Noise Pollution

 

Noise Pollution 

By Christin Toth

 

This semester I decided to do my environmental communication final project on marine noise pollution. In cities we talk about noise and light pollution, how there is none when you go out into the countryside. However, many of us do not stop and think that noise pollution exists underwater as well. Unfortunately, there is, and it is a big problem.

Qr code Description automatically generated    The expected silent blue abyss is shattered by the loud blasts of compressed air from seismic surveys and the constant shrill of boats. These are the two culprits I focused on. My project goal was to educate people on how these two things are causing harm to marine life. As well as get 50 people to sign petitions against seismic surveying.

 I made five flyers all talking about the negative effects noise pollution has on whales, fish, and the fishing industry to accompany that I collected sound samples of different noise polluters and how they impacted animals. I used a sample sound of the explosions that seismic surveys use to convey to people just how loud it can be. Blasts are heard for thousands of miles in all directions. Next, I used a clip of dolphins communicating with one another slowly getting drowned out by a boat approaching. Eventually barely hearing the dolphin’s whistles. Lastly, I used a clip of Northern Atlantic right whale calls and the difference between them in 1985 and 2000. The whales had to increase the pitch of their calls so they could hear each other over the frequency of ships.

The grassroots of activism are based on three things alert, amplify and engage. To alert people about this issue I sat outside the library on campus with my flyers talking to people about it as they passed by. Amplifying is increasing how many people see your message and interact with it. To do this I took a picture of my set up and posted it to my social media so people would come check it out. To have people engage with my communication piece I had QR codes on each flyer to a different petition website against seismic blasting. I did this because when things are easier people are more likely to do it.

In the end I got 20 out of the desired 50 signatures. The main reason I did not get to 50 was when I chose to go out on campus. I did it on a Sunday before finals. Which I thought would be good because everyone would be coming and going from the library. However, there were a lot less people than I expected. If I was to do this again, I would choose a weekday during the rush hours on campus between class times. Another problem was not many people were eager to put headphones on and listen to the sound clips. People were just interested in what I was talking about and signing the petitions. To solve this, I would play the clips through a speaker to make it smoother all around. 

 

All sound clips are from the Vox video “Why the ocean is getting louder”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrpkZkwTvu0&t=475s

 

Grassroots of activism

 

Textbook: Environmental Communication and the Public Sphere (Pezzullo& Cox)

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