Noise Pollution

Air pollution is widely known as a big environmental problem. There are code requirements, monitoring stations, and news services report the ppm values raising alerts when the norms are exceeded.

Noise pollution does not get this level of attention. We're somehow used to it. Probably because it is everywhere and one needs to be really lucky to be able to escape it. Cars (in general), and combustion engines (in particular) have been responsible for most of this. And this is not just driving. I remember not long ago spending a night on a beautiful campsite - that night was really ruined by power generators used by a number of RVs... This should really be prohibited - a very comfortable camping van can be supported by solar panels only.

I've become even more sensitive to the acoustic noise problem since (as a result of the pandemic lockdown) I moved to the woods, living in a small cottage. The silence here is amazingly rewarding. But being spoiled by these unique conditions I find it really annoying when I walk from time to time to a package locker and the last kilometer of the walk is along a (not very busy) public road.

Some good news is municipalities start paying attention to the acoustic noise problem. My home town has supposedly installed the first decibel meter. I could not find the readings of it online anywhere, but hey, hopefully it is installed and has become the first step towards building the awareness of the problem.