Photo credit: Joel Deluxe licensed under CC BY 2.0
by Arline L. Bronzaft, Ph.D., Board of Directors, GrowNYC, Co-founder, The Quiet Coalition, and Honorary Chair, Quiet American Skies
Human-made noises do not discriminate-–noise harms the health of other humans as well as the many animal species with whom humans share the planet. In this article by Nala Rogers, we learn that these noises also harm the plants of this earth. Yes, a New Mexico forest may have stopped growing because the animals needed to disperse the seeds have avoided the area. The avoidance was brought about, the researchers claim, by the nearby gas wells that “create a constant din.”
The researchers say that the loss of the plants affected may not yet be noticed by visitors because the affected plants are slow-growing. They add that previously noisy sites when they became quieter, saw some of the plants were again sprouting. Others, however, will take more time to recover.
I would like to ask how many studies and data do we need to take action to protect all the living things on our planet from the detrimental harm of noise? We know the ways to lessen noise but we do not have the will to do so.
