The noise we make is hurting animals. Can we learn to shut up?

QuantumNomad_

https://archive.is/F7tiS

stonecharioteer

We don't have compassion for fellow human beings. I don't think we will ever have compassion for animals who are sensitive to noise. Example: Diwali is a horrible time to be a stray animal in India. Heck, even my pets hate the festival. But humans will always be self obsessed and say it's for celebration. Sure.

everdrive

Per Blaise Pascal, no they cannot: “All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.” We need to keep growing, building, making, taking. Some people seem to really love the bustle and creative destruction. I'm in my 40s, and I've always hated it. When I was a child, I wondered if when I grew up, I would fit naturally into the world the way that so many others seemed to. The answer was no. I don't know why people need to be the way they are. I don't feel comfortable in so many normal situations. The things that bother the animals bother me too, but for most people this is unthinkable in the same way that other modes of thought are unthinkable. (eg, when someone who thinks mostly in words learns that some people think only in pictures)

luckys

What about the impact of EMF pollution? The book "the invisible rainbow' goes into that, though I don't expect this type of position to be well received in HN. I find it very healthy that this type of "invisible" pollution gets at least some discussion, however. We have to start somewhere.

windex

During the Covid lockdowns in India, I saw birds I had not seen in decades. It was amazing; the skies had cleared up, and nature truly was recovering.

xnx

I'd like to include "humans" in the list of animals being hurt by anthropogenic noise.

wewewedxfgdf

Whenever there's a beaching of whales I wonder if a submarine has sailed past blasting sonar so loud the whales have to jump out of the ocean to their death.

andai

https://archive.ph/F7tiS

andai

Also noise pollution. Also pollution pollution...

throwpoaster

The noise we make is hurting _us_. Decibel levels in cities are unconscionable.

KempyKolibri

Lol have they seen what we do to animals for taste pleasure? It's not a question of "can we learn to shut up?", it's "will humans ever care enough to even want to learn?".

outime

The amount of suffering people go through because of noise is pretty insane (some more than others). The most common situation I see in Europe is living in poorly insulated apartments with neighbors who act like they're in a pub 24/7.

naasking

The noise we make is hurting humans too.

setnone

The amount of noise on this website is ridiculous

fnord77

Hurting us, too. i have to wear noise cancelling headphones all day to filter out noises from outside my apartment

PunchyHamster

the deers and boars running around in my neighbourhood seems to DGAF

hombre_fatal

We breed animals into the most horrific existence imaginable just to eat them by the trillions. But here we're concerned for the aural experience of some birds.

dec0dedab0de

I noticed this directly a few weeks ago. I was camping with a friend pretty deep in the woods, but at a campground. About a half a mile away there was an RV running a generator, which was annoying as hell, but not the end of the world. Then in the middle of the night, while we were stargazing the generator turned off, and we could noticeably hear the wildlife adapt to the change. Some got quieter, but mostly it was wildlife returning to the area. As if the sound from the generator was a forcefield keeping everything away, or at least hidden. That last part is what really opened my eyes about the noise polution from datacenters

ddmf

I'm autistic and have misophonia and hyperacusis, not to mention auditory processing issues which mean I'm more likely to lock on to a noise rather than what I actually would like to listen to. There's so much noise around - it really does tie in to the "social model of disability" in that a lot of my issues would disappear if environments weren't so hostile - that includes noise, smells, and lights.

black6

Not mentioned in the article is that whales were once able to communicate globally, but the low frequency noise generated by maritime traffic killed the "Whale Internet."