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After a memorable tryst with the seductive belle dame sans merci (beautiful woman without mercy) in the poem named after her, Romantic poet John Keats’ abandoned lover hears a silence in which "no birds sing". In 21st century Toronto and other motor energized cities around the world of course the birds still sing, but we no longer hear them. For many perhaps it is no longer the absence of birdsong that is now most remarkable but the sudden jarring revving of automobile engines completely in excess of the needs of day to day downtown travel and speed limits. Gentlemen, and ladies, Torontothebetter says "Quieten your engines!". And to city officials, please enforce noise regulations that exist but seem rarely, if ever, to be enforced. A better Toronto requires a quieter Toronto. Battery engined automobiles may help but we must beware the dangers of the "rare metals" they and digital devices depend on. Stay tuned here for a TorontotheBetter post on the perils of the "green economy". There is no easy way out of our energy fix. In the meantime read "The Rare Metals War: the dark side of clean energy and digital technologies" by Guillaume Pitron. It is available for loan from the Toronto Public Library. Thanks to the TorontotheBetter supporter who supplied this reference but prefers to remain anonymous.