David George Haskell’s Sounds Wild and Broken (2022) seeks to establish sound as a new vital sign for the environment. It takes on more than it bargained for.
Category: Featured
Sediment leaks into Førdefjord from faulty silt curtain at Nordic Mining’s Engebø site
Nordic Mining admitted that it had no backup silt curtain and had so far failed to fix the leak in a leaked email on Friday evening. The incident puts further pressure on the company after a major investor sold its stake over environmental concerns.
Floodlines: Rain sounds recomposed
Rain makes some of the world’s best-loved sounds. They’re even better coming from a giant plywood recorder.
Protest isn’t noise
When you describe the sounds of protest as “noise” you deny its democratic function—and admit how much it bothers you.
UK rainfall variability: It never rains but it pours
In an era of disastrous storms and constant fear over coastal defences and flooding, you might expect rainfall to show reliable, multi-decade, climate-influenced patterns. Or at least to swing wildly, as seasonal temperatures do. The actual picture is incredibly complex: precipitation is in fact trending in certain directions and swinging wildly at the same time.… Continue reading UK rainfall variability: It never rains but it pours
A field guide to open secrets
Getting to know a place takes time, even with methods like a randomised sound survey. It also takes the courage to throw away your map.
“Asbestos dust everywhere”: Nordic Mining illegally releases carcinogen
The safety violation marks the start of a multi-decade mining project that plans to deposit toxic waste in a protected salmon fjord.
Rain turns the world into a drum
Not even laser imaging can tell you as much about your material surroundings as rain can.
Classical music education and the sour taste of “greats”
An attitude of ‘duty’ to undertake classical music education from ‘expertise’ arguably demonstrates paternalism under the guise of community care.
Remembering a crisis in sound
Street recordings from the UK’s first coronavirus lockdown tell a tale of quietness, crisis, and the presence of absence.
Forests go up, forests go down, but mostly down
New woodland is an essential climate mitigation tool. So where is it?
House price to wage ratio: Wealth fails to trickle down
Median house prices in England and Wales are now almost nine times the average salary, bringing the house price to wage ratio to an historic extreme.
Traffic isn’t noise
The way we hear traffic sounds reveals what we think of as worth hearing.
Thoughts on climate, feelings on safety
“It doesn’t feel great to live on a cloud while the rest of the world goes under”: the feelings under the surface of climate safety
London floods: On microphones and water
As rain spills into destruction during the summer 2021 London floods, the violence and disruption is getting louder.
The unique and mysterious life of a London city park
It doesn’t look like a wild ecosystem, but point your ears at this London park and you might be surprised.
The curious sound of the void
There’s a river here, but not the kind of watery soundscape that you might have expected.
Think older people have no stakes in the climate crisis? Think again.
Those paying the largest energy bills have the most to gain from a fast renewable energy rollout.