BHDN INDEX
Health - Psychological Health - - Noise
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"Richmond, Virginia: Noise Paradise"
From Noise Free America
Wednesday, January 02, 2002
DAVIS, CALIFORNIA -- "Richmond, Virginia: Noise Paradise"
Mark Huber
804-262-7005
markjhuber@earthlink.net
Ted Rueter
530-740-0552
noisefree@hotmail.com
Noise Free America has awarded its January "Dirty Dozen" award to Richmond, Virginia, for tolerating and encouraging extreme levels of noise. Ted Rueter, the group's executive director, commented that "Richmond has an epidemic of boom cars, loud exhaust systems, and loud pipes. It's the headquarters of Circuit City. NASCAR races are everywhere. It's a miracle that anyone in Richmond gets any sleep."
Mark Huber, a longtime Richmond resident, notes that "my home is shaken every day. I can actually feel the pounding bass vibrations from car stereos with my entire body and I feel the floor vibrating under my feet. The sound pressure from this noise actually causes pain to my ears. Trying to appreciate a lovely sound in Richmond is like gazing upon the Shenandoah Valley while a high-intensity lamp is shining directly into your eyes."
Rueter notes that "Richmond officials have turned a deaf era to the hazards of noise pollution." Virgil Hazelett, Henrico County's manager, professes to be "aware" of concern over noise pollution, yet he states that "we must be mindful of the rights and privileges of all our citizens and our ability to enforce the law." A county magistrate told Mr. Huber that he "might as well forget it--NASCAR has too much influence in the Virginia courts." The Richmond police pay lip service to the issue, and avoid investigating noise-related crimes. The Henrico County Health Department has no program to combat noise-related hearing loss.
According to Rueter, the Commonwealth of Virginia is one of few states to have no code governing noise pollution: "Even the state's Department of Environmental Quality does not address noise pollution--in spite of the fact that it's charged with protecting the health and well-being of Virginians. Noise contributes to hearing loss, sleep deprivation, heart disease, and high blood pressure--and Virginia officials don't seem to care!"
Mark Huber states that "government agencies in Richmond, Henrico County, and Virginia are in an absolute state of denial. Noise is a huge quality of life issue. Noise levels in Richmond are becoming unbearable. It's time for action."
For its short-sighted, uninformed, and myopic attitude toward the hazards of noise, Noise Free America is proud to name Richmond, Virginia a "Noise Paradise."
Noise Free America is a national lobby group devoted to noise reduction. The group's web site is at http://www.noisefree.org.
For more information, contact:
Ted Rueter
executive director
Noise Free America
530-740-0552
noisefree@hotmail.com
Web site: http://www.noisefree.org
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"Norman, Oklahoma: Noise Hell"
From Noise Free America
Friday, December 14, 2001
DAVIS, CALIFORNIA -- Contact: Michael Wright (405-329-6688)
Ted Rueter (530-740-0552)
The winner of this month's "Dirty Dozen" award from Noise Free America is the city of Norman, Oklahoma, for taking a relaxed attitude toward thunderous boom cars, nuisance barking dogs, ear-splitting rock bands, and raucous campus bars and fraternities.
Michael Wright, a Norman resident, commented that "twenty years of abuse from noise pollution in Norman has impaired my social life, my artistic life, my professional endeavors, and my financial position. By inflicting me with sleep deprivation and daily doses of stress, it has also threatened my health."
Wright reports that his house is constantly under audio assault by young men driving boom cars, and that they have ruined his home working environment
(from which he had previously written four successful federal grant applictions). The "boomer boys" often wake him up in the middle of the night. Wright
has also lived in several Norman neighborhoods beset by chronic dog barking. On numerous occasions he has heard outdoor rock concerts several blocks
from his house.
One reason why Norman is "noise hell" is the permissive attitude of local authorities. When called about noise complaints, the Norman Police department
usually just issues a courteous verbal warning. Wright describes one encounter with a young police officer who told him that on several occasions she had
stopped boom cars, but did not issue any citations. When asked why not, she replied, "Officer's discretion."
Apparently, the Norman police fail to realize that noise is Americans' number one complaint about their neighborhoods, according to the US Census Bureau. The Norman police also fail to understand that noise violators have an aggressive, hostile attitude toward society--exactly the same characteristics as "real" criminals.
But Norman's noise hell isn't limited to its neighborhoods. There's also plenty of what Wright has called Audio Stimulus Dependency Disorder (ASDD) at the University of Oklahoma. Under President David Boren's leadership, the campus has deteriorated into an entertainment center and major noise polluter.
Wright, a frequent visitor to the campus, notes that "outdoor rock bands often blast away into residential areas. Rock bands are now regularly scheduled in the once-dignified main dining room at the student union." He adds that boom cars are allowed to have their way on campus, and the student union cable TV station is allowed to open its doors and blast its noise all over the union building.
Wright states that "students treat the library as though it were a social forum, rather than a place for quiet study. Further, a cell phone ban announced by library administrators last spring is not being enforced."
Ted Rueter, executive director of Noise Free America, commented that "Norman, Oklahoma has made a major contribution toward increasing decibel levels on the planet. Noise levels have increased six-fold in the last 15 years in major American cities. The entire world is getting louder. Norman is certainly doing its part."
Noise Free America is a national lobby group devoted to reducing unnecessary noise levels. The organization's web site is http://www.noisefree.org. Michael Wright's web site, devoted to the health and safety hazards presented by boom cars, is http://www.members.aol.com/mpwright9/boomcar.html
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For more information, contact:
Ted Rueter
executive director
Noise Free America
530-740-0552
noisefree@hotmail.com
Web site: http://www.noisefree.org