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Whales are disturbed by engine noise from boats:
To get their patrons the best possible view, whale watching companies and the captains of their ships tend to position vessels as close as they can.
[...] "Unlike humans, the dominant sense in whales is not sight -- it is hearing," Australian biologist Kate R. Sprogis, research fellow at Aarhus University in Denmark, said in a news release. "As such, a whale may not be able to see a whale-watch boat at 100 meter distance, but they are likely to hear it, so it makes sense to consider this when stipulating whale-watching guidelines."
Using underwater speakers and drone cameras, scientists tested the effects of different decibel levels on the behavior of humpback whales in the Exmouth Gulf, located off the western coast of Australia.
[...] When researchers subjected mothers and calves to boat-noise levels of 172 decibels, a very loud boat, from a distance of 100 meters, the mothers and calves spent 30 percent less time resting, swam at faster speeds and doubled their breathing rates.
When the boats moved further away, disturbed whales usually returned to resting. However, previous studies suggest repeated disturbances can leave moms without the energy to feed their calves and evade predators.
Journal Reference:
Kate R Sprogis, Simone Videsen, Peter T Madsen. Vessel noise levels drive behavioural responses of humpback whales with implications for whale-watching, (DOI: 10.7554/eLife.56760)
(Score: 2, Insightful) by oumuamua on Sunday June 21 2020, @05:41PM (15 children)
I'm constantly disturbed by engine noise from:
*lawn mowers
*leaf blowers
*weed wackers
These could all be electric, how do we still allow gas powered models to be sold???
Especially considering that after the sales are banned the ones already sold will run for years after.
(Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 21 2020, @06:07PM (3 children)
Are you saying you're a whale?
(Score: 2, Interesting) by oumuamua on Sunday June 21 2020, @06:41PM (2 children)
I'm saying the whales will get nothing but a deaf ear when they complain about noise, because even if the boats could be quieter some marketer will decide that is a bad thing:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/americas-best-selling-cars-and-trucks-are-built-on-lies-the-rise-of-fake-engine-noise/2015/01/21/6db09a10-a0ba-11e4-b146-577832eafcb4_story.html [washingtonpost.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 21 2020, @07:08PM (1 child)
We have done something deeply damaging to men. Masculinity is protective and creative, but it has been warped to be toxic and destructive. Why do American men seek to pollute their environment with noise and worse instead of protecting it for their children?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 21 2020, @09:43PM
Because big booms! Arrrrrrh! Manly shit is blowing shit up. Not some pansy crap like making a fruitcake.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 21 2020, @07:20PM
Where I live, the electric ones are every bit as noisy as the gas powered ones.
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Sunday June 21 2020, @07:51PM (3 children)
I am as well. Mostly because it's usually me operating them out in the hot-ass sun.
It's not even sort of a viable idea though. The energy to weight ratio is 100 times higher in gasoline than in lithium ion batteries. Which is to say, your weedeater or leaf blower would too heavy to lift if you wanted the same duration of use gasoline provides.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 21 2020, @11:00PM (2 children)
Electric weed-eaters are nice if your yard isn't huge and you always remember to charge it first. Way better than corded and less fussy than gas. Lawnmowers are a different story due to the much higher energy requirements, and I shudder to think about what the battery would be like for an electric tiller. Batteries will never achieve the power density of ICE, but if fuel cells pan out they might give us the best of both worlds.
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Monday June 22 2020, @05:14AM
Maybe it's that I've used too many good weedeaters but I just can't think of battery operated ones anything but toys. Yeah, technically you could trim up around a small lawn if you always got to it right away. I gave one a go here in TN when we first arrived though and had to stop and charge in the middle at least once every time I used it. There's a lot to be said for having to take a break in the middle of sweaty work but I'd rather just get it done and take a four day break instead. Plus that mickey-mouse piece of crap wouldn't cut anything but grass worth a damn. Ask it to take down a weed bigger around than your thumb in a place you don't ordinarily mow and you'd be there sawing on it for way too long.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 2) by Immerman on Monday June 22 2020, @03:18PM
> Batteries will never achieve the power density of ICE
Don't be so sure. Aluminum, boron, beryllium, and even graphite have a higher density than diesel. We just haven't managed to integrate them into an effective battery chemistry yet.
And of course there's fuel cells, which are essentially a battery with replaceable electrolyte.
Then of course there's radiothermal and other nuclear batteries, which typically have very low power density, but whose energy density makes diesel look laughably inadequate.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 21 2020, @08:01PM (3 children)
Outlaw gasoline stabilizer. After re-building the carburetors on these things a couple spring times in a row, most folks will decide it isn't worth it.
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Monday June 22 2020, @05:16AM (2 children)
Rather just outlaw assholes who think anything they dislike should be illegal.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 23 2020, @10:11AM (1 child)
Dislike Gay Marriage?
Dislike Socialists?
Dislike Liberals?
The problem with outlawing assholes is pretty soon you're one of the assholes targetted.
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Tuesday June 23 2020, @02:21PM
You didn't read good. That smartass comment was specifically tailored to assholes who want to do just that.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 2) by chewbacon on Monday June 22 2020, @02:05AM (1 child)
Electric is great for the home gardener. But for pros and people on a ton of land, it's much quicker to gas it up and keep going.
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Monday June 22 2020, @05:21AM
"Great"? Nah. Barely passable if you don't have much yard to do and trim so often that you're barely doing any trimming. Or if you're a little old lady who can't afford to pay a neighborhood kid to do it for you and can't wag a real one around long enough to get the job done.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.