O Keeffe, Linda (2017) Listening To Ecological Interference : Renewable Technologies And Their Soundscapes. In: Balance UnBalance, 2017-08-21 - 2017-08-23, Plymouth University.
Listening_to_ecological_interference.pdf - Accepted Version
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Abstract
The sounds of modernity are increasingly moving into natural habitats. With an influx of new technologies designed to utilise and extract material from nature, the natural soundscape is becoming masked by the mechanical and technological. This article addresses an experience of listening and recording which took place in the summer of 2015, within two different natural landscapes: the southern region of Iceland and the north eastern region of Spain. The field trip exposed a significant keynote sound within each space; a sound produced by renewable technologies. The sounds produced by these technologies, wind farms and hydroelectric power stations, were significantly louder than had been expected. This lead to an analysis of whether the soundscapes of environmentally friendly technologies can or should be critiqued, even if they have a demonstrable impact on the ecosystem.