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On Friday, September 19, at 10 p.m., the lights went out. Austria took a stand against light pollution—for the environment, animal welfare, and healthy nights.
On September 19, the fifth “Earth Night” took place in Austria. As a sign against light pollution and for environmental and animal protection, everyone turned off their lights at 10 p.m., creating a true night for insects, bats, and our health.
City dwellers in particular enjoyed this annual event and turned their gaze to the stars, which are otherwise only visible with great effort. The organization “Die Umweltberatung” has always supported Earth Day and provides detailed information about the benefits of darkness:
We are often unaware of how much brighter traffic lights, neon signs, facade lighting, lanterns, and signposts make our nights. Light sources that are directed toward the sky and illuminate buildings, for example, increase light pollution many times over.
In Vienna, the decorative lighting on the Danube Canal bridges and the Otto Wagner Church was turned off during Earth Night. In recent years, MA 33—Vienna has already equipped many lights in Vienna with LED lamps that shine downwards to reduce light pollution.
Tips to reduce light pollution
– Reduce outdoor lighting to the necessary minimum. (Motion detectors or timers can help here).
– Downward light: Full-cut-off lights that only direct light downwards are recommended.
– It is better to avoid globe lights that emit light indiscriminately in all directions.
– Floor-level lights: Mounting lights as low as possible prevents glare and excessive light scattering.
– Warm white light: Energy-saving, long-lasting LED lamps with a “warm white” color temperature (below 3000 Kelvin) are suitable for lighting paths and terraces. Their light attracts fewerinsects,s as it does not contain any UV rays.
- source: heute.at/picture: Bild von Nicolas Quintana auf Pixabay
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