WEBVTT - How Can Turning Lights Off Save Birds?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of iHeart Radio, Hey

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<v Speaker 1>brain Stuff Lauren Bolbaum. Here, Buildings and windows kill roughly

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<v Speaker 1>a billion birds in the United States every year, due

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<v Speaker 1>in part to the artificial lights that disorient them and

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<v Speaker 1>cause them to crash in The National Audubon Society and

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<v Speaker 1>its partners began the Lights Out program in Chicago to

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<v Speaker 1>alert building owners and managers to this problem and convinced

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<v Speaker 1>them to turn off unnecessary lights when birds are migrating.

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<v Speaker 1>As of early two forty seven cities had adopted Lights

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<v Speaker 1>Out programs, including New York, Boston, Chicago, Atlanta, Baltimore, and Washington,

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<v Speaker 1>d C. There are also statewide and regional programs, including

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<v Speaker 1>Lights Out Colorado, Lights Out Georgia, and Lights Out Heartland.

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<v Speaker 1>Most of these programs are ramping up from August fift

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<v Speaker 1>through November fift this year to coincide with birds natural

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<v Speaker 1>fall migration. Okay, but let's talk about why lights are

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<v Speaker 1>so dangerous to birds After feral cats. Buildings and windows

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<v Speaker 1>are the second greatest killer of American birds, especially during

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<v Speaker 1>the two times a year when many migrate, flying between

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<v Speaker 1>breeding and wintering habitats, attracted by the bright artificial lights

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<v Speaker 1>at night. Birds fly into buildings and glass windows and

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<v Speaker 1>are often killed by the impact. If they aren't killed,

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<v Speaker 1>their flight patterns are disrupted, causing them to become disoriented

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<v Speaker 1>and circle in confusion and interfering with their daytime cycle

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<v Speaker 1>of resting and refueling. Also, biologists have found that light

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<v Speaker 1>pollution causes birds to start nesting earlier than normal. The

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<v Speaker 1>resulting mismatch and timing can cause hungry chicks to hatch

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<v Speaker 1>before their food supply is available. A lights out works

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<v Speaker 1>on mitigating these problems by requesting building owners and managers

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<v Speaker 1>turned lights off during the migration season from midnight to

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<v Speaker 1>six am each morning. Audubon recommends they quote turn off

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<v Speaker 1>exterior decorate of lighting, extinguished spot and floodlights, a substitute

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<v Speaker 1>strobe lighting where possible, Reduced lobby and atrium lighting wherever possible.

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<v Speaker 1>Turn off interior lighting, especially on upper floors. Substitute task

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<v Speaker 1>and area lighting for workers staying late, or pull window

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<v Speaker 1>coverings down, shield exterior lighting to eliminate all light directed

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<v Speaker 1>upward and horizontal glare, and install motion sensors and automatic

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<v Speaker 1>controls wherever possible. Let's take Philadelphia for example. The city

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<v Speaker 1>is located along a migration corridor for birds, and each

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<v Speaker 1>year tens of millions of birds passed through while migrating,

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<v Speaker 1>making it potentially dangerous if too many lights are left on.

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<v Speaker 1>Bird Safe Philly, a coalition of nonprofits adjoined together with

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<v Speaker 1>the City of Philadelphia and its building industry to create

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<v Speaker 1>Lights Up Philly in It began its first migration season

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<v Speaker 1>April one of that year, the peak of spring migration.

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<v Speaker 1>It ran through thirty one and again August fifteen through

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<v Speaker 1>November fifteenth, when birds traveled south. During that time, forty

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<v Speaker 1>one commercial, fifty three residential, and six municipal participants pledged

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<v Speaker 1>to turn off their lights to help birds out. It

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<v Speaker 1>may seem like a small measure, but Chicago, the first

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<v Speaker 1>lights out city in the nation, has reported saving ten

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<v Speaker 1>thousand birds every year since it began the program. Even

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<v Speaker 1>if your city isn't participating in the Lights Out program,

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<v Speaker 1>you can still help close the blinds or turn off

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<v Speaker 1>into your lights when you leave a room. If you

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<v Speaker 1>have control over your outdoor lighting, choose down shielded lighting options,

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<v Speaker 1>add timers and or motion sensors if possible, and turn

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<v Speaker 1>off outdoor spotlights or decorative lighting between midnight and six am.

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<v Speaker 1>The National Audubon Society also suggests residents of major cities

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<v Speaker 1>urged their building owners, managers, and other homeowners to turn

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<v Speaker 1>off outdoor lighting during the months when birds are migrating.

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<v Speaker 1>While birds are facing a lot of challenges along with

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<v Speaker 1>the buildings, there's climate change, feral cats, and habitat destruction.

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<v Speaker 1>We can them out by working to fix the problems

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<v Speaker 1>that we've created. Today's episode is based on the article

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<v Speaker 1>Audubon's Lights Out program Kills the Lights to Save the

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<v Speaker 1>Birds on houst works dot Com, written by Stephanie Parker.

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<v Speaker 1>Brain Stuff is production by Heart Radio in partnership with

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<v Speaker 1>houst Works dot Com, and it's produced by Tyler Clang.

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