A mild rant about “damages”
People in the West Island want to start a class-action suit against the airport for noise. Global says they’re asking for “financial settlement due to damages caused by aircraft noise pollution.”
In another story, CBC uses the word “damages” correctly in the headline, but drops the ball in the lede: “a pothole so big it caused more than $1,200 in damages to Eric Choueke’s car.”
Damage is what happens to things. It’s an uncountable noun. Journalists like to sound clever by saying “damages” happened to things, but they don’t. Damages is a legal term defining what one person or entity is ordered to pay another as restitution for damage established to have been done.
Ephraim 11:20 on 2019-05-29 Permalink
It’s doubtful that they would win a class-action against the airport. Firstly, because the airport was there before the houses were. And two, because the airport keeps track of the noise and noise corridors and airplanes are getting quieter and quieter all the time.
Blork 11:41 on 2019-05-29 Permalink
Hmm. I’m not so sure. The airport has expanded significantly, so that might count for something.
Regarding planes getting quieter, that’s also not much of a solution, as they’ve basically gone from OMG THIS IS SO LOUD MY HEAD IS GOING TO EXPLODE to OMG THIS IS SO LOUD. A bit like when the kid across the street is blasting his music at 11 and then he turns it down to 9; still too loud.
I live right under the flight path, but in Longueuil, so it’s the downwind leg and a good 30km from touchdown, and the planes are at least 1000 metres up when they fly over (usually more). It’s not loud enough to be disturbing, but it makes me wonder what it’s like when the plane is right over your house at 100 or 200 metres. And that’s landing when the engines are basically at idle. Taking off is a whole other thing; sometimes when a plane from PET flies over my house on takeoff it’s loud enough that I have to raise my voice a bit if I’m talking. That’s in Longueuil. WTF is it like in Dorval or Pointe-Claire?
qatzelok 07:37 on 2019-05-30 Permalink
There’s also the problem that the suburban form does almost nothing to mitigate noise. Lawnmowers, traffic and other ambiant noises are also audible from most bungalows. City blocks can be designed to create sound barriers, whereas empty lawns and houses scattered at odd angles to one another do nothing for urban noise.
The easiest thing to do would be to demolish the parts of the West Island that are noise sewers for the airport.