Lots of teenagers spend their time relaxing over winter break; but 15-year-old Rushil Kukreja was busy meeting with state lawmakers in Virginia about light pollution.
Along with his academics, Kukreja, a junior at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Fairfax County, always had a peaked interest in astronomy. But the hazy night sky made it hard for him to enjoy it.
“It’s often very difficult to see the stars and see the Milky Way due to light pollution,” he said.
Something closer to his heart prompted his action against light pollution. His aunt, a nurse who often worked overnights, was diagnosed with breast cancer. Studies have suggested an increased risk of breast cancer is tied to light pollution’s impact on health.
“That’s what actually mobilized me to take action on the issue and focus more on light pollution,” Kukreja said.
He decided to create a nonprofit called Princia. The goal, he said, is to spur “advocacy, education and research.”
The nonprofit has had an impact far beyond his home in Northern Virginia; it has over 250 advocates in six continents, according to Kukreja.
He even addressed the United Nations General Assembly in New York in October.
This month, he met with Virginia lawmakers to discuss legislation in the upcoming General Assembly session. The goal of legislation this year, Kukreja said, is to create “public awareness campaigns and light pollution monitoring programs at the state level.”
Light pollution affects “a huge variety of issues,” Kukreja said, from health impacts on humans to hundreds of millions of migratory bird deaths each year. Lit windows at night can draw birds off course as they migrate at night, and the resulting light pollution “kills 600 million birds each and every year,” according to Kukreja.
Kukreja is adamant that no matter how small, each person’s actions can had a positive impact.
“I think definitely the way to start is one problem at a time,” he said. “It is definitely possible to make a change at a large level. Even just being a normal high schooler.”