Can you get even darker? Streetlights in Berlin (for example) are already uncomfortably dim.
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
#22I 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…
to be fair, every country i've visited/lived in pales in comparison to Germany when it comes to environmental friendliness.
Re: Germany plans to dim lights at night to save insects
#23German 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?
Dresden. Don’t get me wrong the gardens are neat but ppl keep longer grass, bushes, lots of flowers. Don’t know much about the laws in Germany (only recently moved here) but I can see that ppl care about their environment.
Re: Germany plans to dim lights at night to save insects
#24Earlier quoted context omitted.
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?
The GP is referencing the Holocaust since the story is about Germany. Though I don't know what that has to do with this article or the comment he is replying to.
Re: Germany plans to dim lights at night to save insects
#25Can you get even darker? Streetlights in Berlin (for example) are already uncomfortably dim.
if you don't have to expect a thug with a gun around the corner like in the US, maybe it's completely ok?
Re: Germany plans to dim lights at night to save insects
#26This is good; we've badly underestimated the cost of excess light pollution.
Also good is using more LED street lamps that focus the light where we need it, rather than all over the place. Light pollution is bad, and street lights are very power hungry, with the old sodium lights consuming up to 0.25kWh per hour.
Re: Germany plans to dim lights at night to save insects
#27This would be great for amateur astronomers too.
Re: Germany plans to dim lights at night to save insects
#28Earlier quoted context omitted.
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?
> What are the costs to people by mandating dimming the light?
It makes it harder to see at night.
Re: Germany plans to dim lights at night to save insects
#29I 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…
I often hear Europeans make sweeping judgements about the US that reflect a lack of understanding of the country and continent. In part I think this is because most visitors from abroad only travel to NYC, SF, or LA, which are great cities, but not representative of the majority of the country.
Incredible as this may sound, around half of the US land area is completely uninhabited. Fully 1/3 of the land is owned by the federal government, and most of this is managed with environmental considerations at the forefront. The only part of the US that is even vaguely like European population density is the northeast corridor from Boston to DC, which represents a small percentage of the country.
People in the US care a lot about the environment, but the issue has been politicized of course and pits different factions against each other. We also have a housing crisis, and it’s very difficult to get humans to worry about saving anything else when they can’t get a roof over their head.
The US has myriad environmental problems and needs to do better, but it also has a very different situation on the ground compared to Europe, and thus requires different approaches in some areas.
Re: Germany plans to dim lights at night to save insects
#30Do you remember the time when you had to clean your windshield after driving into holidays?
Yes it happened two days ago.