One of the world's leading astronomical research facilities is right here in the Bay Area, but scientists there say they're worried that a growing local trend will make it difficult to continue doing their job.
The Gilroy City Council is set to vote Monday on changing existing rules to allow a digital billboard closer to Highway 101 something that has the observatory and others concerned.
Digital billboards have been linked to light pollution and have been a local hot topic in recent years, particularly in San Jose.Proponents say the billboards provide marketing opportunities to local businesses and bring money to cities."Based on our own research, we've seen in this county, that the majority of the advertisements are national," said Jason Hemp with the group "Or advertising sites outside of the community like San Diego, for example.
Though a report on the proposed Gilroy billboard last year found that there would not be significant impacts to the environment, Lynam says it's not properly taking light pollution into consideration.The astronomer saying that light pollution has also been linked to various human ailments, like obesity, heart disease and depression.
"More recently, something called mild cognitive impairment, which is a proxy for dementia," he said adding that it's not just one billboard they're focused on. "The immediate concern or the longer-term concern is this is the latest episode in a long-term trend that we're seeing," Lynam said, "It's not simply the growth of light pollution regionally. But it's the growth of light pollution and the acceleration of light pollution regionally."
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