The light is not so fantastic

• Source: Global Times
• [10:06 June 10 2010]
• Comments

The Dior display shines under the night sky at Plaza 66 on Nanjing Road West in Jing'an district. Photo: Shen Weihuang

By Shen Weihuang

Residents on Nanjing Road West in Jing'an district are complaining about light pollution from the display in front of the newly-opened Dior flagship store in the Plaza 66 shopping mall.

A resident surnamed Shen, who lives opposite the Dior shop, was quoted in Wednesday's Labor Daily as saying she has found it difficult to fall asleep since the display was erected in May as the light from the display is too bright. She added she has had to hang a carpet across her window to block the light.

A member of staff at the public relations department of Plaza 66, surnamed Cao, said that the display was not breaking any rules. "Dior has every certificate they need from the district government for the display," he told the Global Times Wednesday, adding that the display will end by June 20.

Dior's Shanghai office could not be reached Wednesday.

The sanitation authorities of Shanghai have opened a hot line for lodging complaints about pollution, although according to an operator the Global Times spoke to, they seldom receive complaints about light pollution. He also said that there is no specific government department tasked with tackling light pollution.

In contrast to air and water pollution, light pollution has not gained wide public recognition in China. Some Chinese experts, however, are aware of the damage it can cause.

"Light pollution is very likely to lead to insomnia, which in the long-term can cause depression or even a nervous breakdown, as well as a decrease in sexual functioning," Guo Qihao, a doctor from the psychiatric department of Shanghai Huashan Hospital, told the Global Times Wednesday.

"Technically, light pollution is actually not a very hard problem to solve," Zhao Youcai, a professor from the Environmental Science and Engineering College of Tongji University, told the Global Times Wednesday. "Simple changes in lighting design can decrease the amount of light pollution spilled into the atmosphere."

One example of the use of such lighting is the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai, where more than 80 percent of the outdoor lighting uses LEDs, which are also more energy saving and have a longer life span than conventional lighting.

"However, LEDs are expensive, which is why they are not so widely used, especially in everyday situations" Zhao added.