Quiet

I wrote on noise pollution before: https://headworx.slupik.com/2021/07/noise-pollution.html. The situation has not gone materially better since then. In particular, as travel has resumed after COVID, I've noticed North America is generally more noisy compared to Europe. Remember touching down a couple of weeks ago in Washington DC and despite very mild outside temperature (it was mis-May), the bus to the rental car center had rumbling air conditioning running at full power. Truck and bus engines in America also seem to be noisier. Wonder if the EU is just voluntarily more sensitive to the noise problem or are there any stricter regulations behind? And do we really prefer super-stabilized cold temperatures over a  quiet environment? Not to mention all these AC units are responsible for very significant energy consumption nationwide.

Another annoying source of noise are the little combustion engines in lawn mowers and similar gardening equipment. Surprisingly they are also responsible for large percentage of toxic emissions as they lack catalytic converters and often being just 2-strokes, burn engine oil. Dust blowers are probably the most ridiculous, as they are used early mornings to blow dust from one property to another emitting outrageous amounts of noise and smoke. And dust. 

Speaking of travel - the new aircraft types are clearly less noisy, both outside and inside. Also back in May I was flying a 757 from LAX to BOS and unfortunately my seat was close to a kind of duct pumping air in or out. Usually front rows are quieter. And this one was 9A - definitely a seat to avoid, as even the class leading Bose QuietComfort headphones were not able to deal with the noise.

It has been brought recently to my attention how noise affects people with autism, by contributing to sensory overload. In Poland the JiM Foundation has been promoting the quiet hours initiative. The idea behind quiet hour shopping is to set aside a time each week for a retail experience that minimizes noise and other sources of sensory overload. It is aimed at people who are neurodivergent—an umbrella term for people with autism, ADHD and other sensory-processing conditions. I wish this stayed and expand, as I very much believe th noise pollution problem affects us all. Some just don't think about it or do not have a chance to live in a quiet environment.