Noise Pollution

Giuseppe Biondi

English 1121

Dr. Hall

Final Draft

 

Noise Pollution

Dear New Yorkers,

Nowadays with advanced technologies in the world, cities are evolving to bigger and bigger cities everyday coming, but they also bring disadvantages. New York on of the biggest cities of the United States, has many problems that big cities encounter during their evolution like noise pollution, but that with the technologies that we have today can be solved with the right amount of founding. What many people experience in big cities can affect them for the rest of their life.

Noise pollution is one of the main problems that me and all New Yorker are experiencing every moment of our life. All of us can act differently of what the problem is, like people can install noise cancelling windows and doors, which are very expensive, or they just have to deal with it. All New Yorkers that do take the train have to deal with the enormous sound that the train makes while moving in the railroad. All of this can seem trivial, but can bring to sides effects. As a matter of fact, noise pollution can damage physiological and psychological health. high blood pressure, stress related illness, sleep disruption, hearing loss, and productivity loss are the problems related to noise pollution. It can also cause memory loss, severe depression, and panic attacks.

Through the years there are been many experiment on the effect that noise pollution has on people. Exposure to prolonged or excessive noise has been shown to cause a range of health problems ranging from stress, poor concentration, productivity losses in the workplace, and communication difficulties and fatigue from lack of sleep, to more serious issues such as cardiovascular disease, cognitive impairment, tinnitus and hearing loss. In 2011 the World Health Organization (WHO) released a report titled ‘Burden of disease from environmental noise’. This study collated data from various large-scale epidemiological studies of environmental noise in Western Europe, collected over a 10-year period. The studies analyzed environmental noise from planes, trains and vehicles, as well as other city sources, and then looked at links to health conditions such as cardiovascular disease, sleep disturbance, tinnitus, cognitive impairment in children, and annoyance. As we can see from the result gathered by the experiments Noise Pollution can really affect people in a bad way.

Today there are many ways which can help us reduce noise pollution. Many of them are simple and others a little more complicated but with the right approach all of them can be applied in our daily lives. A list of methods to help reduce Noise Pollution are: Turn off Appliances at Home and offices, Shut the Door when using noisy Machines, Use Earplugs, Lower the volume, Stay away from Noisy area, Follow the Limits of Noise level, Control Noise level near sensitive areas, Go Green by planning trees, Create Healthy noise to eliminate unwanted noise, Use Noise absorbents in noisy machineries, Use Proper Lubrication and Better maintenance, Notify Authorities about Disobedience of Noise Rules, Regularly check noise levels. The first two that I would recommend to our city Mayor are installing traffic signs that prohibits people that are driving to horn, and they can only use it in case of emergency. The second method that I would recommend is to plant trees which help to reduce sound. According to studies it can reduce noise by 5 to 10 decibels Db around them, and also to make look the city greener, because what I see when I walk in the streets are just buildings, so it’s a good way to make the city look like not a big city I guess. All these methods are simple to apply to our daily lives so why not? They can reduce a lot of problems so there are no reasons why we shouldn’t.

Almost everyone in New York doesn’t seem like to understand why they are mad to everyone that pass their way, and maybe the answer is Noise Pollution. Now why aren’t out there a lot of articles by New York journalist’s appealing to this problem? Well I have the answer, because many of us just deal with it. This is what brings everything to a bad end, because the fact that we don’t care, never brings us to a happy ending and I get it, maybe people do not have the money to solve the problem, but when people are unable to solve problems we can always appeal to our Mayor or the Government and who knows maybe we’ll have a happy ending, but if we don’t get our voice heard then no one will care about what we think the problem is. So I’m appealing to the New Yorkers to help me get this message to the Mayor and if of course we do show him a lot of interest on the problem I’m sure that he will help us solve it, and by reducing Noise Pollution the environment and the people will only benefit from it.

Sincerely,                                                                                                                                    Giuseppe Biondi

Noise Pollution Effects on Health Final Draft

Latrell Greene

ENG 1121

Dr. Hall

4/4/2019

Noise Pollution Effects on Health

 

Dear Mayor de Blasio,

Noise pollution being ever-present in big cities, like NYC, can lead to health effects that range from levels of both physical health effects, to psychological.  A multitude of studies have been conducted on the negative effects of noise pollution on the human mind and body, which goes to show how prominent the problem is. As a result, the purpose of this letter is to persuade you to consider solutions to get New York City, one of the most noise polluted cities in the nation, to achieve a more considerate and moderate noise level, especially regarding our subway system.

New York City is home to a subway system that can expose “commuters to noise as loud as a jet engine”. In an article by The Guardian, author Olga Oksman stated that in Time Square’s busy subway station, the noise levels clocked in at 80 decibels to 96 decibels when express trains pass through the station, and up to a level of 101.9 decibels at Manhattan’s Upper West Side station. A study 2011 study from the German Department of Environmental Health also stated the fact that “Noise from transportation is by far the most widespread source of noise exposure, causing most annoyance and public health concerns.” It can become very clear after analyzing this problem by taking a step back and observing just how loud the subway can get, as well as how so many people who commute to work and to school everyday by subway can be, and are affected by this.

Though the subway is arguably the loudest source of noise, it isn’t the only notable source of noise pollution. Noise pollution is also prevalent in busy streets, and there is often a lot of construction around the city, thus the noise is very spread out in the city.  Although the noise wouldn’t be exactly ear-splitting, it can still have an effect internally, on a psychological level, which could connect to problems with blood pressure and heart rate. A study from 1995 by Journal of Hypertension featured conducted research on the effects of urban noise pollution on blood pressure and heart rate in preschool children, and concluded that “the group mean blood pressure and heart rate values of preschool children from quiet areas contrasted with readings for those from noisy environments. This indicates a positive association between the level of traffic noise and a possibly increased role of sympathetic cardiovascular regulatory influence.”

The effects that noise pollution can have on people according to a 2000 study, which conducted research on the effects of noise pollution on humans, has a range including: “Noise Induced Hearing Impairment”, “Stress Related Health Effects”, “Sleep Disturbance” and “Effects on [Cognitive] Performance”.

A possible solution to the subway noise level problem could be an effort to update the subway system, and the practicality as well as the need for it is evident by a comparison between our subway system and others, like the bullet train in Japan. Even by taking steps toward it over a period of years would the outcome be significant.

Noise Pollution Health Effects Draft

Latrell Greene

ENG 1121

Dr. Hall

4/4/2019

Noise Pollution Effects on Health

 

Dear Mayor de Blasio,

Noise pollution being ever-present in big cities, like NYC, can lead to health effects that range from levels of both physical health effects, to psychological.  A multitude of studies have been conducted on the effects of noise pollution on the human mind and body, which goes to show how prominent the problem is, so this letter is written to persuade you to consider solutions to get the city to have a more considerate and moderate noise level, especially in our subway system.

New York City is home to a subway system that can expose “commuters to noise as loud as a jet engine”. In an article by The Guardian, author Olga Oksman stated that in Time Square’s busy subway station, the noise levels clocked in at 80 decibels to 96 decibels when express trains pass through the station, and up to a level of 101.9 decibels at Manhattan’s Upper West Side station. A study 2011 study from the German Department of Environmental Health also stated the fact that “Noise from transportation is by far the most widespread source of noise exposure, causing most annoyance and public health concerns.”

Though the subway is arguably the loudest source of noise, it isn’t the only source of noise pollution. Noise pollution is also prevalent in busy streets, and there is often a lot of construction around the city, thus the noise is very spread out in the city.  Although the noise wouldn’t be exactly ear-splitting, it can still have an effect internally, on a psychological level, which could connect to problems with blood pressure and heart rate. A study from 1995 by Journal of Hypertension featured conducted research on the effects of urban noise pollution on blood pressure and heart rate in preschool children, and concluded that “the group mean blood pressure and heart rate values of preschool children from quiet areas contrasted with readings for those from noisy environments. This indicates a positive association between the level of traffic noise and a possibly increased role of sympathetic cardiovascular regulatory influence. ”

The effects that noise pollution can have on people according to a 2000 study conducted research on the effects of noise pollution on humans, can have a range including: “Noise Induced Hearing Impairment”, “Stress Related Health Effects”, “Sleep Disturbance” and “Effects on [Cognitive] Performance”.

Possible solutions to the problem could be an effort to update the subway system, as evident by a comparison between our subway system and others, like the bullet train in Japan. Even by taking steps toward it over a period of years would the outcome be significant.

Sources

  1. https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/aug/31/new-york-city-subway-trains-noise-pollution-jet-engine
  2. http://www.noiseandhealth.org/article.asp?issn=1463-1741;year=2011;volume=13;issue=52;spage=201;epage=204;aulast=Babisc
  3. https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/cms/attachment/2122895a-7860-45ef-8a1e-c7b2ccb08c1b/ehp.00108s1123.pdf
  4. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Valeria_Regecova2/publication/15570548_Effects_of_urban_noise_pollution_on_blood_pressure_and_heart_rate_in_preschool_children/links/5a51575aa6fdcc769001ff4a/Effects-of-urban-noise-pollution-on-blood-pressure-and-heart-rate-in-preschool-children.pdf

 

Noise Pollution Memo – Latrell Greene

Latrell Greene

ENG 1121

Dr. Hall

4/4/2019

Noise Pollution Memo

Noise pollution being ever-present in big cities like NYC, can lead to health effects that range from levels of both physical health effects, to psychological.  A multitude of studies have been conducted on the effects of noise pollution on the human mind and body, which goes to show how prominent the problem is.

According to a study 2011 study from the German Department of Environmental Health, “Noise from transportation is by far the most widespread source of noise exposure, causing most annoyance and public health concerns.”

A 2000 study conducted research on the effects of noise pollution on humans. The effects included, “Noise Induced Hearing Impairment”, “Stress Related Health Effects”, “Sleep Disturbance” and “Effects on [Cognitive] Performance”

A study from 1995 by Journal of Hypertension featured conducted research on the effects of urban noise pollution on blood pressure and heart rate in preschool children, and concluded that “the group mean blood pressure and heart rate values of preschool children from quiet areas contrasted with readings for those from noisy environments. This indicates a positive association between the level of traffic noise and a possibly increased role of sympathetic cardiovascular regulatory influence. ”

Noise pollution’s effects could be solved by targeting policies, or policy makers, since the policies are what can control the level of noise in a city. A reasonable noise threshold that can be upheld by law/policy would be very beneficial for people since people can be affected.

 

Sources

  1. http://www.noiseandhealth.org/article.asp?issn=1463-1741;year=2011;volume=13;issue=52;spage=201;epage=204;aulast=Babisc
  2. https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/cms/attachment/2122895a-7860-45ef-8a1e-c7b2ccb08c1b/ehp.00108s1123.pdf
  3. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Valeria_Regecova2/publication/15570548_Effects_of_urban_noise_pollution_on_blood_pressure_and_heart_rate_in_preschool_children/links/5a51575aa6fdcc769001ff4a/Effects-of-urban-noise-pollution-on-blood-pressure-and-heart-rate-in-preschool-children.pdf

For Thursday: Research Memos due

Hey everyone! For Tuesday, please post your research memo on OpenLab and also bring in a copy for EACH MEMBER OF YOUR GROUP.

The research memo is just 1.5-2 pages in which you summarize what you learned in your research. I’m not grading you on grammar or anything. Remember! Extra credit for groups that have interviews in their research.

For the memo please click two categories: “Community Problems” AND your group’s category

GROUPS:

  • Preventing college date rape (category: “preventing rape”)
  • Noise Pollution
  • On My Block
  • MTA: System fighters (category: “system fighters”– this is Shauntai, Ife and Josh.)
  • Living in NYC
  • Saviors of the MTA (category: “saviors” David, Pavel, Eric)
  • Homelessness