This is one of those things I've seen over the years, and yet not thought about the implications.
Even as a child, attending a night baseball game, I had seen swarms of insects circling around the lights. It was a normal thing, and no one had stopped to ask why this is happening, or if it was a good thing.
Of course, the general attitude back then was that insects were pests, and if they died due to lights, that was all fine.
But just the act of circling the lights means that the insects aren't doing what they would normally do. And so it disrupts the ecosystem in ways that we may not have intended.
I also remember being in awe of the amounts of insets buzzing around lights in the summer, or landing everywhere during mayfly mating season. Now as an adult, I don’t see that anymore and had thought it was childhood memories where everything is bigger and more impressive. No, they really are dying off
It also doesn't do wonders for us trying to get to a sustainable energy standpoint, lighting up every highway, every suburban intersection with street lights. Its all so wasteful and could be eliminated or replaced my motion activated lights or just using car headlights.
Also if we had those lights all pointed down instead of shining into my eyes as I’m walking around, then they would be more efficient, as well as more effective from the point of view of enabling outdoor safety rather than blinding the people they’re supposed to protect.
When I was a kid, only 15-20 years ago, I remember seeing swarms of insects in the Summer. Riding my Dad’s lawn mower, small flying bugs would constantly be hitting my face, and flies could be seen all around. Now, I rarely see any insects at all. It’s kind of scary.
I drove across the country fifteen years ago, and again five years ago. My parents did so a month ago, when it was still unseasonably warm throughout the trip.
The first time I made the drive I had to stop on the way to clean off my windshield twice. The second time, I didn't really need to clean my windshield off at all until I got to my destination, though I had a few bugs splattered on it.
They never had to clean off their windshield. There was practically nothing splattered on it.
I'm worried.
I've noticed this as well. I live in southeastern KS, I have relatives ~200 miles away in western KS I have been visiting since I was a kid in the 1980s.
Since the late 1990s or so, I drive there myself, I go out there at least a couple times a year. Bugs were always a constant battle, especially in the late summer, and I'd sometimes have to stop once or twice on the way to clean off my windshield.
These days, I never stop, make it all the way there and back with just a spot or two on my windshield.
I know some farms use artificial lights on produces and livestock’s for growth control or warmth etc. even so called organic farms do it and it’s not seen with any issues but I always thought “how is this organic? But I was never able to back this up with a valid or smart argument for a conversation. After all it just light and electricity can be produced from clean energy. But now I read this article, I feel like I found another piece of the puzzle.
I think a lot of articles like this end up selling the wrong points, like global warming did with climate change. The issues of migration are hard to tract for fish, and I can't imagine what they're like for insects, but I don't see why their would be a collapse as opposed to new distributions in different locations. Are some insects the most resilient species on earth? Are we actually talking about "insect apocalypse" or certain necessary species becoming extinct while other flourish?
Even as a child, attending a night baseball game, I had seen swarms of insects circling around the lights. It was a normal thing, and no one had stopped to ask why this is happening, or if it was a good thing.
Of course, the general attitude back then was that insects were pests, and if they died due to lights, that was all fine.
But just the act of circling the lights means that the insects aren't doing what they would normally do. And so it disrupts the ecosystem in ways that we may not have intended.
I also remember being in awe of the amounts of insets buzzing around lights in the summer, or landing everywhere during mayfly mating season. Now as an adult, I don’t see that anymore and had thought it was childhood memories where everything is bigger and more impressive. No, they really are dying off
It also doesn't do wonders for us trying to get to a sustainable energy standpoint, lighting up every highway, every suburban intersection with street lights. Its all so wasteful and could be eliminated or replaced my motion activated lights or just using car headlights.
Also if we had those lights all pointed down instead of shining into my eyes as I’m walking around, then they would be more efficient, as well as more effective from the point of view of enabling outdoor safety rather than blinding the people they’re supposed to protect.
When I was a kid, only 15-20 years ago, I remember seeing swarms of insects in the Summer. Riding my Dad’s lawn mower, small flying bugs would constantly be hitting my face, and flies could be seen all around. Now, I rarely see any insects at all. It’s kind of scary.
I drove across the country fifteen years ago, and again five years ago. My parents did so a month ago, when it was still unseasonably warm throughout the trip.
The first time I made the drive I had to stop on the way to clean off my windshield twice. The second time, I didn't really need to clean my windshield off at all until I got to my destination, though I had a few bugs splattered on it.
They never had to clean off their windshield. There was practically nothing splattered on it.
I'm worried.
I've noticed this as well. I live in southeastern KS, I have relatives ~200 miles away in western KS I have been visiting since I was a kid in the 1980s.
Since the late 1990s or so, I drive there myself, I go out there at least a couple times a year. Bugs were always a constant battle, especially in the late summer, and I'd sometimes have to stop once or twice on the way to clean off my windshield.
These days, I never stop, make it all the way there and back with just a spot or two on my windshield.
I know some farms use artificial lights on produces and livestock’s for growth control or warmth etc. even so called organic farms do it and it’s not seen with any issues but I always thought “how is this organic? But I was never able to back this up with a valid or smart argument for a conversation. After all it just light and electricity can be produced from clean energy. But now I read this article, I feel like I found another piece of the puzzle.
I think a lot of articles like this end up selling the wrong points, like global warming did with climate change. The issues of migration are hard to tract for fish, and I can't imagine what they're like for insects, but I don't see why their would be a collapse as opposed to new distributions in different locations. Are some insects the most resilient species on earth? Are we actually talking about "insect apocalypse" or certain necessary species becoming extinct while other flourish?
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