Earlier this month, President Trump signed an executive order weakening the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The order lifts the environmental review of major projects. It allows fast-tracking construction projects in a bid to boost the economy.
In the long-term, this is harmful to the environment, further endangers the lives of animals, and will have a disproportionately harmful effect on black, Latino, and Native American communities.
The strange synthetic sounds heard in the video are sonification of growth data that were measured in three places on a tree (Pinus sylvestris) by the ecophysiologist, Roman Zweifel, from Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL.
In data sonification, a series of numbers – for example from a measurement – are used to control sounds that are generated with a computer. The growth spurts of the tree control the pitch of sine tones, creating a tonality that is reminiscent of a language, a voice.
WSL researchers also discovered that trees grow especially at night – in the early hours of the morning.
Spring is the beginning of the vegetation phase: the forest awakes with more intense sunlight, the longer days, and the higher temperatures – flowering and growth begin.
The video sounds best with headphones!
Due to COVID-19 lockdown measures in India, factories are closed. Prior to the lockdown, plants dumped waste into the river. Now that they are shut, the Yamuna River and other rivers in India are clean again, with fish, turtles, and birds. Let’s hope Indians grow to appreciate the clean water and beauty of the river sufficiently enough to protect it from future damage.