Shades of bright

Last week, I spotted a headline in one of the local newspapers (the Portuguese language HojeMacau, for the record) that arrested my attention. Titled ‘Macau is the Brightest City in the World,’ I at first thought it was another metaphor concerning the immense riches of the city. I was wrong. It was literal.
According to a researcher from one of the local universities, preliminary results suggest that this is possibly the shiniest spot on earth. That is a ranking that we are not sure we should celebrate. This orgy of light has some drawbacks. The intense nightlights in many buildings can impact negatively on the health of residents, disturbing their circadian rhythms. And the consumption of electricity is anything but environmentally friendly.
Most readers may not be aware but the environmental protection services have guidelines on external illumination. It is instructive to mention some of them. Their stated aim is to prevent ‘light pollution’ and ‘save energy’.
For example, the second ‘general instruction’ states that bright displays outside buildings should be set in a way that prevents light from ‘reaching the facades of nearby buildings directly’. Further, it determines that the light intensity measured on the windows or doors of those building should not exceed four lux. For reference, that is about the luminance registered at the end of a clear sky day, when twilight is just about to surrender to total darkness. Further, the document recommends that external light panels be switched off between 11:00 pm and 6:00 am.
How many illuminated buildings follow the rules above? It is hard to figure for a simple reason: they are very difficult to find. We cannot be talking about Macau. The rules may apply somewhere else, but not here. The guidelines published in the environmental services website only highlight how pointless environmental regulations are when there is no willingness or capability to enforce them.
However, let us not despair: they seem to produce effects outside Macau. Readers may remember that some months ago the press reported on complaints addressed to the Zhuhai authorities about the excessive illumination of buildings on the Zhuhai side. They even reacted with, should I say, some humour, projecting the message ‘We love Macau’ for a few days. But in the end, they did reduce the lighting significantly. Whomever Zhuhai lights disturbed can accomplish there what appears impossible here.