Noise In The News: Weekly Round-Up

by Quiet Communities Staff

Photo credit: Andrea Piacquadio

Modified Exhausts Bother NC Community 

Law enforcement in a North Carolina community is having trouble enforcing noise regulations following a surge of noise complaints. Despite existing noise ordinances and fines that range from $100 to $1,000, preventing the use of modified mufflers is not so easy.

The Town of Matthews Police Officer Tim Aycock reports that the department continues to receive numerous complaints about motorcycles, cars and trucks with modified exhaust systems. A woman dining outside with her friend rated the noise “10 out of 10 annoying.”

Cruise Company Announces New ‘Silent” Electronic Boats

European expedition cruise company HX Expeditions announced the launch of two new “silence science boats” that are powered by RAD Propulsion’s RAD 40 drive system, what HX dubs the most advanced electronic drive system on the market.

The boats, designed to minimize underwater noise pollution, will carry scientists and guests and roam waters in the Arctic and Antarctic. The company said the move marks a major step in phasing out petroleum-based engines, while promoting scientific observation with minimal disturbance.

NOTES FROM HISTORY

The Man Who Sold The Sounds Of The Ocean

Nearly a decade ago, Atlas Obscura published a story about Irv Teibel, a media polymath, “hippie” and founder of a groundbreaking nature sound series called “Environments.” Inspired by early recordings of his brother’s violin and refined through psychoacoustics and computer editing, Teibel transformed raw ocean noise and other sounds of nature into calming audio environments.

Though Teibel died in 2010, his work continues to influence sound therapy and ambient media today. Next time you’re in a yoga studio and hear ambient wave sounds, it might just be the legacy of the man who “sold the sound of the world.”

A 2018 piece in The New Yorker paid tribute to Teibel’s works.