Noise isn't good, but good doesn't make noise

The sound and the noise

Every year since 1996, International Noise Awareness Day has been celebrated on the last Wednesday of April. Established by the CHC (Center for Hearing and Communication), aims to attract attention and encourage public and private institutions and any citizen to be informed about the dangers of continued exposure to intense noise sources, as well as to invite them to monitor their health effects.

Although sound can be a pleasant source of auditory stimuli as the case may be, it becomes noise when, lacking rhythm and/or harmony, it causes discomfort or discomfort, making it something we don't want to hear often. In fact, in quantitative terms, it is well known that continuous exposure to acoustic sources of more than 85 dB is hazardous to health, while in domestic environments, this value ranges from 30 to 40 decibels, according to the legislation. (Law 37/2003 of November 17, on Noise)

In this industrialized, frenetic and modern world, the occasions when noise seems to haunt us are not rare, especially in urban environments. The daily routine of a car engine, the horn of any vehicle, the machinery at work or the movement of trains and planes are examples that accompany us on a daily basis and we have learned to internalize. However, in the long run they can cause disorders in our health; whether in our sleep, in our cardiovascular activity, in our cognitive function, and we are even studying whether it could be related to obesity or diabetes.

Faced with this scenario, we have always assiduously resorted to the well-known belief that taking refuge in nature can provide us with that clean, calm and often even relaxing sound that can be emitted by the current of a river, the wind that rocks the leaves or the singing of birds. Or why not, it can also provide us with the search for that silence that some people use to find themselves or get in touch with others.

The impact of the human being on the sounds of the environment

However, even today these pockets of tranquility can be affected by sporadic noise sources that seem out of place; machinery working in the field, various vehicles looking for adventures in the trees, or isolated factories that eat mountains and grind stones so that we can live at absurd heights from the ground or go to cheer on our soccer team at the stadium.

In fact, in our quest to protect nature, we often make the mistake of thinking that any action, just because it is carried out, is good. For this reason, sometimes even our inexhaustible ways of creating clean energy through renewable means are not spared from generating annoying noises, either during their construction process or while they carry out their activities throughout their useful life.

Both in the case of wind farms, where backhoes and trucks work hard to prepare the foundations of wind turbines, and in photovoltaic solar plants, where driving machines can be seen in action, during the construction of these infrastructures a series of noises are produced derived from the operation of this machinery that must be identified and evaluated. In the same way, the unmistakable sound of the blades of a wind turbine or the electric transfer of electricity during the operation of a transformation center are also likely to cause alterations, either to nearby populations or to the surrounding fauna.

How to assess our acoustic condition in the environment?

At Ideas MedioAmbiental we know about the impacts derived from these actions, and in our quest to do our bit to protect the environment, we offer our customers a process for evaluating and analyzing the noise caused by the installation and operation of the technical infrastructures involved in the generation of renewable energy (wind farms, photovoltaic solar plants, lifting substations, etc...). Backed by our increasing experience and through the use of current and approved measurement techniques and software, we can effectively advise and assess the impacts derived from the intrinsic activity of wind or solar power plants, as well as propose measures to prevent, correct or compensate for noise if appropriate.

And me, how can I help?

Every effort, however small, focused on improving our sound footprint in the environment or in our closest circle is welcome. So, at the recommendation of the body responsible for remembering this day, let's become aware for a moment of the ease with which annoying noises can be made and how complex it is to find the right sound for each situation. It's time not to play the music too loud, not to accelerate the bike too fast when you return home and to enjoy the calm and constant concert of some birds that still struggle to hear each other in the city at dawn and that are being heard less and less frequently in the countryside.

Whether it's for our health, for nature's health or for both, it's worth remembering often that it's not always necessary to make noise to be noticed, just to find the right sound.

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