Imagine you’re following your GPS on your way to your vacation destination, when suddenly, BAM! you drive directly into a wall that you didn’t even see coming. That is quite literally what is happening in Philadelphia and in cities with large buildings and skyscrapers around the country (and world).
CNN reports that just last year on October 2nd, 2020, over 1,500 birds died in a single morning in a 4-block-are of Center City, Philadelphia after flying their normal migratory routes, then unknowingly slamming into the sides of skyscrapers and falling to their deaths. It’s estimated that many as 1 billion birds die after colliding with buildings every year in the United States alone.
To help combat this issue, Philadelphia area organizations are coming together to form ‘Lights Out Philly’ with sights set on preventing these collisions. The coalition, comprised of Drexel University’s Academy of Natural Sciences, the Mid-Atlantic Audubon and its local chapters, and the Delaware Valley Ornithological Club are asking these large Philly buildings and their tenants to turn off any lights non-essential from 12 AM to 6 AM during the period when the birds take flight on their migratory routes. This period is approximately from April 1-May 31 for spring migration and August 15-November 15 for fall migration patterns.
Dimming the lights is just one small, but influential way to not attract these animals and to help prevent such needless loss of life. In addition to the positive impact on wildlife, dimming the lights also has a positive impact on climate change by simply using less energy.
What’s 1Thing you do to help our environment?
Find more information about ‘Lights Out Philly’ here.