Light pollution to be lowered by removing one million lighting poles

UTRECHT - Municipalities are urged to remove or dim one million street lights within five years. The Foundation Nature and Environment and the Provincial Environment Federations contend that streetlights at rural roads and highways hardly add to road safety, while the light pollution adversely affects man and nature. The removal of street lights also will lead to energy savings, especially for municipalities which now spend half of their electricity budget on street lighting. This October 28, a ‘Night of the Night’ will be organized to emphasize the need to lower nocturnal artificial light emission in hundreds of locations.