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http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/ns/news/stor...RTR&coview= EU Commission targets states over noise pollution BRUSSELS, July 11 (Reuters) - European Union states that have not adopted EU rules aimed at reducing noise in crowded cities will face court action if they fail to act soon, the bloc's executive said on Monday.
The European Commission said it was initiating legal action against 11 states which had failed to incorporate the rules into national noise pollution legislation, which should have been done by July 2004.
The states are Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Finland, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Portugal and Britain.
"The EU's objective is to substantially reduce the number of people in Europe affected by noise by 2012," Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas said in a statement.
"To reach this objective, it is crucial that all member states implement the agreed measures."
The rules require states to draw maps that track the level of noise from cars, planes, machinery and other sources in areas inhabited by more than 100,000 people. Busy intersections or traffic networks are also targeted.
Once the maps are established, the states must formulate a plan to make the area quieter.
To be honest, I don't see why Europeans should be crazy or hysterical in their aim to reduce noise..? Noise reduction is - among many other things - a part of environmental care... Noise is the cause for many deseases, for example in children...
1) I think noise control should be a local issue, and when you're talking about international agreements, something about the system of government has gone wrong.
2) Noise reduction in areas inhabited by more than 100,000.....doesn't that mean a small city? And a large one? Cities, especially large ones, are noisy. How can you quiet them while still keeping the character of the place? (However, I haven't read the agreement, so I don't know if there are diffeent standards for different populations, or what the standards are. They may be more reasonable than I imagine.)
3) Aren't there other, more pressing problems to deal with? Shouldn't noise be so far down on the priority list that no one ever gets around to it? Or, is the EU really paradise, where everything works so well that noise has become a top concern? In that case, I'm moving.