Silence Under Threat

With even the most remote parts of the world subjected to the "human din" of an internal combustion engine daily, Kim Tingley ventures to Denali National Park to find out if, in fact, silence is going extinct.

1 minute read

March 19, 2012, 9:00 AM PDT

By Jonathan Nettler @nettsj


The possible "end of silence" caused by our work and travels is not just an abstract question meant to torment the most intrepid backwoods travelers among us.

According to Tingley, "That sort of human din, studies are beginning to suggest, is imperiling habitat - in Denali as well as wilderness areas around the world - as surely as a bulldozer or oil spill. But scientists have so little information about what landscapes should sound like without human interference that trying to correct the problem would be like a surgeon's wielding a scalpel without knowing the parts of the body, let alone his patient's symptoms. To restore ecosystems to acoustic health, researchers must determine, to the last raindrop, what compositions nature would play without us."

Yet even in Denali, "[a]n undeveloped swath of land nearly the size of Vermont," with only one, mostly unpaved, road entering the park itself, "scientists...have recorded only 36 complete days in which the sounds of an internal combustion engine of some sort were absent [since 2006]," reports Tingley.

While the profound and adverse effects of increasing noise levels on natural species have been noted in several studies, the effect on humans may be just as detrimental. "We're kind of severing the acoustic link that humans have with nature," laments Bryan Pijanowski, an ecologist at Purdue University.

Saturday, March 17, 2012 in The New York Times

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Aerial view of town of Wailuku in Maui, Hawaii with mountains in background against cloudy sunset sky.

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly

Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

July 1, 2025 - Honolulu Civil Beat

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

July 2, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

White and purple sign for Slow Street in San Francisco, California with people crossing crosswalk.

San Francisco Suspends Traffic Calming Amidst Record Deaths

Citing “a challenging fiscal landscape,” the city will cease the program on the heels of 42 traffic deaths, including 24 pedestrians.

July 1, 2025 - KQED

Google street view image of strip mall in suburban Duncanville, Texas.

Adaptive Reuse Will Create Housing in a Suburban Texas Strip Mall

A developer is reimagining a strip mall property as a mixed-use complex with housing and retail.

7 hours ago - Parking Reform Network

Blue tarps covering tents set up by unhoused people along chain link fence on concrete sidewalk.

Study: Anti-Homelessness Laws Don’t Work

Research shows that punitive measures that criminalized unhoused people don’t help reduce homelessness.

July 6 - Next City

Aerial tram moving along cable in hilly area in Medellin, Colombia.

In U.S., Urban Gondolas Face Uphill Battle

Cities in Latin America and Europe have embraced aerial transitways — AKA gondolas — as sustainable, convenient urban transport, especially in tricky geographies. American cities have yet to catch up.

July 6 - InTransition Magazine