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Germany plans to dim lights at night to save insects

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Re: Germany plans to dim lights at night to save insects

#11

Post by pointillistic »

thiago_fm wrote: post #10

I wonder how many centuries it might take for the US to start to care about insects or the environment like some European countries do with the recent regress in policies overall that isn't about ONLY increasing overall GDP in the US. And I say this even not considering Trump, which is a big menace. But democrat candidates in the US also don't care about the environment, not showing much promise. So do the Americans…

Some European countries, named here, only very recently cared more about insects than people.

Re: Germany plans to dim lights at night to save insects

#12

Post by 42droids »

German side streets are fairly dark already. This change will affect ‘large’ polluters, eg. floodlights in car parks, outside store areas, brightly lit buildings, etc. It is a very welcomed change. In our neighbourhood ppl knowingly plant flowers and leave grass grow ‘wild’ to support insects.

Re: Germany plans to dim lights at night to save insects

#13

Post by cheez »

42droids wrote: post #12

German side streets are fairly dark already. This change will affect ‘large’ polluters, eg. floodlights in car parks, outside store areas, brightly lit buildings, etc. It is a very welcomed change. In our neighbourhood ppl knowingly plant flowers and leave grass grow ‘wild’ to support insects.

I do this too but I get bylaw visits from the city. Which cities?

Re: Germany plans to dim lights at night to save insects

#14

Post by quercusa »

TheAdamAndChe wrote: post #6
blakesterz wrote: post #3

I always just assumed that there are few insects now because there are so many more insecticides in use, this is the first time I've heard of lights. There's not much explaination in this article, but here's one with some more: Nighttime Light Pollution May Be Cause of Insect Population Decline https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Nighttime_Light_Pollution... "An analysis of the effects of artificial light at night on…

It's a combination of factors. Insecticides, pollution, loss of habitat, light pollution(especially from daylight LEDs), global warming(throwing off reproduction timing), ubiquitous roadways and vehicles, flat surfaces(beetles get stuck on their back).

Douglas Tallamy, an entomologist at the University of Delaware, makes a convincing case that one factor is the replacement of native plants with (often showier) aliens which local insect populations can't eat. This then reduces the populations of birds which feed on those insects. Site for his books: http://www.bringingnaturehome.net/

Re: Germany plans to dim lights at night to save insects

#16

Post by thatguy0900 »

I actually was sitting outside a few nights ago and realized that there was no more fireflies, and I couldn't remember the last time I had seen one. I used to go out all the time during summer as a kid to catch them, they would light up whole fields. That was just like 15 years ago. Pretty sobering realization

Re: Germany plans to dim lights at night to save insects

#18

Post by LargoLasskhyfv »

WarOnPrivacy wrote: post #5
Solstinox wrote: post #2

...and get better sleep.

Amen. I would kill for this. I keep my own outside lights off, so there's a bit less blindy light pollution on my end of the street. It's the same reason I never report the nearby street lights when they go out. The best outdoor light is less.

Ahem... I seem to recall that the masts of most streetlights are rather thin. Which meant that one could kick them a few times in ways that make the mast swing. Which could be rather large and abrupt swings at the top, which led to "Wackelkontakt"/ loss of contact, and thus darkness. It was even reversible!

Your own personal kick switch for public street lights!

Re: Germany plans to dim lights at night to save insects

#20

Post by yokaze »

pointillistic wrote: post #11
thiago_fm wrote: post #10

I wonder how many centuries it might take for the US to start to care about insects or the environment like some European countries do with the recent regress in policies overall that isn't about ONLY increasing overall GDP in the US. And I say this even not considering Trump, which is a big menace. But democrat candidates in the US also don't care about the environment, not showing much promise. So do the Americans…

Some European countries, named here, only very recently cared more about insects than people.

> Some European countries, named here, only very recently cared more about insects than people.

How is it "more about than"? What are the costs to people by mandating dimming the light?

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