For a hundred years, municipal and national governments have gone through cycles attempting to combat noise pollution, initiating studies that repeatedly demonstrate how noise harms human health — sort of like a CD stuck on auto-repeat. Unfortunately, there is little progress to be shown for a century of effort. This is what we learn in George Prochnik’s recent book, “In Pursuit of Silence: Listening for Meaning in a World of Noise.” Noisy environments cause hearing loss, increase anxiety and stress, and are associated with greater numbers of birth defects. As the 2008 San Francisco noise map to the left shows, the fight continues.
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Tags: culture, literature by Jon O
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For a hundred years, municipal and national governments have gone through cycles attempting to combat noise pollution, initiating studies that repeatedly demonstrate how noise harms human health — sort of like a CD stuck on auto-repeat. Unfortunately, there is little progress to be shown for a century of effort. This is what we learn in George Prochnik’s recent book, “In Pursuit of Silence: Listening for Meaning in a World of Noise.” Noisy environments cause hearing loss, increase anxiety and stress, and are associated with greater numbers of birth defects. As the 2008 San Francisco noise map to the left shows, the fight continues. [Read more →]
What better way to celebrate the season than with some ghost stories? “Air: Ghost Stories, Spirits and Tales of Passage” is the fourth chapter of my collection of stories for Song of Fire. In 
Sheila Weller has written a fascinating book about Carole King, Joni Mitchell and Carly Simon and the journey of a generation. The book is filled with insights about what influenced their artistic temperaments and helped establish them as three of the most successful and respected female songwriters of the 1960s and 70s. 
