Swiss Review 6/2019

Swiss Review / November 2019 / No.6 12 Sciences Switzerland in figures That is also necessary, says Eva Knop, a researcher at the University of Zu- rich and the Swiss Confederation’s Centre of Excellence for agricultural research, Agroscope: “We still do not know enough about the ecological importance of the night.” It is true that life as we know it couldn’t even exist without the day-night cycles. However, we are only just starting to understand what happens when the night disappears. For example, Knop came to understand through her field research just how much artificial night light affects biodiversity. In the past, we did not see just how much occurs in the meadows at night, she says. A surprising number of insects pollinate flowers at night. “They do this a lot less when artificial light dis- turbs them,” says Knop. Insects that are active during the day are not ca- pable of compensating for the ab- sence of nocturnal pollinators. If the subsequent experiments substanti- ate these initial findings, then this would unfortunately be a “new prob- lem to address”, says Knop. Clarity instead of bravery In light of the seriousness of the situ- ation, Mayor Hanspeter Schneiterwas also praised for his bravery in un- screwing fuses and prescribing more darkness for his municipality. Schnei- terwaves that aside: “Bravery changes nothing at all. But the power of per- suasionmay do.” This can only happen when the people living here under- stand the importance of a star park. Thus, a great deal depends on the prin- ciple of hope and mutual encourage- ment. When asked whether the “dark heart” would one day see more cir- cumspect handling of the night be- yond its limited borders, Dahinden re- sponds: “It is written in the stars.” Researcher Eva Knop and Dark-Sky activist Lukas Schuler observe an artificial light experiment in the star park. Photo: Marc Lettau About Emmas, lightning strikes and waste 30.7 Statistics back the claim that women are having children later in life. The average age of Swiss women on the birth of their first child is currently 30.7 years. In Europe, only Spain and Italy have a slightly higher average age. 504 A propos births: of the 42,838 girls born in Switzerland last year, 504 were called Emma and now there are more than 41,500 Emmas in Switzerland. The only name more popular is Maria (82,500). The most popular name for boys in 2018 was Liam. However, Liam is (still) a minority name: the Swiss prefer traditional names like Daniel (62,500), Peter (58,500) and Thomas (52,500). 85,270 There were 85,270 lightning strikes recorded in Switzerland during June, July and August this year. That is an unusually high number. By way of comparison, the electronic monitoring network recorded 53,430 strikes in summer 2018. Ticino was the main lightning hotspot. 24,849 How many kilometres do the Swiss cover in a year? On average 24,849 km. The most common mode of transport is the car (10,371 km), followed by the aeroplane (8,986 km) and the train (3,499 km). On foot the distance covered is 459 km, and by bike it is 301 km. It is interesting to note that holidays and leisure pursuits account for far more kilometres than commuting to work. 706 The Swiss recycle or compost more than half their waste every year. At the same time, the volume of their waste is on the rise, with 706 kg of municipal waste per person, per year. That is a lot higher than the European average of 486 kg. COMPILATION: MUL Further information on the topic: www.sternenpark-gantrisch.ch www.ogy.de/nachtdunkelheit www.darksky.org; www.darksky.ch Foto Shutterstock