Artificial lighting is threatening the sea turtle population. After emerging from their shells in the wee hours of the morning, sea turtle hatchlings instinctively find their way to the sea by the light reflected on the ocean. Modern society is now posing a threat to their survival as the brightest light is no longer coming from the ocean, but from hotels and shops along the ocean front. This causes the turtles to become disorientated, lose their bearings and either die of dehydration, get run over by cars or are eaten by birds, according to Scientific American. 

Tens of thousands of sea turtle hatchlings die a year along Florida coasts, posing a great threat to three endangered sea turtle species. To help protect the population, new LED lights have been installed along the beach front that operate at lower levels of visible light and wavelength to reduce disorientation for the turtles. The LED lights have a wavelength that is too low to affect the sea turtles as it is on the yellow/orange part of the light spectrum.

The Sea Turtle Conservancy (STC) reported that areas that have made the switch have already seen a rapid decline in disorientation for the turtles. Some areas have reported numbers falling from hundreds each year to zero.