I guess it doesn't make a lot of sound to grow almonds with imported water...
The Sound of Silence: A Noise Map of the U.S.
11–20 of 132 posts
Re: The Sound of Silence: A Noise Map of the U.S.
#12I'd love a "sound overlay" for regular maps such as GMaps. If people knew typical noise levels across the day and across the year, it would change everything about travel bookings and real estate searches. For something that has such a huge impact on wellbeing, it's incredible how little attention it gets, from governments to individuals.
Re: The Sound of Silence: A Noise Map of the U.S.
#13This is almost interchangeable with a light pollution map. E.g. http://www.cleardarksky.com/maps/lp/large_light_pollution_ma... Funny how often human effects on the environment correlate with human population density.
It might be more interesting to subtract one data set from the other, showing how much of the noise is human-induced? Perhaps there are some outliers.
Absent humans, this still applies:
> The trend is higher sound levels in wetter areas with more vegetation. This is due to the sounds of wind blowing through vegetation, flowing water, and more animals (especially birds and frogs) vocalizing in more fertile locations.
Re: The Sound of Silence: A Noise Map of the U.S.
#14Not surprising that my area, 12 miles from NYC, is one of the noisiest places in the country. A little more surprising is that it's still the noisiest just from natural sources.
Luckily, my tinnitus is noisier than both, so it doesn't matter where I live. I can't tell the difference.
Re: The Sound of Silence: A Noise Map of the U.S.
#15It pains me that noise pollution isn't taken as seriously as other forms of environmental damage when it's the one that most directly impacts (urban) people's quality of life.
The cars, trucks and motorcycles with booming exhaust pipes are insufferable. I despise hearing them revving by. I feel like I'm crazy for how much it bothers me. But then I read a story about a man shooting a driver who was just revving up and down his street, so I'm not alone.
I spent a week in Helsinki, and was blown away by how quiet it was despite being far more dense than my city.
Re: The Sound of Silence: A Noise Map of the U.S.
#16Related: Cities Aren't Loud, Cars are Loud https://youtu.be/CTV-wwszGw8
Correction. Internal combustion engines are loud.
Re: The Sound of Silence: A Noise Map of the U.S.
#17It pains me that noise pollution isn't taken as seriously as other forms of environmental damage when it's the one that most directly impacts (urban) people's quality of life.
Yeah. Some places do take it seriously; this video provides some nice context: https://youtu.be/CTV-wwszGw8
...my city is unfortunately not one of them.
Re: The Sound of Silence: A Noise Map of the U.S.
#18See also the “One Square Inch of Silence” project, which identified and placed a marker signifying what it calls “very possibly the quietest place in the United States”:
There are even audio recordings on the website which indicate the area is actually far from “silent”, but perhaps as close as possible to being absent if any sounds of human civilization.
Re: The Sound of Silence: A Noise Map of the U.S.
#19Related: Cities Aren't Loud, Cars are Loud https://youtu.be/CTV-wwszGw8
Correction. Internal combustion engines are loud.
It's been a long time since I watched that video, but I believe he makes the point that actually even electric cars are quite loud at speed. The noise from the tires is substantial.