On Monday in Parliament there was as session entitled “Protection of Dark Skies” and the MP who organised it is Duncan Baker who is the Conservative MP for North Norfolk. At the beginning of the session he stated “I rise to speak as the Member of Parliament for North Norfolk, a constituency blessed with huge skies and one of the few places in England where one can see, on occasion, the northern lights.” Along with Duncan Baker the other two MPs who took part were from Northern Ireland and then at the end of the session there was a Minister to responded. One of the comments that Duncan stated was this one which focuses on University of Sussex which is based in Brighton.

A seminal paper from researchers in the UK found that local populations of moth caterpillars are reduced by 52% due to exposure to streetlights. German researchers have estimated that a third of all insects attracted to lights die as a consequence, either through collision, increased predation or simply exhaustion. We see insects out of sync with their natural cycle, emerging too early from their hibernation or larval stage and missing the flowering of food plants. We see evidence that pollination rates are reduced in areas exposed to artificial light. Nocturnal pollinators are vital for pollinating crops, fruit and flowers. A study by researchers at the University of Sussex suggests that nocturnal pollinators are, in fact, more efficient than their daytime counterparts. Those are concerning statistics.

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