Juniper Tremper
Scientific Writing 105-19
Geneseo, NY
~170 words
Humans are the Noisiest Animals
Juniper Tremper
In the article “Whisper of the Wild,” the concept of soundscape ecology is presented: that is, the idea that be comparing recordings of the total sounds from one location to recordings from another can determine which locations experience a healthy ecosystem. However, the author describes the experience of a group of “sound catchers” doing soundscape ecology research gathering in Denali, and their shock at how much of the data featured the sounds of engines or manmade productions in what should have been an entirely natural and undeveloped region.
This realization of the extent of our infiltration of nature is horrifying. In permeating the earth with sounds of human development, we are creating noise pollution that effectively silence mating calls of animals. Even for us to observe a human-silent location, we need engines to arrive. We need to rethink our use of technology in undeveloped areas- perhaps restrict use of the airspace above Denali, for starters- or at the very least, work on reducing the volume of engines we use.
This is a great summary of Tingley’s main points. The idea of quieter technology could be an interesting topic to research. When we think of clean engines we often think about less production of pollutants, we don’t really consider the noise the engines produce.