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> In the US, 31 out of 33 visited states had audible human noises in their most remote spots I know the article says this, but it could't possibly be true. Mos

by maratd 11y ago

> In the US, 31 out of 33 visited states had audible human noises in their most remote spots I know the article says this, but it could't possibly be true. Most states have massive forests, including the State of New York. Even the most densely populated state, New Jersey, has them. Unless they literally sat at that spot for a day waiting for a plane to fly over them, I can't understand how it could be true.

jofer 11y ago
You'd be amazed how far human sounds travel. I grew up a 45 minute drive (~20 miles) from the nearest stoplight. The town that had the stoplight also had a train. I could hear it whenever the wind was out of the north and wasn't too strong (and almost always hear its whistle). We were also about 6-7 miles from the interstate "as-the-crow-flies" (about 10mi driving distance). I could hear constant interstate traffic most of the time. Note that both of those were faint, but they were definitely there.
- maratd 11y ago
  A train 20 miles away, absolutely. Trains are by far the biggest noise polluters, mostly due to federal regulation. They have to signal at every intersection. In my humble opinion, completely unnecessary since we already have bells there, but whatever ... As far as how forested New York State is, this gives you a good idea: http://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/309.html http://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/309.html
  - joe5150 11y ago
    Trains don't have to signal at every intersection. There are quiet zones in hundreds of municipalities.
    - AnimalMuppet 11y ago
      True, and the horn is the loudest part of the train. The rest of the train can still be pretty loud, though, if operating at high power.
      - joe5150 11y ago
        The quality of the tracking has a big effect on noise, too.
  - AnimalMuppet 11y ago
    In more rural locations, many "intersections" (crossings) don't have bells.
thrownaway2424 11y ago
There are people who have recorded the sounds of passing aircraft in the remotest parts of Alaska. Humans really are loud.
vonmoltke 11y ago
I think part of the problem is their definition of "remote". My wife and I honeymooned in the Texas Hill Country. As part of it, we decided to just drive random roads (some unpaved or partially paved) just to see the countryside. At one point we pulled off the road to just walk around and take in the environment. Not a sound but the wind through the trees for a good five minutes. The Means' wouldn't count that pull-off as "remote", though. All these parks and conservation areas have signed roads running through them. That precludes large swathes of them from being declared "remote". It doesn't matter that those roads might see half a dozen vehicles a year, while the site that meets their criteria is only two miles from a busy interstate.

by maratd 11y ago

jofer 11y ago

You'd be amazed how far human sounds travel. I grew up a 45 minute drive (~20 miles) from the nearest stoplight. The town that had the stoplight also had a train. I could hear it whenever the wind was out of the north and wasn't too strong (and almost always hear its whistle). We were also about 6-7 miles from the interstate "as-the-crow-flies" (about 10mi driving distance). I could hear constant interstate traffic most of the time. Note that both of those were faint, but they were definitely there.

maratd 11y ago
A train 20 miles away, absolutely. Trains are by far the biggest noise polluters, mostly due to federal regulation. They have to signal at every intersection. In my humble opinion, completely unnecessary since we already have bells there, but whatever ... As far as how forested New York State is, this gives you a good idea: http://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/309.html http://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/309.html
- joe5150 11y ago
  Trains don't have to signal at every intersection. There are quiet zones in hundreds of municipalities.
  - AnimalMuppet 11y ago
    True, and the horn is the loudest part of the train. The rest of the train can still be pretty loud, though, if operating at high power.
    - joe5150 11y ago
      The quality of the tracking has a big effect on noise, too.
- AnimalMuppet 11y ago
  In more rural locations, many "intersections" (crossings) don't have bells.

thrownaway2424 11y ago

There are people who have recorded the sounds of passing aircraft in the remotest parts of Alaska. Humans really are loud.

vonmoltke 11y ago

I think part of the problem is their definition of "remote". My wife and I honeymooned in the Texas Hill Country. As part of it, we decided to just drive random roads (some unpaved or partially paved) just to see the countryside. At one point we pulled off the road to just walk around and take in the environment. Not a sound but the wind through the trees for a good five minutes. The Means' wouldn't count that pull-off as "remote", though. All these parks and conservation areas have signed roads running through them. That precludes large swathes of them from being declared "remote". It doesn't matter that those roads might see half a dozen vehicles a year, while the site that meets their criteria is only two miles from a busy interstate.