Playing golf can 'damage hearing' (BBC) Modern clubs make more noise hitting the ball. Keen golfers are being warned by doctors that they could be risking their hearing for their sport. Read More.

Mosquitoes make sweet love music. (BBC) Amorous mosquitoes "sing" a mating duet by beating their wings together in harmony, US scientists have discovered. Read More.

Honk If You Love Quiet. (LA Times) Traffic noise is growing sharply in communities across the country – wealthy, poor, urban, rural. The volume of vehicles, particularly heavy big rigs, has climbed steeply over the last decade. And people are driving faster, further amping up the noise. Read More.

New Delhi Motorists Drive With Their Ears (NPR) If you're not enjoying your commute this morning, we offer this consolation: It could be worse. You could be driving in India. Motorists in India like to honk their horns to alert other drivers. One man is trying to reform drivers' behavior. Morning Edition, February 17, 2009. Listen.

Will Montgomery on the changing uses of field recordings. (The Wire 300) Field recording is now commonly encountered both as an artistic practice in its own right and as a component of experimental music and sound art. There has been much debate on listserves about the lines, if any, that can be drawn between these activities. Read More.

Maps chart noise in urban areas (BBC) The information will be used in attempts to reduce noise pollution
Residents in 23 towns and cities in England are to be given the chance to monitor noise levels in their area using interactive map. Read More.

A Walk in the Woods: Right or privilege? By Richard Louv (Orion). Recently I began asking friends this question: Does a child have a right to a walk in the woods? Does an adult? To my surprise, several people responded with puzzled ambivalence. Read More.

Leave No Child Inside. By Richard Louv (Orion). The movement to reconnect children to the natural world has arisen quickly, spontaneously, and across the usual social, political, and economic dividing lines. Read More.

Muzak firm files for bankruptcy. (BBC) Muzak was often used in elevators in skyscrapers Muzak Holdings, the US company known for providing background music in lifts, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Read More.

Birds Change Songs to Suit Urban Life, Study Finds. (National Geographic) A new study says that birds living in major cities sing shorter, faster songs that are higher-pitched than those sung by their brethren in the forests. Read More.

A Guide to Wildlife Sounds: The Sounds of 100 Mammals, Birds, Reptiles, Amphibians and Insects
By Lang Elliott
Edition: illustrated
Published by Stackpole Books, 2005
ISBN 0811731901, 9780811731904
106 pages

From the howl of the timber wolf to the chatter of cicadas, the natural world is alive with sound. In this newest audio guide from Lang Elliott and NatureSound Studio, the songs, calls, buzzes, rattles, and other sounds of one hundred species are brought together to form a vivid aural portrait of animal life east of the Great Plains. Lavishly illustrated with full-color photographs for each species plus information on range, habitat, and behavior. An hour-long audio compact disc is also included. Publisher web page.

Wild Soundscapes: Discovering the Voice of the Natural World
By Bernard L. Krause
Edition: illustrated
Published by Wilderness Press, 2002
ISBN 0899972969, 9780899972961
168 pages

Wild Soundscapes is the first comprehensive guide to listening to--and recording--nature. Learn how to tune in to nature's biophonies, or creature symphonies; how to use simple microphones to hear more; and how to record, mix, and play with sounds you gather. Keep it simple or launch yourself into a new creative field. Whether you're an amateur naturalist, novice field recordist, musician, want to create your own natural sound library, or just want to gain further appreciate of the natural world, this is the book for you. Bernie Krause, a professional field recordist and bioacoustician, shares his expertise in exploring nature's sonic landscapes. Wild Soundscapes comes with a full-length CD, narrated by Krause, sampling a variety of natural sounds: the crashing sea, the singing of ants, the bugling of Yellowstone elk, the plop of falling Costa Rican crabs, and more. With the help of this CD, Krause demonstrates techniques and tricks for field recording success. Publisher web page.

Field Recordings from Barbados
By Michael Peters
Field Recording Series by Gruenrekorder
Gruenrekorder / Germany / 2009 / Gr 063 / LC 09488

This recording is in two parts. Part 1. Whistling Tree Frogs (25:23) was recorded in Bathsheba on the wild east coast of Barbados. Every nightfall is celebrated by a chorus of a million whistling tree frogs (Eleutherodactylus johnstonei), singing over a background of palm trees rustling in the wind, and the distant drone of the Atlantic Ocean.
   Part 2. Giant Bamboo (25:21) finds that on even a moderately windy day, the bamboo produces a wide range of sounds, from piano (leaving space for the occasional birdsong or frog whistling) to a sudden fortissimo, turning the bamboo stems into a clattering, rustling, squeaking percussion orchestra. This one was recorded in a magical tropical garden called "Flower Forest". Recorded April 2004 directly to DAT

One Square Inch of Silence
By Gordon Hempton and John Grossmann
Free Press, March 2009
Hardcover, 368 pages
ISBN-10: 1416559086
ISBN-13: 9781416559085
368 pages

One Square Inch (the book) began when a New York literary agent read an article about my work at One Square Inch (the place) by John Grossmann that appeared in Delta Airlines in-flight magazine, Sky. She recognized that the loss of quiet from our lives was more than an article—it was a far reaching subject that literally touched everyone’s life but few knew it. Frankly, John and I balked at her invitation because we knew the subject well enough that to cover it well would require at least two years of diligent work with uncertain rewards, a fact that no doubt accounted for the absence of other books on the subject. However, doing something that could make a real difference weighed in heavily. “What better opportunity would exist to save silence? If not now, when?” were two nagging questions every time I hiked up the Hoh to One Square Inch (the place). I knew John was patient listener and had the tenacity of bulldog for accuracy. But did I trust John enough to reveal my most inward thoughts (and doubts) that I had reserved only for private moments alone in aural solitude? There could be no holding back to do this right. We slowly inched forward. First with the book proposal, this proved our suspicions immediately true. Twice as much work as we had calculated. But the story was uncommon, and we knew it. It would take place across America, we could be the ears for the reader to hear the land rise in its own defense against noise. And what about the logistical nightmare of scheduling places, people and events? Why worry about what will happen next—as with all true adventures, something always happens next . Our journey began just before April Fool’s Day, 2007, ready to fire-up my rickety old VW bus, “Here we go!” we said over the phone. And go we did. Publisher web page.

Trained as a musician, acoustic biologist Katy Payne was first to discover that humpback whales compose ever-changing song to communicate, and first to understand that elephants communicate with one another across long distances by infrasound. We hear what she has learned about life in this world from two of its largest and most mysterious creatures. Listen to broadcast.

Sound and Geographic Visualization by John Krygier. This chapter discusses the use of realistic and abstract sound for geographic visualization applications. Examples of how and why sound may be useful are developed and discussed. Uses of sound in geographic visualization include sound as vocal narration, as a mimetic symbol, as a redundant variable, as a means of detecting anomalies, as a means of reducing visual distraction, as a cue to reordered data, as an alternative to visual patterns, as an alarm or monitor, as a means of adding non-visual data dimensions to interactive visual displays, and for representing locations in a sound space. The chapter concludes with research issues concerning sound and its use in geographic visualization. This article was was published as a chapter in the now out-of-print book Visualization in Modern Cartography (MacEachren & Taylor eds., 1994). Read Full Article.

RESONATING BODIES: Images, video, audio, and text bring together arts, science, ecology and community on the web.
Resonating Bodies is series of mixed media installations and community outreach projects which focuses on biodiversity of pollinators indigenous to the natural and urban ecosystems of the Greater Toronto Area. The integrated media installations illuminate aspects of local biodiversity such as bumblebee colonies and their foraging activities, ultraviolet bee vision, pollinator/plant co-evolution, solitary bee and wasp nesting life/life cycles, and colour-coded DNA barcodes (a novel new technique for species identification pioneered by Canadian researchers).
    The two installations of the project, "Bumble Domicile" (2008) and "Nest Wall" (2009-2010), highlight distinct features of local bumble bees (which are social) and of local solitary bees and wasps through observation of the physical world, visual and audio transformations, scent, touch and genetic and other biological information. "BumbleDomicile" (July, 2008 at *new* gallery, Toronto) highlighted distinct features of bumble bees through an observation hive, garden, visual and audio transformations, scent, touch, and biological information.
     This installation / community outreach project featured works by Sarah Peebles, Rob King, Anne Barros and Robert Cruickshank, created in collaboration with bee biologists and other researchers in Canada and the U.S.A. "Nest Wall" will refer in form and content to "trap-nested" wild pollinators which the public can observe emerging, nest-building, visiting flowering plants and collecting materials at "Pink Condo", in Franklin Children's Garden on Toronto Island, from Spring through Fall. Pink Condo is made up of specially designed observation nest blocks which we monitored in 2008. Visit site.

March 23-27, 2009
International Conference: Sound Megalopolis (Cultural identity and sounds in danger of extinction)
Mexico City, Mexico.
~~~ Researches, teachers, sound producers, musicians, and individuals will gather in Mexico City to explore issues of cultural identity and the soundscape. Sponsors: The National Council for the Culture Arts - Through The National Phonoteque of Mexico, supported by the World Forum for Acoustic Ecology.

April 15-18, 2009
The 8th SCHOOL OF SOUND International Symposium
Southbank Centre, London
~~~ Since 1998, the SOS has presented this stimulating and provocative series of master classes by practitioners, artists and academics on the creative use of sound with image. Directors, sound designers, composers, editors and theorists working at the highest levels of art and media show us the soundtrack from unexpected perspectives. Read More.
    Please send proposals of no more than 300 words for 20-30 minute papers, together with your designation to richard.hollingum@northampton.ac.uk no later than 31st March 2009. Proposals for panels of up to three speakers are
also welcome.

April 20, 2009
Listening to Our Planet
Conaway Center, Chicago, ILL
~~~ Listening to Our Planet is a daylong event that celebrates the Earth and its natural beauty and resources, and raises awareness about environmental issues. This multi-disciplinary event is a part of Columbia College’s Critical Encounters Earth Week 2009 program, organized under the theme of "Human / Nature"http://www.colum.edu/criticalencounters/ Listening to Our Planet will showcase art works by individuals and community groups, including the World Listening Project. Participating departments and programs include the Columbia College English Department and New Millennium Studies program. This event meets 10 a.m.–6 p.m. Monday, April 20 at the Conaway Center, 11 S. Wabash Ave., 1st floor, Columbia College, Chicago, IL 60605. For more info contact Daniel Godston dgodston@gmail.com

Deadline for applications: April 30th, 2009
Mamori Sound Project 5th Annual Workshop/Residency for sound artists & composers
Mamori Lake (Amazon, Brazil)
November - December 2009 / 2 weeks
~~~ Conceived and directed by Francisco López "Mamori Sound Project" is a 2-week workshop/residency for professional and semi-professional sound artists and composers with previous experience in the area of sound experimentation and field recordings. It takes place at Mamori Lake, in the middle of the Brazilian Amazon, and involves theoretical/discussion presentations, field work and studio work. The workshop/residency has a special focus on creative approaches to the work with field recordings, through an extensive exploration of natural sound environments. It does not have a technical character but is instead conceived and directed towards the development and realization of a collective project of sonic creation with the interaction of all participant artists/composers
      Francisco López, director of “Mamori Sound Project”, is internationally recognized as one of the major figures of the experimental music and soundart scene. He is also a Ph.D. ecosystem biologist, with more than twenty years of teaching experience in Spain and Latin America. His experience in the field of sound creation and work with environmental recordings spans over a period of thirty years. His work has been released by more than 180 record labels worldwide and he has been awarded three times with honorary mentions at the competition of Ars Electronica Festival. He has realized hundreds of field recording projects, commissions, live performances, sound installations and workshops, as well as research in entomology and ecosystem dynamics, in 50 countries in the five continents, with a particular emphasis on tropical areas in the Americas, Africa and Australasia. He has been directing and organizing “Mamori Sound Project” since 2005 and he has a detailed sonic knowledge on its surrounding environments.

Anyone interested, please contact Francisco López directly: e-mail: franciscolopez@franciscolopez.net Web: http://www.franciscolopez.net

May, 2009
Open Call for Works
Giant Ear ))) New York
~~~ Scott Sherk will be hosting the May edition of Giant Ear ))) the two-hour internet radio program sponsored by the New York Society of Acoustic Ecology. The program will be based on recordings of 24-hour periods of specific places. Scott is interested in hearing your recordings and your strategy for making comprehensible the aural soundscape of one place over a 24 hour period. Please send submissions in mp3 format through an upload service (yousendit, etc.) or email me for snail mail. Include in your submissions a statement about how your recordings were made. Send submissions to: scottsherk27@yahoo.com. Learn more about Giant Ear online.

September 14-18, 2009
XXII IBAC Conference
Lisbon, Portugal
~~~ The 22nd International Conference of the International Bioacoustics Council (IBAC) will be held from 14-18 September 2009 at Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon, Portugal. Following the tradition established over 35 years ago, the IBAC meeting fosters interactions among scientists interested in the factors that regulate sound production in animals. Moreover, IBAC meetings aim to bring together, in informal settings, biologists from different specialists (ethologists, physiologists, taxonomists, etc) with engineers, sound archivists and amateur sound recordists, to foster discussion and exchange of ideas.
    The scientific program will be composed of sessions of invited speakers integrated with contributed short talks and poster presentations. Please visit the conference website. Call for paper submissionand early registration deadline: May, 10th.

Set: 11.01.08