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Baby sea turtles in Georgia are struggling to find the ocean this season

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By illuminem briefings

· 3 min read


illuminem summarises for you the essential news of the day. Read the full piece on CNN or enjoy below:

🗞️ Driving the news: Loggerhead sea turtle hatchlings on Georgia’s Little St. Simons Island are becoming fatally disoriented by intense artificial lighting from a new Buc-ee’s interchange off Interstate 95
•  The high-mast lights — visible from up to 12 miles away — are drawing the endangered hatchlings inland instead of toward the ocean, significantly increasing their mortality during the 2025 nesting season

🔭 The context: Loggerhead turtles nest along Georgia’s barrier islands from May to August, using moonlight to navigate to the sea after hatching
•  Light pollution has long disrupted this process, but the recent surge in high-intensity interstate lighting has intensified the problem
•  Although Buc-ee’s is not responsible for the installation, the lights are maintained by Glynn County and owned by the Georgia Department of Transportation, which has yet to take action despite conservationists’ warnings

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: Artificial light pollution is an escalating threat to marine biodiversity, particularly for species with highly sensitive navigation behaviors
•  Misoriented hatchlings often die from predation, dehydration, or exhaustion, undermining decades of conservation gains
•  Female turtles also avoid brightly lit nesting sites, further reducing reproductive success
•  Beyond Georgia, this issue reflects a global rise in human-caused night light, jeopardizing ecological resilience in both terrestrial and marine ecosystems

⏭️ What's next: Environmental advocates are urging Glynn County and state officials to implement temporary light shielding or dimming during the ongoing hatching season, which began July 15
•  While the state is reportedly assessing alternative lighting systems, immediate mitigation remains uncertain
•  Without intervention, impacts may spread to other critical nesting areas like Jekyll Island
•  The situation underscores the need for coordinated light pollution standards in coastal infrastructure planning

💬 One quote: “If we’re going to put sea turtles on billboards and magazine ads, we need to hold up our end of the bargain,” said Catherine Ridley of nonprofit One Hundred Miles.

📈 One stat: In 2024, 11% of sea turtle nests on Little St. Simons Island had more than 10 misoriented hatchlings, with each nest averaging around 120 eggs

See on illuminem's Data Hub™ the sustainability performance of the Georgia Department of Transportation and its peers North Carolina DOT, Florida DOT, and CSX Transportation

Click for more news covering the latest on climate change and biodiversity

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illuminem's editorial team, providing you with concise summaries of the most important sustainability news of the day. Follow us on Linkedin, Twitter​ & Instagram

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