Chicago has been categorized as having one of the worst noise quality in the country. It is ranked third in noisiest city in the country so far.
Why Is This A Problem?
This is a really big problem for many Americans living in a highly populated city just like Chicago. Every day there are loud noises coming from all over the place. Police sirens, ambulances, car horns blaring, dogs barking, fire alarms going off and more. Furthermore, this can impede the ability for many Chicagoans to find peace, even in their own homes. Furthermore, there are several health deficits that are associated with noise level.
What are the Health Deficits Associated With Noise Level?
As crazy as this may sound, there are several health conditions that can be severely affected by noise level. High noise levels are associated with elevated blood pressure, heart disease, hearing loss, sleep deprivation, ringing of the ears, headaches, and chronic fatigue. Additionally, excessive noise is also a cause of reduced property values and decreased job and academic performance. As aforementioned, being able to pay attention to noise pollution as a whole will surely improve the lives of Chicagoans as a whole.
Since there is a large quantity of people that reside in Chicago, this heavily makes the noise pollution worse. “As the most densely populated city outside of New York, life in the Windy City can get rather hectic with the 11,841 people per square mile,” according to AXIOS News. That is 11,000 people per square mile within the city of Chicago. Therefore, there will certainly be a high amount of noise plaguing the city, which therefore contributes to these side effects.
Noise Pollution Is Affecting The Environment
Not only is noise pollution proven to affect the health of Chicagoans, it is also proven to affect the climate as well. To the majority, many would not believe that noise can affect the climate whatsoever. However, there is a true negative correlation between noise and the climate. Noise is also a climate change issue. For example, lawn and garden equipment is responsible for around 5% of the nation’s air pollution. Study shows that one single gas powered leaf blower can generate as much nitrogen oxide emissions as eleven cars. This is really bad for the community. It is most likely the reason why so many people are going deaf sooner.
Noise pollution is also harming the ecosystem. Such loud noises can induce fear in certain species resulting them in being forced out of their habitat. “Birds are having to chirp louder because of the constant din. Since the 1960s, there has been a 16-fold increase in ocean noise, posing a threat to fish, dolphins, and other marine life,” according to The Chicago Sun Times.
How To Help With This Problem
Recently there has been an ongoing insulation program in Chicago, to help citizens insulate their homes from all the noise that they hear outside. The priority houses for this program so far are those that live close of next to the airports which are Midway and O’Hare. This year over 20 thousand homes have been successfully insulated for noise pollution near these locations.
Another way that the city as helped is through reinforcement of the ban for gas powered leaf blowers, It is now illegal to poses and use a gas powered leaf blower in the city of Chicago in hopes of reducing noise pollution. There are not many things that people can do to reduce this. But there are stuff people can do to make sure they are not affected. For example, turn off all excessive noise, don’t put the TV too high, and make sure to change the fire alarm batteries frequently to stop it from constantly beeping.
Written By Erika P. Cano Peralta
Sources
AXIOS Chicago: Noise pollution putting Chicagoans’ health at risk
Chicago Sun Times: Excessive noise is an environmental issue
Chicago Tribune: Chicago Area amongst noisiest as measured by National Park Service
Top and Featured Image Courtesy of Collin Anderson Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
Inset Image Courtesy of Jason O’Halloran Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
