Monday, Sep 21

Dear Reader,

I can scarcely imagine a more simple Just One Thing than what Dot is suggesting today. What is it? Keep reading.

Dim your outside lights.

Artificial light at night (ALAN) can have widespread impact on the natural world, according to a story on Phys.Org, which notes that “[ALAN] can cause plants to open their buds and sprout leaves earlier in the spring. ALAN can also cause trees to delay changing the color of their leaves in the fall. These changes can ripple through ecosystems, affecting pollinators, herbivores, and insects that lay eggs on plants. ALAN also disorients many migrating birds and other animals.” A new study compared New York City and Washington, DC, which have policies limiting ALAN, with nearby cities without policies in place and theorized that when cities dim their lights (using warmer colors helps too), urban plants may begin to recover their natural seasonal clock.

Turn off your outside lights, use warmer colors and/or a dimmer, and consider installing a motion sensor. These things are always a good idea but they’re especially important to do right now during bird migration.

According to PBS, “Artificial white light is hugely disruptive for a broad range of creatures. For example, bees get a form of jet lag, frogs lose their libido, and bats find it difficult to catch food. Red light enables bats to see in the dark, unlike white light, which blinds them. The simple solution to restoring bats’ night vision has been adopted in Metz in Eastern France, Worcestershire in the British midlands, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium.” 

Darkly,

Dot