Swiss Review 6/2019

Swiss Review / November 2019 / No.6 11 The Milky Way stretches like a glit- tering band from the horizon between the Gantrisch and Bürgeln mountains right across the entire night sky. Photo: Bernhard Burn “They have to cut down on unneces- sary light,” she says. The amount of light pollution in Switzerland is enor- mous: “The price of lighting objects at times when no one is looking at them is lost energy, sleeplessness and the loss of animal species.”Municipalities in the vicinity of the “dark heart” of the star park are already working on this and have undertaken to use less artificial light. Furthermore, they are directing companies to turn off their display window lighting after 10 p.m. And if private citizens want to build, they are told how they too can con- tribute to the fight against light smog. Gantrisch Nature Park wants to be- come a competence region for sustain- able lighting over the long term. Lukas Schuler, President of Dark-Sky Switzerland, is very taken by the first star park. The organisation has been campaigning against light smog in Switzerland for years. “The star park project is helping to retain night in the alpine range,” says Schuler. Many people are aware that light pollution harms animals and human beings. However, many places have no idea what they can do to combat it. “The star park project nowmeans that the municipalities can control and change more in regard to night-time darkness than they were aware of in the past.” Insects stay away The star park is far more than a ro- mantic project for night-time enthu- siasts. It has been scientifically eval- uated for years as it was being developed. There are already new findings on the essence of the night. Hanspeter Schneiter unscrews the fuses – and it turns pitch-dark. Photo: provided