Listening ahead
Two new books explore the future of noise
Whenever I leave Toronto for holidays on the East Coast, I notice two things about the air.
The first is the smell of the sea. Air in Nova Scotia has less carbon pollution: it tastes better. The second is the sound of the wind in the trees. Air there also has less noise pollution: it feels better.
Sound is a physical force and, that’s right, we feel it. Any music lover knows this. Some cram next to huge speakers in clubs to feel the bass. Others invest in expensive stereo systems or live concert tickets to immerse their whole bodies in the experience.
And like other physical aspects of our environment, humans impact what academics call soundscapes. Again, music is an obvious example. Some animals do sing, but the greatest variety of music in the world is created by humans. On the other end of the soundscape spectrum, humans also create a lot of noise.
Two books published this year explore the future of noise. Their titles and subtitles say a lot. Chris Berdik came out with Clamor: How Noise Took Over The World and How We Can Take It Back. Michel Leboeuf wrote Lost Songs of Nature: Nature’s Symphony in the Age of Noise Pollution (translated by Neil Macmillian).
Berdik addresses noise as a public health concern. Noise isn’t just a matter of lifestyle choices or individual annoyance: it increases our risk of death from multiple causes through chronic stress. One scientific study Berdik discusses in the book details how increases in heart disease correlate to increases in highway noise. Two other studies show how increases in hypertension and cardiovascular disease both correlate to increases in airport noise.
But Berdik also argues for moving the conversation about noise away from loudness toward the concept of soundscapes. He outlines cases in cities where the solution to a noise complaint is to add noise, reducing distraction by blending offending decibels with other sounds. I like to think of this in an Aristotelian ethical framework: the right noise at the right time in the right way.
For Leboeuf, whose research looks closely at Quebec, the ethics at play include animals. When humans dominate soundscapes through industrial activity and traffic, animals cannot communicate and die. And we impact entire ecosystems with our noise, because animals are often responsible for helping plants reproduce by carrying seeds.
Lebeouf also discusses studies in the book that demonstrate how plants use sound directly to survive. One study shows how a certain plant from the mustard family releases a harmful molecule for protection when exposed to the sound of a caterpillar munching on a leaf. Another study shows how a certain flower produces more nectar to attract pollinators when it senses the beating of butterfly wings or the buzzing of a bee.
In short, noise isn’t just a public health concern. Like climate change, it impacts the environment and is thus an existential concern for us all. For both our health and the health of the planet, these two books taken together argue that we don’t just need to advocate for quiet: we need better soundscapes, which are often diverse ones.
“There are no simple rules to follow, like just add water or quieter is always better,” writes Berdik. “[...] Whether the goal is creating a lively buzz in a restaurant where diners can still converse without shouting, an office that supports both collaboration and focused work, or buildings that sustain health rather than challenge it, the right soundscape always requires a balancing act.”
Addressing this balancing act is long overdue. “We lived carefree in the twentieth century,” writes Leboeuf, “until the 1960s, when Rachel Carson’s book Silent Spring made it clear that our soaring population and technological prowess were having considerable impact on nature and our living environment.”
Of course sound is also a sign of progress and prosperity. From the roar of highways to the low hum of data centres, sound is one way we can feel we’re building an exciting future.
But while we’re often concerned about how we want this future to look, how often do we stop and think about how exactly we want this future to sound?
Recent bylines
I have a few articles coming out in the new year I’m excited about. Also, some possible big changes to my newsletter. As the podcasters say, watch this space!
Two recommendations
Christiane Ritter’s A Woman in the Polar Night. This classic memoir from the 1930s was rereleased last year. Ritter’s insights about the role of natural experience in consciousness are spot on. Read it alongside Ben Taub’s recent article in The New Yorker, “The Big Ice Is Sick.”
The Boojums’ Burnin Up. Maybe it’s my East Coast childhood, but this single from an emerging Port Hawkesbury trio just hits with the right sound. Check out the whole album. If we’re going to make some noise, let’s make it like this.
Next bit of pith in 2026.