Noise pollution control

Noise pollution control 

Des Moines Considers "sound Permit Zones" To Combat Noise Pollution Des Moines will consider "sound permit zones" to control noise in at least five downtown districts. Why it matters: Getting it right is important to balance the needs of our growing downtown living and entertainment spaces. Get market news worthy of your time with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free. Noise pollution can affect our health, especially for those living near entertainment venues, but overly strict ordinances could quash the vibrancy that we’ve worked decades to build. Flashback: Des Moines overhauled zoning ordinances in 2019, retiring longtime zoning districts used to determine where sound permits could be issued. A new noise restriction review was launched soon after the changes. Live music supporters were concerned that earlier noise ordinance ideas could hamper outdoor concerts at the new $13 million Lauridsen Amphitheater in Water Works Park. What’s new: The proposed zones include areas surrounding Wells Fargo Arena, Western Gateway Park. Principal Park, and two locations in the East Village. Water Works Park is not in one of the zones. Venues would get up to 10 permits a month, but face restrictions like: A maximum decibel level of 85. (Extended periods over 70 can hearing damage, per the EPA.) Going quiet by 11pm on weeknights and 12:30am on weekends/holidays. Areas with nearby housing would be more tightly regulated. What they’re saying: City officials are making earnest efforts to strike the right balance, Loyd Ogle, one of the co-founders of the 80/35 Music Festival that's held in Western Gateway Park, told Axios. "But it’s difficult to regulate sound. It might look good on paper but until it is in practice, it’s hard to know if it’s right," Ogle said. What’s next: The City Council is expected to consider a proposal in coming weeks. Like this article? Get more from Axios and subscribe to Axios Markets for free. Noise Pollution May Prevent Forest Growth: Study On Location: April 16, 2021 SHARE SHARE TWEET SHARE EMAIL Click to expand UP NEXT This is an Inside Science story. The effects of noise can reach organisms without ears. Because of the way living things rely on each other, noise pollution may actually stop some forests from growing, a new study suggests. In a New Mexico woodland dominated by pinyon pine and juniper trees, researchers found far fewer tree seedlings in noisy sites than they did in quiet ones. The study raises questions about the future of the area. "If the noise stays there long term, are we going to see the slow-motion transition from a pinyon-pine forest to more of a scrubland, and lose this important ecosystem of the pinyon pine which supports so much wildlife?" said Jennifer Phillips, a behavioral ecologist at Texas A&M University-San Antonio. The study area is dotted with gas wells, some of which are quiet and some of which have compressors that create a constant din. This allowed Phillips and her colleagues to compare sites that were similar except for noise level. © STOCK IMAGE/Campphoto/Getty Images A hiker walks through a wooded area in Navajo County, Arizona in an undated stock image. In areas that had been noisy for at least 15 years, the researchers found only about 13 pinyon seedlings and four juniper seedlings per hectare, compared with 55 pinyon seedlings and 29 juniper seedlings per hectare in quiet areas. The noise also seemed to affect the rest of the plant community, with different wildflower and shrub species dominating in loud versus quiet sites. The differences in plant growth were probably caused by changes in animal behavior, said Phillips. For example, noise might drive away certain pollinators such as bees, bats and moths. In the case of pinyon and juniper trees, the problem was likely a lack of animals to disperse seeds. Pinyons depend on scrub jays to carry their seeds away from the parent tree, and scrub jays are known to avoid noise. It's possible the foxes and other animals that disperse juniper seeds are also noise-averse. © STOCK IMAGE/Campphoto/Getty Images MORE: Fantastic yeasts and where to find them: The science behind sourdough starters MORE: Dragonflies can do midair backflips -- even while unconscious The differences between the sites aren't yet obvious to someone walking through them, said Sarah Termondt, a botanist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service who helped conduct the study. That's probably because pinyons and junipers are slow-growing, with most of the mature trees in such woodlands being over a century old. Moreover, pinyons only produce seeds once every five to seven years, so it takes a long time for them to recover. In previously noisy sites that had been quiet for the last two to four years, junipers were once again sprouting, but pinyon seedlings were still scarce. The findings suggest noise pollution is more than a mere nuisance, according to the researchers -- it could be a serious threat with the power to transform ecosystems. The study was published Tuesday in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B. Inside Science is an editorially independent nonprofit print, electronic and video journalism news service owned and operated by the American Institute of Physics. Inside Science Noise Pollution Could Stop Forests From Growing Researchers found fewer tree seedlings on noisy plots in a pinyon-juniper woodland, likely because the sound drove away animals that disperse seeds. (Inside Science) -- The effects of noise can reach organisms without ears. Because of the way living things rely on each other, noise pollution may actually stop some forests from growing, a new study suggests. In a New Mexico woodland dominated by pinyon pine and juniper trees, researchers found far fewer tree seedlings in noisy sites than they did in quiet ones. The study raises questions about the future of the area. "If the noise stays there long term, are we going to see the slow-motion transition from a pinyon-pine forest to more of a scrubland, and lose this important ecosystem of the pinyon pine which supports so much wildlife?" said Jennifer Phillips, a behavioral ecologist at Texas A&M University-San Antonio. The study area is dotted with gas wells, some of which are quiet and some of which have compressors that create a constant din. This allowed Phillips and her colleagues to compare sites that were similar except for noise level. In areas that had been noisy for at least 15 years, the researchers found only about 13 pinyon seedlings and four juniper seedlings per hectare, compared with 55 pinyon seedlings and 29 juniper seedlings per hectare in quiet areas. The noise also seemed to affect the rest of the plant community, with different wildflower and shrub species dominating in loud versus quiet sites. The differences in plant growth were probably caused by changes in animal behavior, said Phillips. For example, noise might drive away certain pollinators such as bees, bats and moths. In the case of pinyon and juniper trees, the problem was likely a lack of animals to disperse seeds. Pinyons depend on scrub jays to carry their seeds away from the parent tree, and scrub jays are known to avoid noise. It's possible the foxes and other animals that disperse juniper seeds are also noise-averse. The differences between the sites aren't yet obvious to someone walking through them, said Sarah Termondt, a botanist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service who helped conduct the study. That's probably because pinyons and junipers are slow-growing, with most of the mature trees in such woodlands being over a century old. Moreover, pinyons only produce seeds once every five to seven years, so it takes a long time for them to recover. In previously noisy sites that had been quiet for the last two to four years, junipers were once again sprouting, but pinyon seedlings were still scarce. The findings suggest noise pollution is more than a mere nuisance, according to the researchers -- it could be a serious threat with the power to transform ecosystems. The study was published today in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.