Light pollution

Tobias Muster: Light pollution refers to the brightening of the night sky by artificial light. This has an impact on three levels:

• Firstly, fewer and fewer stars are visible in the night sky, the wonder of the starry sky and the knowledge about it, the stories and human cultural history that lie within it, are in danger of being lost. Astronomical observations are also becoming more difficult.
• Secondly, light pollution affects nature and nocturnal ecosystems, especially insects. Alongside pesticide use, land sealing and the fragmentation of ecosystems, light pollution is one of the main, but neglected, reasons for the decline in insect populations. Due to the important role of insects in food chains and their pollination services, we humans are also indirectly affected.
• Thirdly, too much artificial light at night also has a direct effect on us humans: on the quality of our sleep and night-time regeneration. It is therefore also suspected of contributing to civilization-related diseases such as cardiovascular diseases and obesity.

Tobias Muster: If you look at light pollution maps of Europe, the Alpine arc and Austria in particular stand out as a dark blue region with relatively little light pollution. 2/3 of Europe's population can no longer see the Milky Way from their homes due to light pollution. In Tyrol, this is already possible on the outskirts of villages in more rural regions; in dark valley heads, the Milky Way and the starry sky become an unmissable experience. Many adults only remember such a starry sky from their childhood, for younger generations from urban regions it is sometimes completely unknown and overwhelming. Gentler tourist regions in particular, with less infrastructure, therefore have the opportunity to consciously develop night-time experiences alongside the mountain world during the day. At the same time, however, there is the task of preserving the relative darkness of these places.

Tobias Muster: In Tyrol, the Tyrolean Competence Center for Light Pollution and Night Skies at the Tyrolean Environmental Ombudsman's Office is an institution that has been active for decades and has a great deal of expertise in this field. At federal level, the Austrian Lighting Technology Association (LTG) should be mentioned. At international level, the International Dark Sky Association certifies light conservation areas and regions that take measures to preserve their natural night skies. In Austria, the Attersee-Traunsee Star Park is the first example and further regions are under discussion. In Tyrol, the Kaunertal is currently following this path. The measures include the targeted (re)design of public, private and commercial lighting and raising awareness of how to use it more sustainably. Many climate and energy model (KEM) regions are also increasingly discovering this topic for themselves.