Quiet Spots
Story★★★How tough is it in America to find a quiet spot? According to nature recorder Gordon Hempton: • The hum of power lines can be heard upward of two miles. • A chain saw cuts the quiet for more than five miles. • Road noise can travel eight to ten miles. • A coal-fired power plant can be heard as far as fifteen miles away. • A major airport can cast a “noise shadow” longer than fifty miles. 1Wilber Smith, Chatsfro,n a Minister’s Library (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1951), 164. 2 Charles Connell, World-Famous Exiles (Feltham, Middlesex, Great Britain: Odharns Books, 1969), 78. 1W. Phillip Keller, “Solitude for Serenity and Strength,” Decision, August/September, 1981, 9.
The point
True quiet is nearly impossible to find in modern America, given how far noise from roads, power plants, and airports can travel.