There's a lot of stars in the sky at night, but seeing them has become pretty difficult in recent years due to light pollution. There's a lot of ways to address this, but one of the easiest is the use of shielded lighting.
This is a technique used in parking lot lights, that shield the light from going up, and instead reflect the light down to the ground. This makes the light more efficient, and reduces the amount of light pollution from entering the night sky.
We can think of noise pollution in the same way.
As a society we're just loud, but there are ways that we can help contribute to a quieter world. One of which, is just talking a little quieter. When having a conversation, don't talk any louder than the person you're talking to can reasonably hear you. A noise level beyond what is necessary is pollution.
This is especially helpful to remember when in a place like a National Forest.
For most people, escaping into the forest can be a welcoming change from the monotony of every day life. For us, it's just how we live. I can't speak for everyone, but I think it's pretty safe to assume that people don't want to hear other people in the forest.
It can take time to form a habit of being aware of how loud you are as a human, and takes constant reminder to our kids, but over time it's something that everyone get's used to.
The forest thanks you.
