A Widespread Modern Pollutant...

Today noise protesters focus on airports as airlines vigorously resist attempts to legislate against noise pollution.
When Manchestor airport in England imposed automatic fines each time the supersonic Concorde took off, were theses effective ?

No.

One Concorde captain admitted that the plane was noisy but that if it took off with a lighter load of fuel to reduce the noise level,
it would not reach Toronto or New York nonstop.

Preventing road traffic noise is equally problematic.
In Germany , for example, studies reveal that this type of pollution disturbs 64 percent of the population.

And it is a growing problem, reportedly one thousand times greater then before society became motorized.
A report from Greece states that " Athens is one of the noisiest cities in Europe and the din is so infernal it is damaging Athenians' health.

" Likewise, Japans' Environmental Agency notes a worsening trend in traffic noise attributes this to continued increases in automobile use.

At low speeds a car's engine is the main source of noise,
but above 40 miles per hour, tires make the most noise.