Saving Birds

In New York City they are planning to turn off the lights in their skyscrapers at certain times of the year in order to save the lives of migratory birds, which are apparently attracted by the light and run into the buildings. My question: if you turn off the lights and the birds can’t see the skyscrapers, wouldn’t they still run into them?

Apparently this strategy has been used in Chicago and Toronto. And apparently it works. It just seems a little odd to me.

Anything to save the birds is fine with me. I have a soft spot for birds anyway. I often watch them sitting on electrical wires all over town watching us, and I wonder what they might think about humans and our effect on the environment. That is not as immediate a concern as turning off lights in skyscrapers, but the environment is nonetheless a valid concern, one that I think about every day.

I wonder if President Bush thinks about it. And I wonder: if President Bush could “turn off a few lights,” figuratively speaking, to save a few birds, would he? And what would he say to the birds if they were to ask him, “Did you help us or harm us today?”