(Click here to listen to our exclusive podcast with Mythili)
One day, Mythili was looking up at the sky, and she realized that she couldn’t see the stars. She had never observed it earlier, and wondered what could be the reason behind it.
She soon discovered the reason behind this was “Light Pollution“. She was shocked, and wanted to spread awareness about what light pollution was, and how to prevent it. Hence, when her school’s science fair approached, she and her friends Sri Aditi G and Pujita K created a skit about three children who made their neighborhood lights, dark sky friendly. This was so that more people would know about light pollution and what it does to the environment. Tune in here to know about her journey of Light Pollution
Take a quick look at her artworks on Light Pollution by clicking here.
When asked about why she thinks saving our sky from light pollution is important, Mythili said “Firstly, lights at night affect our sleep cycles, as our brain would think that it is daytime and therefore we do not feel like sleeping. Secondly, glare caused by light pollution can temporarily blind people’s eyes while they drive, causing accidents to occur. Thirdly, badly designed lights in urban areas also attract baby sea turtles when they hatch on the beach, and they get drawn further into the land instead of to the sea, where they belong. Additionally, bright lights also disorient birds when they fly, causing them to slam into buildings. Moreover, brightly lit surroundings also make it hard for carnivorous animals to sneak upon their prey without the prey noticing. Another point to add, white lights, like tube lights, can severely damage our eye cells. Last but not the least, badly designed outdoor lights shine bright in all directions, including upwards, therefore causing skyglow and making it hard to see the stars”
When asked about how she handles light pollution and how everyone can do it too, she said, “I do not turn on my outdoor lights, because they aren’t designed well, and will cause light pollution. I also created a website about light pollution, and shared it with people I knew, so that they would be educated about light pollution. Pujita, Sri Aditi and I also created a group called ‘The Milky Way’, where we brainstorm ways to spread awareness on light pollution.”
She also added, “Our eyes wouldn’t get damaged; we would be able to sleep on time; accidents wouldn’t be caused; birds and animals would live the way they used to and we would be able to see the stars.”
She spreads awareness about light pollution and she passionately affirms “I talk to whoever I know about light pollution, I share my light pollution website to people, and I plan to make flyers about this and spread them around so that people become more aware of light pollution. It’s our duty to make sure that animals like birds, baby turtles and other living creatures live their normal lives without our interference.”
On this International Day for Women and Girls in Science, we at aidbees applaud Mythili’s attempts and wish more girls get inspired from her.
Tune in to hear her talk to our CEO Zamrooda Khanday in an exclusive podcast on our YouTube channel.
Cheers to girl power!
