1. Reflection 1 I’ve seen how noise pollution affects humans and the environment.

I personally have
sometimes contributed to this problem, and after reading the article by Dr. Mercola, June 20, 2015, I’ve
learned that a quiet environment is a better environment. I love listening to music and that includes
listening to every detail. After reading the article, I’ve stopped playing loud music at home. I now
understand that noise pollution has so many effects on humans and even the environment. Noise
pollution can be everywhere, especially on highways and freeways. This is a very common problem in
Europe and I learned that a new technology is being developed according to the video at
http://www.euronews.com/2015/02/23/elastic-road-surface-reduces- motorway-noise-pollution, 2015.
After watching the video, I have learnt that the noise pollution comes from the car’s tires rolling over
the surface of the highway and elastic road surfaces can be very costly but will greatly reduce noise
pollution. I read through an article at www.itechpost.com, Oct. 25, 2015, that proves that people living
in an area that has a high rate of noise pollution have a higher blood pressure than those who live in a
quieter area. I have learned that noise pollution not only causes hearing impairment, but increases
blood pressure in humans. This has made me see how noise pollution greatly affects humans and has
made me see that noise pollution is more dangerous than what we think.
2. 7. Reflection 2 I realize that I am disturbing my neighborhood and that I am contributing to noise
pollution. At first, I thought there was no problem to play loud music at home, and after reading the
article, I felt ashamed because I didn’t know how I irritated my neighbors. This article reminded me of
my neighbor when I lived in Benque Viejo. I always saw my parents getting mad when the neighbor
played loud music. I never knew that there was something called noise pollution and that it affected us
so severely. What helped me to better understand this topic is that the language that was use was very
clear so that I could have been able to relate to it. The article has inspired me to someday try to
promote elastic road surfaces to be used here in Belize because there are many communities that are
close to the highway and the people face this problem. The video reminded me of a time that I spent a
night at a family member’s house that was close to the highway. There trucks constantly driving by and
making loud noise causing me to have a sleepless night. So I have developed a better understanding of
noise pollution and even types of noise pollution. This has inspired me to personally reduce noise
pollution in my home and neighborhood so that nobody will get harmed due to noise pollution. After
reading the article, it shocked me that a pollution that nobody knows about and nobody really pays
attention to can harm the body in such a great way. This reminds me of an aunt that I have in Belize
City. Her blood pressure raised slowly with time. The doctors didn’t know why her blood pressure was
high because she had a good diet.
3. 8. Reflection 3 The language was also formal and it was written that anyone can understand it and the
level it was written. This was very instrumental for me because it helped me to understand more about
noise pollution and help me to even better create a definition and ways that I can help to prevent noise
pollution. I am sure because of the vocabulary was written in formal English and at my level of
understanding I was able to develop a better understanding of noise pollution. . The language used in
this video was formal English but the vocabulary was a little higher that my level. To better understand
and to develop some clarity I had to use the dictionary to define some of the terms in the article. I also
had to even discuss some of the terms with my Science teacher. I also I had even research some of the
terms to be better able to understand the concept. In the end I was able to understand the article and
relate to it because it is something that I needed in my country to decrease noise pollution. After
learning about noise pollution affecting blood pressure, I can presume that her blood pressure got
affected by the noise pollution in her community.