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Show The Salt Lake Tribune NATIONThursday, December 3, 1998 A23 Noise Is Cities’ Newest Target in Pollution Battleground Diego's, have banned late-night and early-morning takeoffs of cargoplanes whichtendto beold Urban police once smirked at such complaints, but sound-ravaged residents are managing to make themselves heard spent millions of dollars erecting erand noisier. KNIGHT-RIDDER NEWS SERVICE SEATTLE — David Meltzer wakes up every morning to the sweet hello of his new bride anda siren-like noise emanating from the sweeperthat cleans the shopping-mall parking lot near his north Seattle home. Wesley Larson, whose 1908 house overlooks picturesque Lake Union here, cannot have a conversationin his front yard be- only to discover the teen-ager next door is a budding band lead- cause of the freewaytraffic on In- addressed Efforts to seek relief from unwanted sound traditionally have ment district, where loud music cers too busy with more heinous offenses and smirks from offending neighbors or business owners the heart of the city’s entertain- from the bars penetrates her home most nights of the week She acknowledges that at least the noise thereis predictable, unlike the cases of folks who buy houses in seemingly quiet neighborhoods Director of the Noise Pollution Clearinghouse transportation are getting worse. Poe ed noisy new toys such as Jet Skis by the amplified thump, scream, neighborhood with the decibel level of a smoke alarm. Cathryn Vandenbrink lives in demanding that their concerns be drawn grimaces from police offiwho seem to considertheir prop- ertyrights inclusive of the com- mon aural landscape. That is changing. Outraged that noise suchas plane, train and auto Les Blomberg nary population growth and economic development, accompanied In response, residents like ys there is no quesntional sources of that is experiencing extraordi- drone and clunk of modern life bors and are morelikely to noise- degradedit with noise. Eardrumsare ringing and tempers are fraying across this city Meltzer, Larson and Vandenbrink are forming anti-noise coalitions here and across the country and terstate 5 that careensthroughhis “We turn our backson public space because we've er. noise has reached a crescendo so pitched it is harmful physiologi- cally, a growing numberofciti- zens are organizing to heighten awareness about the negative con- sequencesofnoise. Research has found loud noise disrupts the cardiovascular system andresults in elevated blood pressure and a faster heartbeat In fact, noiseis sucha reliable elevatorof stress in humans it is used in tests of stress drugs. Expectant mothers have been warned by doctors of the potential negative impacts of noise on the fetus In addition, humans have invent- Accordingto the Leaguefor the Hard of Hearing, a nonprofit2 sociation based in New York, exposure to loudnoise is one of the leading causes of hearing loss among the 28 million Americans with impaired hearing. “Noise hasan insidiousspiral,” said Les Blomberg, director of the Noise Pollution Clearinghouse, a national resource center for antinoise efforts, based in Montpelier, Vt. “It reduces our level of and boomcars. In a number of cities, residents have gone from plified car stereos. In Rochester. N.Y., a new law allows police to tow a car that’s blasting music plainly audible 50 feet away at night and100 feet during the day For their part, anti-noise groups say sing awareness Other cities haveset noisestan- about the harmful effects of noise make Seattle one of the handful neighborhoods. But there is no substitute for ci- ganizing as communities. dards, but the proposals would of cities whose legislation stipu- lates use of new sound-measuring equipment. For example, octave band meters would enablepolice to measurethe noise of low-oc- tave sound polluters like loud, deep-bass speakers, bass guitars or boomcars that may not reach public space because we've de- high-decibel levels but that can be less connection with our neigh- Othercities are putting police on the noise beat. Particularly high on the law-enforcement agendais the boom of superam- complainingasindividuals to or- civility. We turn our backs on gradedit with noise. So we have On the ground, California has sound wallsalongits freeways to dampencar and truck noise extremelydisruptive Some airports, including San is essentialto their goal of quieter vility, which people agree is key to turning downthenoise “The first thing is politeness and civility,” said Blomberg “Noiseis a waste product. It’s second-hand sound, and we're dumping it on our neighbors. Good neighbors keep their noise to themselves. We need to take back our neighborhoods Sex Abuse Against Boys Is Unseen Epidemic It May Not Be An Open Sleigh, KNIGHT-RIDDER NEWSSERVICE America has a hidden epidemic — sex abuse against boys — andresearchers are urging doctors, schools and parentsto wake up to the problem highestrisk, reported Holmesand Gail Slap, a re- But Youll Finish Shopping searcher at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Tracking sexual abuse amongboys isdifficult, the at researchers found, because boys are usuallynot en- The consequencesof such abuse can be devastating: Boys who are sexually abused seem far more likely to become drug addicts, suffer from mental illnesses, and become sexual predatorsin turn “If you want to drawa parallel,” said William Holmes, a researcherat the University of Pennsylvania, “one in eight to 10 womenwill develop breast cancer and we paya lot of attention to that. A very similar number — if not more — of boys will be sexuallyabused. Howoften do youhearaboutthat?” Ina report in Wednesday’s Journalof the American Medical Association, Holmes reviewedscientif- couraged to talk to parents and adults about such In One Day. problems. Therearealso gray areas about what con- stitutes abuse. Holmes said there was little doubt about the ex- yee tent to which abuse wasassociated with other problems, well into adulthood. “Inthe sixth grade, the rate of using alcohol and cocaine and marijuana andintravenous drugs are up to 25 to 50 times higher for boys who have been sexually abused than for boys who have not,” Holmessaid. “Boys whoare sexuallyabusedhaveup to 12 times ic studieson sex abuse of boys He found that the average age when boys were thesuicide rates as boys who havenot been abused,”” he added. Don’t waste time scouring the mallsfor the right gift. Benefit Utah’s culture and take home a wide selection of unique gifts - ALLIN ONE DAY! around the ages 7 to 12. The abusers were usually men. With younger boys, the abuser tended to be a family member. Among older boys, it was usually a stranger. many mental illnesses, ranging from depression to a FREE Shuttle Between Stores (Avoid Dashing Thru The Snow’) About 76 percent of serial rapists and more than 40 percent of those who committed other sexual of- B 20% Member Discount (AtAll Locations) poor, and raised in homes without a father wereat said gd Saturday December 5th, 10 am - 5 pm abused was about 10. Most of the abuse clustered Boys who belonged to ethnic minorities, were . Abused boys also go on to have higher rates of post-traumatic stress disorder fenses have reported being abused as boys, Holmes ® Participating Locations: ds Cites Sold * Beae eer Ee Utah Rel Mae Cade sd Arh Museum of Fine Arts & XY UyMiseiwor HANSEN PLANETARIUM om) NAIURALHIsToRY and that’s no, bull. OU eb: Syescale errataLNT NY classifieds edit Gast as Tittle a SHIA Cheap? 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