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Noise Pollution

Don’t feel like the Grinch if a nearby industry or neighbor is driving you crazy with all that “noise, noise, noise, noise!” Noise pollution is a real problem, and one that can cause serious consequences.

Noise pollution can cause health problems, such as hearing loss and high blood pressure, and the associated stress and loss of sleep can further damage your physical and mental well-being.

People who live in cities are all too familiar with noise pollution caused by rush-hour traffic jams, the endless staccato of jackhammers and wailing sirens. But people who live in the suburbs are hardly immune: leaf blowers, lawn mowers, and airplanes add to the din of cul-de-sac living. In the country, farm equipment and snowmobiles can disrupt pastoral life.

Noise doesn’t only hurt humans, either. Boats and snowmobiles drive away wildlife in national parks and underwater sonar and oil drilling or blasting can damage the sensitive hearing of whales and dolphins. Advocacy groups are forming around the issue, and scientists are beginning to look into how to reduce noise pollution and improve the quality of life – for all of us.

For more information on noise pollution, go to http://www.nonoise.org/aboutno.htm.  

To read more about this and other environmental health issues, go to: www.environmentalhealthnews.org, www.ourstolenfuture.org, or www.healthandenvironment.org