefore, the "turf wars" is still up for debate.

As for Buff's 8u soccer team mentioned earlier, they finished their season playing eight games on good ole regular grass.

"I am kinda glad we didn't play on turf fields, I think my kids would've been more interested in playing or eating the rubber filler than playing soccer," Buff Said.

Bird Flu in Cow Farms

 

    Photo taken by: Willow Handley

 

Could your hamburger meat and milk be infected with a strain of bird flu? Hopefully not. 

 

H5N1 is a strain of Bird Flu that is causing outbreaks within the poultry and dairy industry. This strain has been around since 1997. Bird Flu is defined by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention as “the disease caused by infection with avian (bird) influenza (flu) Type A viruses.”

 

The main concern with the virus is its ability to cross barriers between species, bird to human. 

 

As of April 30, 2024 there have been 36 dairy herds affected throughout 9 states according to the CDC. The CDC also confirmed that the first person who tested positive after having exposure to H5N1 was in Texas. The first instance of mammal to human transmission was in 2022 when someone in Colorado tested positive via nasal swab for a different strain. 

 

This virus can be most commonly seen in chickens, ducks, geese, and hens. These viruses can be spread to other birds, animals, and although it is rare, even humans. Humans who work with poultry are the ones who get infected.

 

If humans get infected with bird flu, some of the side effects include; cough, headaches, difficulty breathing, fatigue, body aches, and many more. Other diseases humans can get from animals include rabies, trichinosis, and brucellosis, etc. 

 

There are several ways in which humans can get infected. They can get it through direct contact, contaminated surfaces and the bird flu virus in the air whether in droplets or dust.  

 

Associate Professor of Epidemiology at Georgia Southern University, Jessica Schwind, gave us some helpful statistics to understand the severity of this disease. She said “From January 1, 2003 to March 28 2024, only 888 cases of human infection with avian influenza (H5N1) were reported in 23 countries. Out of the 888 known cases, 463 were fatal. This equates to a catastrophic case fatality rate of 52% once H5N1 gets into humans.”

 

Justin Bennett, an agricultural teacher in middle Georgia, oversees students and helps them take care of swine livestock. He explained that “bacterial and viral infections can arise from different people entering the barn and working with the animals.” 

 

Bennett gave the example of students and parents bringing in these diseases on their shoes and clothing, then passing it to the animals. 

All unprotected contact with wild birds or animals should be avoided if at all possible. Even if the animals don’t look sick, they could still be carrying several kinds of diseases. 

 

If contact is made, wash your hand with soap and water. If you work with a large number of animals, you should wear a N95 mask to help protect you from the airborne portion of the virus.   

 

Personal Protective Equipment or PPE is recommended because “much of the risk to humans occurs during the removal of dead birds or clean up of spaces where infected birds were housed” according to the AgriSafe Network. 

 

Pigs, if fallen ill, will not eat or drink water. Cows, however, can have low appetite, reduced milk production, and may have an abnormal appearance of milk such as being thick or discolored. 

 

Even though the virus might be as deadly in cows as it is with birds, if an infected cow’s milk gets processed and consumed it could cause humans to fall ill. This is why humans are advised not to drink raw milk or eat raw-based cheese, it may have harmful bacteria according to the FDA. 

 

If the animal is infected they will be given antibiotics and electrolytes to help cure the disease. Bennett said that “an antibiotic many have a 14-day withdrawal which means it will take 14 days for all the medication to exit the animal’s body. During this period of time the animal cannot be sent to the slaughter.” 

 

This is to ensure that humans don’t consume any product containing the antibiotics or the disease itself, if the medicine hasn’t cured it yet.

 

To take extra precaution, make sure you are not drinking any raw milk that came straight from the farm. Also, if you are cooking meat or chicken, make sure that you are cooking it to completion. The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services says that “all parts of the chicken need to be fully cooked to a temp. of 165 degrees F – this temp. will kill the H5N1 as well as other illnesses.” 

 

 

Light Pollution: The Real Dark Place

                  

Georgia Nighttime Sky Photo by: Mya Taylor

By: Mya Taylor

When you walk outside at night and look up at sky, you may notice that something is missing.  

The presence of stars captivated our curious eyes as children. We were once gifted with these jewels of the galaxy, and now, stargazers mourn the night sky that once was. Light pollution is the thief in the night that robs us of seeing stars. 

Diane Turnshek is an astronomer, lecturer and demo manager in the Physics Department at Carnegie Mellon University. When taking a trip to the Mars Desert Research station in Utah, Turnshek was amazed by the starry night sky.  

In that moment, she was reminded of what a night sky truly looked like. However, after returning to Pittsburgh, she noticed that there were not as many stars in the sky.  

This inspired her to begin advocating for the return of clear, dark night skies. Turnshek defines light pollution as excessive artificial light that brightens the sky at night.  

When this light beams upward and scatters off particles in the atmosphere, it creates skyglow. Turnshek says that skyglow is a rounded vault of light that covers the city of Pittsburgh and can be seen from 200 miles away.  

When residents in the city look up at the sky, they can only see the moon, a few planets and very little stars.  

 “It’s really disabling to people to not be able to see the sky, to see stars,” Turnshek said. 

The Culprits 

LED lights are commonly used for outdoor lighting. However, while they are deemed environmentally friendly, their brightness is not.  

LED lights have been identified as the main culprits of light pollution.  

“So the reason why LEDs cause more light pollution is because the outdoor lights that we put up have a blue spike in them,” Turnshek said. “The LEDs have the broad spectrum but then a spike in the blue area where it’s higher output, and blue light scatters more easily in our atmosphere than red light.” 

LEDs were first created high in temperature. Manufacturers are now switching to producing warmer lights that are better for human health, but not many people have caught on to using them. 

Turnshek believes that since most people have older LEDs installed, it will take a longer time for them to transition to the newer, more environmentally friendly versions.  

Why is light pollution harmful? 

 Light pollution disrupts the normal behaviors and lifespans of plants. The artificial light acts as daylight, prolonging the light exposure to plants.  

This results in plants living in a state of confusion and can lead to a late winter freeze that can kill budding plants. Bird and insect populations are also suffering from light pollution.  

Urban Bird Conservation Coordinator Jonathan Rice says that since some birds use stars as a guide when migrating at night, they can mistake the bright lights from cities for their usual starry path.  

This can lead to bird-window collisions, which often result in numerous traumatic brain injuries for birds. 

Rice is over the Birdsafe Pittsburgh program, in which he studies the occurrence of these collisions. A volunteer base collects research data on the makeup of the buildings involved in these collisions, and the communities where they take place.  

Rice also oversees the Northeast Motus Collaboration, a research project that focuses on migratory wildlife and bird conservation. The wildlife tracking network has built over 150 automated radio stations in the Northeast United States.  

The stations help provide the conservationists with a better understanding of bird migration behaviors. Before beginning construction, they observe the state of the land, such as the soil makeup, power and road accessibility.  

After the landowner permits construction, they purchase the equipment, and the assigned team constructs the station. Construction usually takes 1-2 days to complete depending on road accessibility and weather.  

The team conducts yearly upkeep of the stations to make sure they are running correctly and to address any issues. Intense upkeep is performed in the summer months, in which they reconstruct stations damaged by inclement weather events and wildlife pests.  

To keep track of the birds, the team uses nanotags. Nanotags are battery operated tracking devices that help monitor bird movement and behavior. To be tagged, birds must meet health and weight requirements. 

The nanotag rests on the lower back of the birds with the help of a harness, which is pulled over their feet and wrapped around their abdomen. This placement helps to conceal the tag with the bird’s feathers and allows the birds to shed freely.   

“As these birds move through, and these microbursts being transmitted by the tag, the antenna picks up the microbursts, transfers it to the computer running the station,” Rice said. “The computer is able to read the time, space between four bursts, and that tells the computer what individual tag it just heard.” 

This also alerts the conservationists of the species of bird that sent a signal.  

Some species of birds can be harder to track than others. For example, the teams will have a hard time getting a signal from birds that prefer sound restricted areas like thick forest floor vegetation. 

At times, antennas can mistake certain sounds for signals.  

The material used to create the harness loops decomposes within a few weeks or years. After the batteries die, they will fall off the bird, allowing it to continue its life without carrying “dead weight.”  

As the housing area developments continue to grow, native bird species are at risk of losing their homes.  

“98 to 99% of bird-window collisions usually take place at small low rise residential buildings that make up the majority of our surface landscape,” Rice said.  

Insects, like birds, are drawn to brightly lit cities and communities. This can cause them to become vectors of diseases due to interactions with other animals.  

Turnshek says that reports have shown light pollution is a form of injustice that is afflicted on minority neighborhoods.  

“In cities it’s been seen that Hispanic and Asian and Black communities generally have up to twice as much light pollution as white communities,” Turnshek said. “You ask why that is, they’re basically targeted by law enforcement to be brighter, so that they can be watched and that’s not a comfortable thing.”  

The biggest perpetrators of light pollution are pot greenhouses. The houses are typically made of glass and use light throughout the night to help the plants grow. The lighting produces a pink and purple hue, which is then reflected in the sky.  

Warehouses and fracking wells are also contributors to light pollution. 

“It’s deeper and more complex than people think. I’m constantly discovering new things about the way people light areas at night,” Turnshek said.  

What is being done to stop light pollution? 

In 2015, Turnshek gave a TEDX presentation discussing the issue of light pollution. The presentation was so impactful that the state of Pittsburgh established its first Dark Sky ordinance, which focuses on reducing light pollution from parking lots and buildings. 

There are now 19 states that have light pollution ordinances. On the other side of Pennsylvania, legislative changes are in the works.  

Pennsylvania House Bill 1803, the Responsible Outdoor Lighting Control Act, is a nonpartisan bill that was started by Dark Sky Committee chair and co-chair Timothy Lawlor and Suzanne Webster. Lawlor is an astrophysicist at Penn State University’s Brandywine campus.  

Webster is an English Professor at Elizabethtown college. Eight years ago, Webster, who's originally from England, began noticing that she could not see as many stars. 

She was able to connect the presence of bright light to their disappearance. However, the issue became even more clear to her when new bright lights were installed near her home four years later.  

Webster, who was passionate about light pollution, was invited by Lawlor to co-chair the committee with him.  

After learning about the work being done in Europe to combat light pollution, Webster wanted to take action in her own community. Webster and Lawlor presented the issue to the office of Pennsylvania State Representative Chris Pielli, who supported the bill. 

The chairs were sent a layout of a past lighting bill, which they revised with regulations for modern day lighting technologies. Responsible lighting organizations and other dark sky advocates also offered their support for the bill.   

Pielli is now the sponsor of the bill. If passed, the bill would require light minimization from streetlamps and government buildings.  

“In order to make it less of a financial burden, the idea is basically that the bill won’t impact a property until it’s replacing its lights,” Lawlor said. “The one exception to that is that whenever possible if you can redirect the lights so that it’s not creating glare, then you have to do that.”  

At first, Lawlor was worried that people would not want to hear about light pollution. However, since the bill has generated much support, he is glad to see that times are changing.   

Rice believes that while the bill is a great start to address this issue, he hopes that there will be more enforced regulations that focus on the conservation of bird species.  

“I want the basics of responsible outdoor lighting to be observed by the government and the states in Pennsylvania, and that for that to be an influence upon private businesses and residents,” Webster said.  The bill is now in the discussion process. 

What can be done right now? 

The Environment Protection Agency has not acknowledged light pollution as a category of pollution. Despite the Dark Sky ordinance being put in place, people are still not aware of light pollution and its negative impact on the environment. 

There is a fear of darkness due to the belief that criminal activity will take place. However, there is no scientific evidence that confirms bright lights keep neighborhoods safe.  

Turnshek recommends those who want to overcome their fear of darkness to take baby steps. The Dark Sky Committee does not want a dark world, but a clear night sky.  

“Darkness has value, it's beautiful,” Turnshek said.