and our editorial on noise pollution has attracted more comment than anything else of a non-political nature recently. Bermudians are concerned about the noise on their Island and they are concerned about the noise on the water which they regard as a peaceful place to escape in the summer.

Of course, it is now outdoor summer time when noise is more prevalent and more noticeable but it does seem to us that Bermuda is getting away from the standards it once cared about, standards which were good for locals and attractive to Bermudians. Maybe it's summer but maybe noise is getting out of hand.

There is considerable concern over noise created by sirens on emergency vehicles, especially when they are used in the dead of night. We did not include them in the editorial but we have had any number of calls saying sirens should have been included. One writer said: "It is said that the reason for the extraordinarily excessive use of emergency vehicle warning sirens, that can be heard literally miles away, is to penetrate through the amplified music some people have going in their cars. If you live in Pembroke for example, you can trace the progress of an ambulance all the way from the hospital to Somerset and back again. Because a relatively few people feel they require such loud noise in their vehicles, the entire Island must suffer.'' We were under the impression that amplified noise, or music, or whatever it is to you, from vehicles had decreased this summer but that does not seem to be true judging from reader response. One reader even wondered why there was any necessity for electronically amplified music outside in the open air at all.

That reader felt that people who wish to listen can do it inside where the noise can be contained. That is good as far as it goes but there is now a problem on the water with private boats fitted up with huge speakers blaring music over the tranquil water, and with tour boats being used for weekend partying blaring into the early hours.

The law on the subject is clear but too often it is not observed and it is difficult to enforce. Basically the rules are quite simple. Between midnight and 6 a.m. noise must not be loud enough to disturb or annoy nearby residents.

There is a further regulation which covers the "daytime'' hours of 6 a.m. to midnight which says that noise from the same source becomes noise pollution if it can be heard more than 100 feet away and causes annoyance to two or more people. That law applies everywhere, on water as well as on land. That is designed to cope with amplifiers on boats on quiet Sunday afternoons at Castle Harbour. However, when you are being subjected to noise pollution, especially on the water, you seldom have a Policeman at hand no matter how much you might like to.

Part of the problem is that one person's happy sounds are another person's pollution. What it really takes is simple consideration for other people in keeping the decibels down. It is probably best to turn it down before you are made to turn it off.