>
>
>There will be some 50,000-80,000 cyclists here in Milwaukee for
>harley fest labor day weekend. They will parade at .5mph-- each one
>rev-ing up and down fin full display. I know from analyzing the
>recordings that Harleys, alone, make up a very large part of the
>ubiquitous urban "rumble" that evelopes us-- even without the
>visiting riders. At this moment, a fireworks display downtown pounds
>through the walls of my studio. What is this infatuation for loud
>sounds about?
A resident biologist studying environmental impact of noise (how's
that for a contradiction in terms?) from the U. S. Army's Aberdeen
Proving Ground attended a National Park Service meeting on noise in
Washington DC this past spring and was telling us in his report that
cannon sounds had little or no effect on elk herds in the wild or
birds at the end of runways at military airports. Ergo, by extension,
cannon noise has little lasting effect on humans. I reminded him
about R. Murray Schafer's (the Canadian composer/artist/author and
fellow who estabilshed the word, "soundscape," in the late 70s)
comment: "If cannons made no noise, they would never be used in war."
Not to be upstaged and reaching deeply into his soul, Bill (the
biologist) sputtered, "Well, there's a woman on our base who strongly
believes that cannon is the sound of freedom." "Depends on which side
of the cannon you're standing," I said.
James Watt (Ronald Reagan's Sec. of the Interior until he was fired)
on noise: "Noise is power."
Bernie
--
Wild Sanctuary, Inc.
P. O. Box 536
Glen Ellen, CA 95442
707-996-6677 tel
707-996-0280 fax
http://www.wildsanctuary.com
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