I am looking forward to the book! I preordered it a while ago.
I live in Montana, a place like Vermont where you would expect quiet, but it's noisy as hell. Vehicles are the main culprit here, where heavy-duty pickups are mainstream transportation. In the warmer months, motorcycles are common forms of transportation. They are wildly noisy. There also seems to be zero enforcement of modifying exhaust systems, and it is popular for people (even grown adults) to modify their exhaust systems to intentionally make them louder.
I know this isn't just in Montana.
I hope your book delves into noise pollution from vehicles. It doesn't seem to be getting better, but worse in many parts of the country.
It's also interesting to see how noise pollution impacts neighborhoods. Neighborhoods near busier roads are less desirable because of noise pollution. People know that noise pollution equals less desirable living conditions, and the value of properties near busy roads goes down. Imagine if there was less noise from vehicles? These neighborhoods near busy roads would be much more livable. What's the solution as of now? Building noise-blocking walls or getting triple-pane windows installed, which puts the onus on the victims of noise pollution. But most people living near noisy roads likely don't have the resources to do that. We shouldn't be putting the onus on the victims of noise pollution to protect themselves, we should be targeting the source.
I like how Noise Pollution Clearinghouse puts it as protecting the "commons." Air is a shared space that should be protected and pure, including with intrusive sound.
Thanks for what you are doing! A quieter world is a healthier world.
Thanks so much for the read and the comments. I was writing a lengthy response when my computer glitched and erased it entirely. So, I'll keep this one short. One of the main arguments I make in the book is that we suffer from a sonic shortsightedness, failing to think about how important sound is to our health and wellbeing, to our communities, to our shared environment as when we build our buildings, plan developments, and so forth. It's much harder to reckon with noise problems after the fact. I think that noise as a problem of the commons is dead on, and there's a need to reconnect it to our consciousness as a systemic issue worthy of shared concern and response, rather than one of personal annoyance and grievance--if you care about chronic stress, sleep, the conservation of the environment, etc, then you care about noise. All the best. -Chris
I am looking forward to the book! I preordered it a while ago.
I live in Montana, a place like Vermont where you would expect quiet, but it's noisy as hell. Vehicles are the main culprit here, where heavy-duty pickups are mainstream transportation. In the warmer months, motorcycles are common forms of transportation. They are wildly noisy. There also seems to be zero enforcement of modifying exhaust systems, and it is popular for people (even grown adults) to modify their exhaust systems to intentionally make them louder.
I know this isn't just in Montana.
I hope your book delves into noise pollution from vehicles. It doesn't seem to be getting better, but worse in many parts of the country.
It's also interesting to see how noise pollution impacts neighborhoods. Neighborhoods near busier roads are less desirable because of noise pollution. People know that noise pollution equals less desirable living conditions, and the value of properties near busy roads goes down. Imagine if there was less noise from vehicles? These neighborhoods near busy roads would be much more livable. What's the solution as of now? Building noise-blocking walls or getting triple-pane windows installed, which puts the onus on the victims of noise pollution. But most people living near noisy roads likely don't have the resources to do that. We shouldn't be putting the onus on the victims of noise pollution to protect themselves, we should be targeting the source.
I like how Noise Pollution Clearinghouse puts it as protecting the "commons." Air is a shared space that should be protected and pure, including with intrusive sound.
Thanks for what you are doing! A quieter world is a healthier world.
Thanks so much for the read and the comments. I was writing a lengthy response when my computer glitched and erased it entirely. So, I'll keep this one short. One of the main arguments I make in the book is that we suffer from a sonic shortsightedness, failing to think about how important sound is to our health and wellbeing, to our communities, to our shared environment as when we build our buildings, plan developments, and so forth. It's much harder to reckon with noise problems after the fact. I think that noise as a problem of the commons is dead on, and there's a need to reconnect it to our consciousness as a systemic issue worthy of shared concern and response, rather than one of personal annoyance and grievance--if you care about chronic stress, sleep, the conservation of the environment, etc, then you care about noise. All the best. -Chris
Thanks, Chris! Can't wait for the book!