The
traditional definition of noise is “unwanted or disturbing sound”. It is the
disturbing or excessive noise that may harm the activity or balance of human or
animal life. Sound becomes unwanted when it either interferes with normal
activities such as sleeping, conversation, or disrupts or diminishes one’s
quality of life. Transportation vehicles are the worst offenders, with
aircraft, trains, trucks, buses, automobiles, and motorcycles all producing
excessive noise.
Construction equipment (as shown in the picture above on Wrightson Rd. Port of Spain), also produce substantial noise pollution. Under
construction activities like mining, construction of bridges, dams, buildings,
stations, roads, flyovers take place in almost every part of the world, with
T&T being no exception. These construction activities take place every day
as the physical infrastructure is needed to accommodate more people and to
reduce traffic congestion. The disadvantage is that these construction equipment
are too noisy. So is it necessary that the construction of these buildings be
concentrated in the capital alone, with the effect of noise pollution affecting
the same set of people all the time? Although the city is the point of maximum
concentration for the power and culture of a community (Mumford, 1938),
decentralization can help quell this problem somewhat.
This picture shows traffic congestion during the evening rush hour in downtown Port of Spain near City Gate; the hub for maxi taxis which, during this hour, would saturate the Priority Bus Route. The vehicular traffic sometimes gets so out of hand that collisions frequently occur (as seen in the picture). Large
number of vehicles on roads, airplanes flying over houses and underground trains
produce heavy noise; so much so that people find it difficult getting accustomed to it. There are over 500,000 vehicles on our nation's roads today, with over half of them being purchased within the last decade (Trinidad Express). If any of our future governments decide to implement the Rapid Rail system, specifically throughout the urban area for which it was planned, we'll surely experience greater levels of noise than we would want. High noise leads to a situation wherein a normal person loses the ability to hear properly. The perfect storm would have been realized had the Piarco Airport been located in the capital as well, but thankfully it's not. Ten points to the planning team!
In
most of the developing countries, poor urban planning also plays a vital role. Congested
houses, large families sharing small space, fight over parking, frequent fights
over basic amenities leads to noise pollution which may disrupt the environment
of society. Also, we people are surrounded by gadgets and use them extensively
in our daily life. Gadgets like TV, radio, cell phones and tablets, blenders,
pressure cooker, vacuum cleaners, washing machine and dryer, and air
conditioners are minor contributors to the amount of noise that is produced,
but it affects the quality of life of your neighbourhood in a bad way. While
this form of pollution may seem harmless, it in fact has far reaching
consequences. The adverse effects on the health of the environment are quite
severe. Not only is the local wildlife affected by the pollution, humans also
face a number of problems due to it.
Yes,
the Big, Bad, Mr. Powergen is at it again. Whose idea was to give him a home in
the middle of our capital? Most industries use sophisticated machines which are
capable of producing large amount of noise. Apart from that, various equipment
like compressors, generators, exhaust fans, grinding mills also participate in
producing big noise. Therefore, you must have seen workers in these factories
and industries wearing ear plugs to minimize the effect of noise.
Noise
is at its peak in most of the social events. In flea markets and stores, you
can see people selling clothes via making loud noise through megaphones to attract
the attention of people, namely at places like Rattans. Whether it is marriage,
parties, pub, disc or place of worship, people normally flout rules set by the
local administration and create nuisance in the area. Take Ariapita Avenue,
commonly known as ‘The Avenue’ for example; an entire street laced with clubs
and structures personifying Trinidadian nightlife culture, situated ‘smack-dab’
in the middle of the urban community of Woodbrook. I don’t have to be a
resident of the area to tell you that the nightly noise of clubbing, partying
and ‘feteing’ would take a toll on my brain. People play songs on full volume
and dance until some unforeseen time which makes the condition of people living
nearby pretty worse. For instance, I live within a housing development in
Tobago that was carelessly placed somewhat in a valley, less than a quarter of
a mile away from the village’s community centre, where many social events like
wedding receptions and the practicing of local steel pan sides occur very
frequently. Because of our topographical location you can imagine the
tremendous effect that echoes have. It can really be annoying.
Any
unwanted sound that our ears have not been built to filter can cause problems
within the body. Our ears can take in a certain range of sounds without getting
damaged. Man made noises such as jackhammers, horns, machinery, airplanes and
even vehicles can be too loud for our hearing range. Constant exposure to loud
levels of noise can easily result in the damage of our ear drums and loss of
hearing. It also reduces our sensitivity to sounds that our ears pick up
unconsciously to regulate our body’s rhythm (CEF). Loud noise can certainly
hamper your sleeping pattern and may lead to irritation and uncomfortable
situations. Without a good night sleep, it may lead to problems related to
fatigue and your performance may go down in office as well as at home. It is
therefore recommended to take a sound sleep to give your body proper rest. Wildlife
faces far more problems than humans because noise pollution since they are more
dependent on sound. Animals develop a better sense of hearing than us since
their survival depends on it. The ill effects of excessive noise begin at home.
Pets react more aggressively in households where there is constant noise. They
become disoriented more easily and face many behavioural problems. In nature,
animals may suffer from hearing loss, which makes them easy prey and leads to
dwindling populations. Others become inefficient at hunting, disturbing the
balance of the eco-system (CEF).
The
fact that you can’t see, taste or smell nose pollution may help explain why it
has not received as much attention as other types of pollution, such as air
pollution, or water pollution. The air
around us is constantly filled with sounds, yet most of us would probably not
say we are surrounded by noise. Though
for some, the persistent and escalating sources of sound can often be
considered an annoyance. This
“annoyance” can have major consequences, primarily to one’s overall health (US
EPA).
We
have a culture of feteing, liming, raving and partying in this country for we patronize
these noisy events religiously. When Carnival time comes around we eagerly
parade the streets behind one big, bad, stink truck on d road. My roommate, a
German national, attended the event, but had to leave early because he couldn’t
handle the copious amounts of noise being produced in the city in general. This
leads me to ask the following question: are Trinbagonians as a people immune to
noise pollution and its consequences, or are we in the process of suffering
long term effects that are yet to rear their ugly heads?
References:
Conserve Energy Future. "Understanding Noise Pollution". Accessed May 19 2014.
http://www.conserve-energy-future.com/causes-and-effects-of-noise-
pollution.php.
Infoplease. "noise pollution". Accessed May 19 2014.
http://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia/science/noise-pollution.html.
Mumford, Lewis. 1938. The Culture of Cities. New York: Harcourt, Brace and
Company.
Trinidad Express Newspapers. "Too Many Cars". Accessed May 17th
2014. http://www.trinidadexpress.com/business-magazine/Too-many-cars-
226076551.html
United States Environmental Protection Agency. "Noise Pollution". Accessed May 19
2014. http://www.epa.gov/air/noise.html
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