„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 …
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 …
It’s always easy to complain if something is bad. However, there is only useful change when someone also has ideas how to make it better. Many communities want to have street lighting that combines cost efficiency, safety, climate protection, and comfortable light. But the actual outcomes of new street lightings are mostly quite sober. Last …
If you’re at the sea, and it’s a warm night, what would you do? I would walk along the beach and take in the night with all its beauty. Start with the sound of the waves, savour the outlines of rocks, add some starlight and the moon. Perfect! Alas, these days this turns out to …
‘Wait, I’ll show you something!’ We are standing on a balcony, looking over the bush at night. Viktor, our South African host turns on a spotlight at the side of his house. We don’t have to wait long before we see a shadow flitting through the beam. A bat hunts for insects at the light. …
So there has been another climate conference, where the powerful have discussed how to save our world. Main topic, was usual, is the CO2-production. Let’s be honest, most countries find it challenging to reduce their CO2-output, some flatly refuse to try. But some years ago, a light appeared at the end of the tunnel of …
The basic idea how to spent our evenings during our first family holiday was inviting. We would take the kids to bed and then settle down on our private balcony to relax. We had brought a candle and were really happy to find our room equipped with a large balcony with chairs and deckchairs …
Usually LEDs are installed because they are more efficient than traditional street lights. This means you get considerably more light for the same wattage. Andrej Mohar from Dark Sky Slowenia has an example of what happens, when this efficiency is underestimated. The light in the picture comes from a 4000 Kelvin LED street light with …