/// Well, where I live in the UK it is very peaceful, birds singing rather loudly but then I suppose they always have done. ///
Yes and I suppose during WW2 there were some in a similar place as yours, while certain areas in Britain, were bombed continuously day & night, but that didn't mean that it could be ignored.
If you fail to do the housework, or you only do a quick flick round with the hoover and duster every other month, then your house turns into a bog hole. We have failed big time with the planet, I would say.