A journey through the bright night Playful learning even if the topic is very sober? Together with my children Benjamin (10) and Viviane (8) have I designed a board game on the impact of light pollution on nature. For some life forms it is useful, others are harmed by the additional light. In many cases …
„We need brightly lit streets to protect women from rape!” Really? Seriously?!? I’ve reached the point where I get angry – and I have some good arguments why we do not need so much light. I frequently get this statement. No matter how many arguments I have for the protection of insects, birds, hedgehogs or …
Right now, there is pretty much one topic: Covid-19. Many hope for a vaccine, but it’s not less important to find a treatment and others way to prevent infection. The internet is full of advise on how to boost the immune system. Some of it is good, some of it is crap, some of it …
We are living in dark times. Let’s be honest, this year did not start well. Bush fires in Australia, war-mongering in the Middle East. Then we received news about a virus in China, which now holds the entire world in its grasp. So on top of all the other worries we’ve been having, another, very …
It’s autumn time. Millions of birds meet in the sky for their journey to the South. For many of them it’s their first journey to a place they have never seen before. For many it will be their last. Because this journey is full of danger. Mortal dangers. The first problem is the simple fact …
If we talk about protecting the the enviornemtn, these days we very much focus on climate change. Scientist have known since more than years that we have a problem. And so did politicians like Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher. Seriously, we have a huge problem at our hands and we are running out of time. …
If you have a garden, and if you care for the environment, you have probably planted native flowers, created hiding places for all sorts of critters, don’t use pesticides, and much more. There are many thing we can do to create a little but valuable refuge in our backyard, and the number of environmentally aware …
Sleep usually happens at night. For our ancestors, there were very practical reasons for this. Artificial light was expensive, high maintenance, and not without danger. Also, it was too dim for most kinds of work. Then Thomas Edison made electrical light affordable for daily use – and it was possible to work all night too. …
It’s that time of year again. The days are getting darker and shorter. The moods are getting heavier. But there is a light at the end of the tunnel – Christmas. And like every year it’s promising to get even brighter and more colourful than last year. To make this clear, I do like Christmas …
Where do you look when you’re out and about after dark? The street? The shopping windows? Your smartphone? Or up to the sky? Probably not the latter. I can fully understand that when you’re in a big city, because, let’s be honest, there isn’t much to look at. You might see the moon, Venus, a …