RAIN Journal of Appropriate Technology August/September 1978 $1.50 Vol. IV, NO.1 0 No Advertising t ..c c. a s Q ..c II. ~ ~ e ~ A GOOD SOCIETY IS THE BEST TECHNOLOGY p.4 THE TAIL OF THE DRAGON p.8 SOLAR SHINE-INS p.12
Page 2 RAIN August/September 1978 RAIN Just a simple bridge. . . ... but not the kind of bridges we build. These bridges in China were built to last a thousJnd years-and they havc. Immense stone slabs spanning more than 70 feet, using almost 100 percent of the ultimate strength of the material. Expensive to build-but built Just once a millenium. Incredibly cheaper and wiser in the long run than bridges like ours that need repainting. repaving, repair and replacement several times a century. A wisdom that has experienced the ultimate cost of things and chosen wl"ll. Every society gains a different kind of wisdom when it has been around a while. The wisdom to survive, to sustain itsel f sim ply, to reach towards meaningful and rewarding life for itself and its people. We're starting to find that wisdom. RAIN tr,ies to help and share that search. WIND Harnessing the Wind for Home Energy, Dermot McGuigan, 1978, 134 pp., $4.95 from: Garden Way Publishing Charlotte, VT 05445 Planning a Wind Powered Generating System, Henry Clews, 1977, 46 pp., $2.00 from: Enertech Corporation Box 420 Norwich, VT 05055 Just as I'd recommend three "best books" for passive solar home builders, David Wright's Natural Solar Architecture, Malcolm Wells' Underground Designs, and Bruce Anderson's The Solar i-fome Book, the two above are probably the best for less on residential aeolian electricity until the U.S. DOE finally gets off their duff and publishes Jack Park and Dick Schwind's Wind Power for Homes, Farms, and Small Industry, the very bcst manual on the topic. Frankly, the latter has been so long in coming that the Wind Energy Branch deserves your harassment ... why don't you just ask for a cupy under the 1974 Freedom of Information Act and send your senator and congressional representatives a copy of your letter to DOE with a note asking them to speed up DOE in sending you the book? - LJ CORRECTION: The American Wind Energy Association (AWEi\) Washington DC uffice is at 1717 K St., N.W., 20036, not at 1717 Cunnccticut Ave., as incorrectly printed in the June '77 RAI,\'. My apologies for any returned mail. Their office phone is 202/466-464l. You should write them if you're into wind, as they have four classes of membership ranging from $10 to $500 annual dues and commensurate benefits. At a time when both small and large wind energy systems arc being increasingly mentioned as one of the most promising, near-term energy technologies for Americ;l, it is vital that we promote it vigorously in the nation's capital and contribute our ideas as to huw and how fast it should be tapped. AWEA is doing an excellent job and deserves your support. End of commercial. - LJ RETRACTION: A pro'gram to purchase and evaluate small wind energy conversion systems (SWECS) is not being pre- C pared by Jay Kulp of Asplundh Em'ironmental Services (AES) for the Department of Energy (DOE) as reported in the June issue of RAIN. DOE has not approved any program for the purchase or evaluation of these systems. Please excuse our error. Our apologies to AES and DOE. - 1.J
APPROPRIATE TECHNOLOGY A N.W. Appropriate Technology Conference, sponsored by the Experimental Center for the Advancement of Invention and Innovation with a grant from the National Science Foundation has been scheduled for September 8 and 9 at the University of Oregon in Eugene. A regional event for the people of Montana, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Northern California and Hawaii, the conference will update participants on appropriate states-of-the-art in energy, wastes, food production and marketing, community education, growth management and cooperative skill development. An exciting group of resource people from all over the region will be on hand to conduct workshops and share ideas. The conference is free and open to the public. For more information, contact the Innovation Center at 131 Gilbert Hall, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403, 503/686-3326. This looks like a good one'>"'we'll see you there. -SA New Roots, $8/year, bimonthly, from: New Roots c/o Energy Office University of Massachusetts Amherst, MA 01003 New England folks now have their own regional a.t. newsletter-the first issue of which has a real good feel to it. Lists of a.t. learning centers in the region, farmers' markets, local agricultural organizations, regional conferences and events, regional energy policy and more. -TB Feasibility Study on Development ofa Small-Scale Cellulose Insulation Industry in Tompkins County, NY, 1978, $16 from: Community Energy Network 122 Anabel Taylor Hall Ithaca, NY 14853 We mentioned this last issue in introducing an article on fire problems of cellulose insulation but had not yet seen it and didn't have its price (see above). Covers in considerable detail (225 pp.) relative economics, energetics and hazards of cellulose insulation and its small-scale manufacture vs. other insulations. Lays out all the claims and counter-claims but lack of decisive conclusions inhibits somewhat its usefulness. Should definitely be reviewed by anyone considering manufacture of such materials. - TB Native SelfSufficiency, 8 pp'/issue, $5-$10 donation (checks payable to Native Seif-SufficiencyIThe Youth Project), from: Tribal Sovereignty Project P.O. Box 1044 Guerneville, CA 95466 Despite the devastation their cultures have sustained, many Native Americans still maintain distinct natural advantages for re-establishing strong, selfreliant nations: their own lands, their own languages and traditions, and a historical worldview that sees the Creation in every local stream and critter. Many Native folks arc now discovering the great potential appropriate technologies have for helping this process along. Native Self-Sufficiency is a small newsletter filled with solid information and resources to help Indian people with everything from organic gardening to renewable energy. They are particularly interested in linking up with a.t. projects sponsored by Native folks across the country. Let's help August/September 1978 RAIN Page 3 $4.50, available from: Public Citizen, Inc., P.o . Box 19404, Washington, DC 20036. This useful handbook focuses on three specific fund-raising methods; direct mail, professional canvassing and marathons. A complete bibliography is included. The Grantsmanship Center News, $15/year, published bi-monthly by: The Grantsmanship Center, 1015 West Olympic Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90015. This well-established publication is particularly helpful not only for its funding information, but for its tips on non-funding related survival issues: legislation, press relations, organizational structure and management, etc. It also profiles foundations, successful groups, federal funding programs, and other topics of interest. Particularly useful is "Deadlines"-a comprehensive listing of federal grant programs and their deadlines. them get established with our financial support -SA Grants News Letter, free from: Office of Appropriate Technology State of California 1530 10th Street Sacramento. CA 95814 , Though focussed specifically on California, this newsletter also carries information on federal and other funding available e1sewhere-HUD Passive Solar Contest, USDA competitive grants on alternative agricultural methods, HUD a' I j , III' neighborhood revitalization programs, etc. Also other resources: The Grassroots Fund-Raising Book, Joan Flanagan, 1978, $5 .25 , available from : The Youth Project, 1000 Wisconsin Ave., N.W., Washington, DC 20007. Geared primarily towards.membership groups, this book details fundraising mechanisms such as benefits, auctions, marathons, speakers bureaus, membership drives, canvassing, publicity and other funding sources. Fund-Raising in the Public Interest, by David Grub and David Zwick, 1978, IRAIN's office is at 2270 N.W. Irving, Portland, OR 97210. Ph: (503) 227-5110. RAIN Tom Bender Joan Meitl . Linda Sawaya STAFF: Lane deMoII Lee Johnson Steven Ames Typesetting: Irish Setter Printing: Times Litho I
Page 4 R IN August/September 1978 We keep coming back to the fact that Food First by Frances Moore Lappe and Joseph Collins (RAIN, Oct. 1977, Feb.! Mar. 1978) is a seminally important book in understanding the world food situation and its relationship to the goal of locally self-reliant agriculture systems. Food First is now being updated and will be released in paperback by Ballantine Books in January ofnext year. The following short piece on biogasification, previewed from the new edition, is a reminder that an inequitable society will abuse technology, regardless ofits scale. agood society is the best technology by Frances Moore Lappe & Joseph Collins Just as we canno~ ay that alilarge-s ale mechanization is neces arily bad, neither can we say that appropriate technology is necessarily the answer. Even the "right" technology cannot be imposed nor is it likely [0 do much good in the "wrong" society. Contrast, for example, the impact of biogas technology in India and China. Biogasification is a relatively simple method of fermenting organic raw materials such as crop residues and manure to produce both fuel and fertilizer. small-scale biogas plant can be built from local materials. Since the 1940s India has been developing cow-dung biogas plants, acclaimed widely as a truly "appropriate technology." But, in the highly stratificd economic reality of rural India, this apparently benefjcial technology has created even greater problems for the poorer groups.! First, even the smaUest plants require a significant investment and the dung from two cows. Thus only well-off farmers who have at least two cows and some capital to invest now ontrol the biogas. Furthermore, the dung, which once was free, now has cash value. In areas where biogas plants opcrate, landles laborers can no longer pick it off the road and use it for fuel. And since the landless and other poor villagers are in no position to buy biogas, they end up with no fuel at all. In other words, their position is worsened by the introduction of biogas plants, according to A. K. N. Reddy, governor f the appropriate technology unit at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangladore. What about biogas in China? Many visitors to China have noted the growing use of biogas in the countryside. now providing fuel and lighting for 17 million commune peasants in Szechwan, China's most populated province. In China, the biogas benefits aU members of the community because plants are owned and operated collectively. The largely methane gas produced by China's more than 4 million biogas pits is used for cooking, lighting and running farm machinery. A member of one commune noted, "It takes only 20 minutes to cook a meal for my family of seven using marsh gas [the Chinese term for biogasJ.2 Unlike firewood or coal, marsh gas does not make the kitchen walls grimy and it has no smoke or smell." The Chinese also note that the sealed biogas pits have helped significantly reduce the incidence of para itir diseases and eliminated breeding grounds for flies and mosquitoes. The contrast between biogas technology in these two countries suggests that even technology theoretically appropriate to the needs of the people will not necessarily serve those needs. It can even exacerbate social inequalities unless a prior redistribution of social power has created structures in which all share in the control over and the use of the new technology. Moreover, unless they really grasp the truth that any technology is appropriate only if it advances the poorest groups, many people might be taken in by the claim of multinational firms that they now have converted to "appropriate technology." Firestone-India provides a good example of what we mean. In 1976 the Company announced a solid rubber tire and steel wheel that they said would increase the carrying capacity of India's 13 million bullock carts by 50 percent. Sounds great. But there are two snags. At a price of 60 percent more than the conventional wooden wheel, Firestone-India's wheel is beyond the means of the poor peasant. Moreover, the new wheel will put traditional wheel makers out of business. When asked why the company was introducing the new wheel, the factory director explained that the motivation was the current glut in the natural rubber market. "Rubber-tired wheels on bullock carts will provide a large outlet for this surplus rubber." The source of this account, New Scientist writer Joseph Hanlon, notes as he traveled across India: "There is no shortage of technology, nor even of 'appropriate' technology .. . [But] the power and profits remain with those who have always had them and who have been able to exploit the new technologies as they did the old."3 To repeat: Even the "right" technology cannot be imposed nor is it likely to do much good in the "wrong" society. The truly right technology, whether it be capital- or labor-intensive, will only be the product of a profound social restructuring in which rhose who are doing the work decide what is right for them. 1 Jo eph Hanlon, New Scientist, May 26, 1977, p. 267ff. 2 Christian Science Monitor, August 3, 1917 3 Hanlon, p. 469.
August/September 1978 RAIN Page 5 WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM OUR FRIENDS by Lee Johnson OK, now this seems a little incestuous even to me. But the Beatles were right about how we all get by, weren't they? When old friends do good work, they certainly deserve mention even if it does seem like the mutual back-patting that sometimes passes for honesty these days. But the new, revised Energy Primer by Richard Merrill and Soft-Tech by Jay Baldwin and Stewart Brand are not only very useful items for your heads, hands and your a.t. bookshelf; more on that later. They also reflect the kind of purposeful, feedback-to-thesystem that began for us in the noisy '60s, when we knew or felt we knew what we didn't like about society but didn't really have much of a positive agenda beyond some faint inklings here and there. Well, presto-chango! We're still all mouthing off about what's not going to work in America, but we've also been writing, designing and building some damn good stuff that has led a whole bunch of us (20 to 30 million, if you believe Stanford Research Institute) onto new paths that feel better than the old. And wouldn't you know it ... all just in the nick of time to smooth the energy and other crises (you name 'em) into a peaceful, humane transition, if we're smart enough to persuade another couple million Americans that our version of the future is cheaper, more cosmic, safer, more democratic, or just plain more fun. Now there's bound to be all sorts of ways to go about making that appeal. That's what these two books, and our own Rainbook are . . . starter kits with different packaging to help our fellow citizens toward the same end. Sounds patriotic, doesn't it? But then we think there are other ways to be patriotic and other things much more important to our nation than the national defense budget in making sure we all not only survive but thrive. For the past ten years or so, many of us have been trying to find them or develop them in our own country, and then tell you what we think they mean so you could decide what to do. And frankly, we've done it much more effectively than any government agency ... a debatable measuring stick these days. Perhaps Jay Baldwin best sums up what we've learned most recently about synergy over long distances: You may already have noticed there seems to be a lot missing that you 'd expect to see in a Soft Tech book. That's because I've purposely avoided needless competition with those on our side who are already doing a great job. Thus I've left most energy matters to the new edition of the excellent Energy Primer and its superb bibliography, and just about everything else Soft Tech doesn't mention to the remarkably cOrYI.plete Rainbook. Energy Primer (revised and updated), edited by Richard Merrill and Tom Gage, 1978,256 pp., $7.95 postpaid from: Delaeorte Press 245 E. 47th St. New York, NY 10017 Soft-Tech, edited by Jay Baldwin and Stewart Brand, 1978, 176 pp., $5.00 postpaid from: Co-Evolution Quarterly Box 428 Sausalito, CA 94965 ~ {\ /\ /i I~ I\J \I v /7 ~@J ~~,~ The Primer, for example, will appeal most to the individual oriented toward planning, building, or buying personal home energy hardware. Since energy is the first big crisis area, it's only natural it has its own technjeal bible and reference manual. And we're very lucky it was done by people who are not only professiona.lIy knowledgeable, hut experienced in handson construction, and grounded in the "self-reliance for local control" philosophy we share. That's what makes it incomparable. Soft-Tech, on the other hanel, covers those individual tools for living with more of an inventor's eye for the creative irony beyond the technical explanation. And it covers areas (agriculture equipment, small tractors, transport, steam power, building techniques) not in the Primer. Perhaps the best single item is Jay's piece on "One Highly-Evolved Toolbox." I'll let you discover it for yourself, for that alone is worth the price of admission. Add to that some of the best soft-tech articles from CQ and you've a real winner. In the future, I predict we'll see more of an emphasis on less costly, shared, community technology which Jay correctly realized we were trying to emphasize in RainbQok. Technological Jeffersonianism works, but it's expensive. both financially ar.d socially. And, hopefuUy, we'll have big, onctopic primers on "non-energy" areas like compost toilets, building, organic farming, neighborhood recycling, and s( ) on. Yep. That's what's next. Step right up and help us make the world work.
BPA Feedback Dear Rain, , I fear Lee Johnson's article Roll on Columbia did not make it clear that the BPA "can no longer be viewed as the . local federal 'bad guy'." I ask you: - How many wind machines has the BPA ordered? - Has the BPA taken a position against those poisonproducing, resource-wasting nuclear power plants? - Did the BPA admit that with moderate conservation measures the electrical growth rate goes from 6 percent to zer ? Munro may be preferable to Hodel, but bureaucracies are hu.reaucracies and c~ange slowly if at all. It is most inappro pnate to start painting the BPA with white hats and horses until its/their actions merit it. And in the tradition of folk music, let me pass on some newer verses to Woody's song: Up on the river is the Grand Coulee Dam The ugliest damn thing ever built by man To run the great factories that screw lip the land Roll on, Columbia, roll on. Down in the valley the apple trees stand Feedmg a nation on irrigated land But bow did we let it get so alit of hand? Roll on, Columbia, roll on? joe Lubischev Bainbridge Is., Washington Dear Rain, Lest anyone take seriously Lee Johnson's naive evaluation of Sterling Munro as a breath of fresh air in the Bonneville Power Administration, I suggest that observers of Mr. Munro (1) carefully think about the differences between style and substance, and (2) study Mr. Munro's remarks concerning EPA's decision to deny the Colstrip Consortium a permit under under the PSD provisions of the Clean Air Act. Lee Johnson seems to have been captivated by Sterling Munro's "nice guy" approach to his job as Administrator, in high contrast to Don Hodel's "thug" act. ~n ~ speech gi~en to the Pacific Northwest Waterways As soclatlO.n at Sunnver, OR, on June 20 of this year, Munro spent hIS time bemoaning EPA's decision to enforce the orthcrn Cheyenne Tribe's desire to maintain the current air quality on their reservation hy not permitting that air quality to be d~graded br t~o 7?0-megawatt coal-fired generators a eon ortlUm of utlhtles WIshed to build on the Tribe's doorstep. In h!s speech Munro raised the specter. of blackouts and droughts If the 13 nuclear and coal-fired power plants now scheduled for completion between now and 1989 aren't constructed and in operation on schedule. He lauded the utilities' tary Schlesinger would be successful in getting federal legislation passed that would speed up the lead time required for new power I:>lants. As far as alternative renewal technologies go, Munro SIted the NEPP "optimistic case," which projected a solar ~ower.capability in the region of 2 million kW by 2000, dIsplaCing 2 nukes (remember, Munro is worried about how to f.aci.litate the construction of 13 fossil fuel power plants WIthin the next ten years). "But the year 2000 is a long way off when you're trying to find a supply for the needs of the 1980s." Also, "Some, but not a whole lot, of wind power possibly could be brought on line within 5 years - and we must try." The next day, Mr. Munro was in Bellingham, Washington, talking to the Washington State Grange Annual Convention. Here's some of what he had to say: "I hope you will help assure adequate supplies by supporting more nuclear and coal-fired thermal power plants-if that's what it takes. There are 13 such plants-9 nuclear and 4 coal-scheduled for completion between now and 1989. But even if all 13 are completed on schedule, the region will be power short in any year between now and 1990 in which streamflows fall to or near the low levels of 1973 and 1977. We could be short in some years by as much power as it takes to serve 2-1/2 cities the size of Seattle. "Worse, at least two of the scheduled 13 plants are in danger of not being built because of environmental objections. The federal Environmental Protection Agency has denied permits to the builders of two coal-fired plants at Colstrip, Montana, which are numbers 4 and 5 on the list of 13. The matter is before the courts. If the decision stands, conservation w~ll be put to more of a test than even I, with all my enthUSIasm for conservation, am confident it can pass...." Imagine, the EPA having the gall to deny a power plant because of environmental objections, as if it were important that some Montana residents would rather not have the air they breathe degraded so that consumers 800 miles away can continue to consume twice the per capita national average of electricity. No, I don't think the BPA has changed a whole lot from Don Hodel's days. Oh, it's fashionable to talk about "the exotics" ?ecause that sells politically, but when you get right down to It, the Hydro-Thermal Power Program is still BPA's agenda. They.'ve simp.ly learned some folksy PR techniques, and are learning the fight phrases to voice to a public anxious for a change. ~~d I'~ s~re Sterling Munro really is a nice guy. But that coal IS Just sitting under the ground in eastern Montana, and there's all those beautiful 30,000 megawatt transmission corridors just waiting to have those 500 and 765 kV lines built through them. Hardly anyone lives out in eastern Montana anyway, just a few rednecks and Indians. As far as nukes go, well there are some problems, but gosh and golly, we're going to build 9 BIG ones in the next ten years . .. Sincerely, I?ad growth forecasts as an ac urate predictive tool, and be David Alberswerth littled con ervation as a "placebo." He hoped that DOE Secre- Billings, Montana
August/September 1978 RAIN Page 7 National Recycling Networking Dear Rain: I wish to take this opportunity to outline for you a serious problem which I perceive in the so-called recycling industry. I also wish to initiate a dialogue with you which may assist us to resolve this problem. With the continuing energy and resource crunch as well as the increase in regulations involving solid waste disposal facilities, many municipalities are looking to source separation systems as a viable part of their solid waste management plans. For instance, only a handful of towns collected recyclables in 1971; now more than 250 communities offer such service. Private enterprise is increasing their investment in reclamation projects, as evidenced by the BIRP project in Arizona and Weyerhaeuser's large office paper recovery system. In other words, there is a growing interest in and a growing audience for recycling. But, as with many innovative and community-based activities, the level of available literature is seriously limited. In a sense, the new recycling program operator will encounter the same difficulties as many previous project coordinators. Information is available but there is no vehicle to gather, evaluate, review and disseminate the available literature. A national recycling publication is needed. I believe, after seven years operating a wide-based recycling business and now participating in a resource management consulting firm, a need and a market exists for a recycling publication. Present publications such as yours and Compost Science ILand Utiliz.ation peripherally address recycling issues. But no single document aims to serve only this audience. I have gathered materials, including mailing lists, for use in the establishment of such a newsletter or magazine. In addition, I have begun a draft developmental plan. But advice from the learned is required. What comments, given the tentative nature of my remarks contained herein, can you offer? Have you encountered similar interest from other parties? Is this idea fundable? I recognize that my questions may be difficult to address. I am more than willing to provide additional details. But I appreciate your previous assistance and I hope you can help me at this time. Please feel free to contact me. Sincerely, Jerry Powell Resource Conservation Consul tants 1615 N.W. 23rd Ave.,Suite One Portland, Oregon 97210 cc: Jerry Goldstein, Compost Science The Best of Seed Dear RAIN : I saw your review of Growing and Saving Vegetable Seeds by Marc Rogers in the July issueand wanted to suggest some alternatives. Three small booklets I have found to be quite good are : Vegetable and Herb Seed Growing by Douglas Miller, Jr., Bullkill Creek Publications, Hersey, MI, $3.25. • Growing Garden Seeds by Rob Johnston, Jr., johnny's Selected Seeds, Albion, ME 04910, $2.30. • Save Your Own Seed, by Lawrence D. l-Iills, The Henry Doubleday Research Association, Bocking, Braintree, Essex, England. Rogers' book seems to me to be a diluted version of the same basic information contained in any of these three above publications. The extra money does not appear to be merited. And I would even say that Rob Johnston's and especially Douglas Miller's booklets contain more useful information for anyone actually trying to save their own vegetable seeds. Thanks for listening. I appreciate your efforts and your magazine very much. Bill Wheeler Moving Down the Food Chain Dear Friends: Like you, I am interested in exploring lifestyle alternatives and am currently seeking data on algae as a food source. I have exhausted local information sources (periodical literature and library references) and have gathered very little more than sketchy information from articles published in magazines over the past 30 years. I have established that: • Algae has perhaps the largest energy/protein potential of any food source and is the shortest circuit from sun energy to retrievable body energy. • When Cortez discovered Mexico City during the Spanish Conquest, he was astounded that a city of 500,000 people could be supported with so little agricultural endeavor until he found that the major food source was algae slime harvested from the lake which the Aztecs dried and prepared as a cake-like foodstuff. This practice was regarded as disgusting and uncivilized by the Spanish conquerors and eventually disappeared in favor of fear of gods and starvation. • Algae is not currently considered a food source because people won't eat it as long as meat, potatoes and gravy remain an alternative, hecause algae is considcr"ed a poverty food. • Algae is considered by NASA to be the most probable food source for long-term space travelers of the future because it can be cultivated so efficiently in very little space, fulfills most all body needs and reprocesses C02 into 02 quickly and efficiently. • Experimental algae cultivation has yielded 40-45 tons per acre per year with a 25 percent protein content requiring nominal effort to cultivate and harvest. Specifically, I now want information on how to cultivate and prepare algae for human consumption so that I can experiment with producing it. I am writing you in hope that you will have access to some of this information. I will gladly reimburse you for postage, copying expenses and/or published materials sent to me and will be grateful for any data that you can send my way. Thank you for your help and consideration. Thomas Johnson Pomegranate Design Bag End, Emigration Canyon Salt Lake County, Utah 84108 Any responses for Thomas from algae-eaters?
Page 8 RAIN August/September 1978 With the emphasis on remote nuclear energy parks, minemouth coal-fired plants in the hinterlallds, electricity exchange agreements between massive regional grids and the shipping of electricity over long distances to metropolitan areas, the nation 's electric generating system is being centralized into a surreal "economy" of s ale. Extra High Voltage (EHV) transmission lines capable of carrying huge quantities of electricity are a critical feature of this misguided strategy- they are the tie that binds. If the momentum behind the expanded use of EHV lines continues unchecked, there will be hundreds of thousands ofmiles of the newest generation stretched across the country by the turn of the century. EHV lines are called the "tail of the Dragon"- the symptom ofthe much larger problem of overe/ectrification. But symbolically and strategically, this tail is being tackled by people as their point of entry in the emerging struggle to bring the production and distribution ofenergy back down to a human scale. TAIL OF THE DRAGON by Steven Ames Fluorescent tubes lit by 345 KV electric fields in New York. Powerlines: Politics of Scale Voltage in large transmission lines has steadily increased over the years in order to handle the growing trafficking in electricity From 138 kilovolts (kV) the lines were upped to 345 kV in the early ' 50s (the first extra high voltage) and to 765 kV in the lare 1960s. Although there are now some 20 ,000 miles f lines rated at or above 138 kV. our longterm experience in understanding their health impacts arc minimal. Their environmental and social impacts are already being felt. Still, the next generation of lines, between 1,200 and 1,500 kV. are already being planned for and tested. As power companies rush to swell their generating capacity, the public bears the c Sts. Small users already su bsidize the tran 'mission and distribution of their electricity far in excess of the cost to generate it. But with the new EHV lines, the di'cconomics they incur get much worse. Utilities maintain that electricity an be moved () er long distances with relative efficiency at higher vol tages. But in striving for maximum "economy" they ex ternalize certain costs of the lines-such as huge losses (electricity during transmission- onto the localitic which have to live with them. Because of where EBV lines must necessarily run, rural people in particular are being asked- even told- to bear the high social costs by power companies and government official. But across the country small farmers. landowners, rural ommunitie , ranchers and Indian reservations are mobilizing their re ources and energy to take the lines and their builder head-on. They sec several critical issues at stake over the building of EIIV lines, in luding: the serious neglect of thc health problems of a high impact technology. and the willing n e..~s to use rural people as guinea pigs in understanding its long-term con equences. the chewing up of thousands of acres of rural land and local agricultural economies to overfeed electricity to metropolilan areas. the patent abuse of eminent domain by large interests for questionable purposes at the expense of local control, and a widespread abuse of authority by power companies and governments in attempting to build the lines. Regional Protests Three areas of the nation which have seen the most persistent and hard-nosed public opposition to the construction of powerlines are the Northern Gr~at Plains. rural Minnesota and upstate New York. Interestingly, all three areas are located in northerly latitudes, have their own brands of "regional consciousness" and see the issue of EHV transmission lines as a threat to their way of life. In the Northern Great Plains people have been actively organizing for several years now in the face of the massive coal-mining and mine-mouth energy facility development that has been proposed due to the presence of vast coal deposits. As a result, says Jeanne Charter of the Northern Plains Resource Council, a strong connection has been made between ranchers. farmers, Native Americans and environmentalists in relation to the siting and impact of these facilities. Powerline foes in the Plains closely identify with this established network and most of their groups are affiliated with one of the regional resource councils involved in the energy struggle. Opponents of the lines are particularly active in Montana, where they arc fighting the imminent establishment of energy corridors (massive rights-of-way for several EHV lines) between the coal-rich southeast and the existing power grid of the Pacific Northwest. Part of that line already exists due to the construction of the Colstrip 1&2 coal-fired plant, where 230 kV lines have been mounted on 565 kV towers in anticipation of the Extra High Voltage to come. If units 3 and 4 at Colstrip are built, this would forge the first in a series of proposed corridors; the inertia would be difficult to counter. Opposition to the EHV lines is especially strong in the western valleys of Montana, where a single corridor would have a dominant impact on land-use and aesthetics. Native people of the Flathead reservation have refused outright to allow any lines to pass over their lands by right f sovereign tribal authority.
In the North Country, Minnesota farmers have organized a sustained and strong-willed campaign for four years now in opposition to an 800 kV (± 400 kV Direct Current) transmission line which is now 40 percent completed. The line is being built by two power cooperatives to meet their projection of need for the 1980s; when completed it would run from a mine-mouth coal-fired plant in North Dakota 427 miles east to Delano, Minnesota. Initially, the farmers had blocked its construction by organizing enough grassroots opposition to convince local county commissioners to reject the power companies' request for zoning approval. But, with a new law the state assumed final authority on powerline routing through its Department of Environmental Quality, removing the successful element of local control. Since that time farmers have weathered successive rounds of court hearings and meetings with public officials and legislators which have been met with a frustrating lack of responsiveness and legal cul-de-sacs. A high point in their popular movement came this spring when over 6,500 people gathered to demand that the governor's proposal for a "science court" to hear health and safety questions be expanded to include the issue of need for power and a simultaneous moratorium on construction of the EHV line while the court took testimony. The science court was subsequently cancelled. This kind of de facto resignation to the inertia of the EHV line has led the rural protestors to intensify their direct action tactics to block its construction, including physical confrontation with construction workers and police, and sporadic vandalism. Some have gone as far as dismantling transmission towers. The farmers feel they have been deserted in a land grab by the power companies for an undemonstrated need. However, they are continuing with direct action, turning to more political arenas and educating themselves on renewable energy strategies that could effectively eliminate the need for EHV lines. One of their supporters, Alice Tripp, is running in the September gubernatorial primary and she's talking solar energy. In Upstate New York the situation bears many similarities to Minnesota. The opposition to a proposed 765 kV transmission line started with a handful of farmers but now includes all sorts of rural people united in a state network called the KV Alliance. They began by focusing on legal and administrative tactics, taking the Power Authority of the State of New York (PASNY) to court over its EHV line proposal, and then became intervenors in the state hearings 'on the health and safety issue. By late autumn 1976, when preparatory work on the line began, people were feeling betrayed by so much administrative wrangling; they began to use direct action to block construction. They also became involved in a public education campaign which has found a large audience across the state. Part of that campaign has been to emphasize the false economy of generating electricity in Quebec to be shipped over 1,000 miles for use in New York City, and that an EHV line with its enormous capacity will encourage the development of more nuclear power plants in northern New York. The 150-mile leg under construction may survive the remaining legal strategies, but it has become a well-known symbol to rural people across the state and they arc learning how to organize to deal with powerlines planned elsewhere in New York. Electromagnetic Fields and Ion Currents The New York State Public Service Commission hearings begun in 1975 and recently concluded have, at least, served to ear-mark a major concern over the continuing proliferation of EHV transmission lines- what they do to our physical and mental health. August/September 1978 RAIN Page 9 The immediate hazards are as easy to understand as the humming and popping noise lines produce (up to 70 decibels under 765 kV lines) or the way they can make your body hair stand on end. The voltages carried by this generation of lines are so great that they cause small electric currents to flow continuously to the ground, vegetation, as well as bodies of animals and people in the powerline right-of-way. Power companies recommend that all stationary objects such as metal buildings, roofs and fences in the vicinity be grounded, and that vehicles using the right-of-way have grounding chains. But these methods have not always kept people from receiving strong shocks under 765 kV lines, as a grounded person touching a charged object becomes a conductor. This in itself is enough of a danger to cause on'-the-job farm accidents. But if the charge is strong enough it can paralyze the muscles of the hand so that a person is unable to let go. Large vehicles under the lines, such as school buses or combines, can deliver cnough current to exceed the safe let-go threshold for a child. The long-term health effects of EHV lines are much less understood and inadequately researched. Yet evidence is starting to accumulate indicating that regular exposure to the electric and magnetic fields produced by EHV transmission may cause much more serious health hazards. Studies from the Soviet Union investigating the health abnormalities in workers at 500 and 750 kV substations found that long-term exposure has resulted in disruption of the normal functioning of the central nervous and cardiovascular systems, changes in the blood structure and reduced sexual potency. As a result the Soviet government has regulations drastically reducing human exposure to these fields. While much of the American research until recently has found little cause for alarm , it has also been funded by the electric utility industry. But the New York hearings came somewhat closer to acknowledging that a clear danger to human health exists. Extensive testimony revealed numerous studies on the probable biological effects of electromagnetic fields on people. One such testimony compared such effects to chronic stress and claimed that exposing local people to EHV transmission lines was equivalent to performing unauthorized medical experiments on them. The hearings concluded that there was inadequate scientific data at,this time and authorized a new seven-year study. But local powerline opponents agree with the guinea pig theory and are appealing the recommendations of the hearings. This situation surfaced in Minnesota as well , which has had no public inquiry into the littlc known health implications of EHV Direct Current lines. These lines do not have the electric field problem, but do have an effect called iOll current, which may be just as serious a health hazard. One such EHV DC line has already been energized as a part of the " Pacific Intertie," the western world's largest transmission line that connects the power grids of the Southwest to the electricity of the Northwest. A second leg of this energy superhighway is proposed which would include a 1,000 kV DC line. In all, the experiment is already underway. A Land-Based Issue The land factor is equally important to rural people who Jraw their values, lifestyles and livelihoods much closer to thc ground than do city dwellers. The use of EHV lines to further the centralization of energy systems will have high impacts on this land base with largely negative returns. Because federal regulations try to minimize the impacts of transmission lines on scenic and recreational areas, population centers and prime timberlands, and because power companie want the cheapest, flattest. most accessible routes, rural farmlands have become the most likely places to site energy corridors. But EHV lines arc mammoth in scale- four 765 kV
Page l O RAIN August/September 1978 tower can cover one mile- and 30 miles of the most minimal right-of-way can easily consume a thousand acres of prime agricultural land. Diagonal crossings raise major problems for field work and lines can render some irrigation systems useless. Farmer must pay taxes on land consumed by a line and can be held liable for damage to the line or accidents that happen because of it. There is not much of a market for farms up for sale n ar EHV line routes-except perhaps absentee corporate landlords. In all, the lines are part of a system that helps to eliminate small family farms and the local land-based economy. A narion that opts for proliferation of these corridors must necessarily reduce its priorities for a stable agricultural system. Centralizing Power Centralizes Authority Such impacts and the ability of the utilities and energy authorities to apply them with little restraint raises a central question of the abuse of authority. Even in the early stages of EHV line construction it has been apparept that authority has ornetimes been effectively pre-empted by the power companies and tacitly delegated to them by state agencies and courts caught up in the inertia that such large projects generate. This has been particularly evident in the procedural fog used to obscure the data on just how much need for electricity actually exists, or how different data or end-uses of energy could result in greatly lowered estimates. Powerline protesters in all regions have tried to open tlrese questions up to wider public debate from the exclusive realm of power company experts. Another aspect of that inertia is how much the "public service" feature of the power authorities and distribution cooperatives has seriously eroded. They are increasingly acting like privately owned utilities in their energy planning and lack of responsiveness to local constituents. This fact is stressed time and again whcn one speaks to public interest advocates and powcrline protesters who have watched the push for EHV line . The rural power cooperatives in Minnesota, for example, theoretically respond to the needs of local people through representation on their boards. But in reality, the local reps don't have any real power and their objections to such projects are overruled; instead, the co-ops are run by managers and e perts who base their support of EHV lines on the economic logic of thc larger power associations to which they belong (or " cartels," as one farmer calls them). Maverick coops have tried to opt out of these associations over the EHV issue without su cess. Clearly, an increasingly centralized energy production and distribution system will reduce the options of rural communities to exercise their own priorities. It already has in such places as Pope County, Minnesota, where the commissioners voted "no" and the state said "yes." Its overwhelming thrust is to take rural people's control over their lives out of their own hands and put it in the hands of a remoter interest which simply can't be as concerned with their livelihood. Such relinquishment might be more necessary in metropolitan areas with their complexly interlocked systems of meeting human needs. But in distant rural areas it must ultimately undermine me power of the community to function self-reliantly and freely-it is cultural destruction from afar. And rural people know thi on a gu t level. Linking Up Over Energy Their resp nse to this kind of threat as it is played out in the unrelenting construction of EHV lines has been varied. Most of these rural folks have treated their experiences as first-class political education, as they have had to deal with the prerogatives of remote authorities, agents provacateur sent afield by power companies, and the persistent neglect of public officials. Many, for the first time in their lives, have engaged in the confrontation of legal authority and the use of direct action. Some find themselves perplexed and apathetic after several years of sustained opposition; but others are getting fired up, entering politics or going after the politicians. In all, a lot of rural people-often wholly conservative and always concerned about their communities-have had their heads turned around by the directions that the technology of inhuman scale will take this country if we let it, and how that direction can be changed with the right effort. The education factor can't be underestimated, says Ellen Rocco of New York state, a powerline activist. Any initial defeats will be absorbed by the awareness that is occurring across that state. These people will have a head start in organizing for the next round. Indeed, as powerline people in dozens of states educate and organize to take on the proposed EHV lines across the country, they are starting to draw connections between their own concerns and those of other groups involved in energy siting and development issues. These connections include: the recognition that a whole range of energy facility siting issues, such as new thermal and nuclear plants, coal gasification and slurry pipelines, and EHV transmission lines, can be seen as functions of the same problem. • an understanding that citizens seeking equity in energy development have different points of entry, whether through environmental impacts or rate reform, and that they need to cooperate with each other in seeking solu tions. • the realization that conservation and transitional technologies can usher in a new era of decentralized, renewable energy sources that can effectively eliminate the need for massive grids, exchange agreements and EHV transmission lines. Such connections have encouraged powerlin<; activists to link up in a network that can help avoid the isolation of small groups working in the hinterlands on their own issues. In order to strengthen ·the nation-wide network of activists involved in energy-facility siting issues, a National Conference is being held September 16 & 17, 1978 in Lowry, Minnesota, one hour west of the Twin Cities. Conference planners hope as many people as possible involved in powerline struggles and other energy facility siting questions can come to share information and strategies. There will be no registration fee for this conference and out-of-region participants will be housed by local people. The Environmental Policy Center is helping to coordinate the conference and is looking for potential sponsors to help cover the costs, including air fare for longdistance participants. If you can help them or would just like to attend, contact Jack Doyle at: Environmental Policy Center 317 Pennsylvania Ave., S.E. Washington, DC 20003 2021547-6500 Rural People and Regional Strategies There are of course a range of strategies that could be pursued by powerline activists. For example, they could focus on a certain inevitability of EHV transmission lines and set
August/September 1978 RAIN Page 11 about to guarantee upgraded standards for tower co nstruction, larger rights-of-way and ground clearance, the encouragement of more R&D into better transmission technologies such as superconductors, and of course stricter standards on public exposure to electromagnetic fields. But after the eye-opening experiences of the last couple years, most powerlinc groups would find it hard to place much trust in the existing energy system to act so responsibly. Ultimately the public would foot the bill in higher utility rates and the increased loss of good land. And yet such reforms would still ignore the issue of need and the nonsense of shipping electricity hundreds of miles. In fact, marginal improvements in the safety factor will only add to the pressure for more generating capacity and thus more lines. You don't build a superhighway and not expect more traffic. As an effective strategy, such rdorms are a very shorr-term solution. Powerline activists could also begin to focus more strongly on the policy level of decision-making, attempting to move the system of centralized planning towards greater accountability to public participation in energy development issues, including a resolution of problems facing local jurisdictions in the siting of energy related facilities. For some regions of the country like the Northern Great Plains, there is no choice but to effectively and skillfully work in this arena if they are to avoid becoming an energy sacrifice area. In the long run a lot depends on which policies are pushed, and how thoroughly they can be made to restructure the inequities and misguided priorities vested in the system that produces and distribu tes energy illl this country. Farmers in Minnesota know this only too well. mUllit les. What are needed now are ways to translate this hope into workable, region-specific strategies that can be used in all aspects of the political process, from direct action to court suits to demonstration projects. Regional "soft-path" studies that document how conservationlrenewable energy can avoid more expansionism, and the integration of energy alternatives into the local distribution systems are some of the things that will point the way to the good economies of smaller scale. Much of this article is based on articles by or conversations with Louise B. Young, Don Olson, Pat Smith, Marjane Ambler, Skip Laitner and Bill Boly-in addition to those already mentioned. Thanks also to Sierra and Ruralamerica magazines. -SA A Partial Guide to Poweriine Activists PowCl'line groups are forming in dozens of regions across the country. The partial list below focuses on three areas of strongest activity. If you want to locate powerline activists in your area, try contacting a citizens' actioniresource council or a local environmental group. If you want to make contact with other powerline groups, or learn how to better organi7.e one, come to the National Conference at Lowry, Minnesota, in September. Northern Great Plains Powerline activists in the Northern Plains tend to be affiliated with their regional resource councils, who are illvolved in a range of energy development issues. For more informat'ion contact: Northern Plains Resource Council (Jeanne Charter) Stapleton Bldg. Billings, MT 59101 4061248-1154 Dakota Resource Council (John Norton) Box 254 Dickinson, NO 58601 7011227-1851 Powder River Basin Rcsource Council (Sarah Gorin) 724 South 4th St. Douglas, WY 82633 307/358-5558 Northern Colorado Resource Council (Randy Morgan) 137 West College Ave., No. 14 Fort Collins, CO 80524 303/484-9462 Minnesota There are numerous rural powerline groups in Minnesota which are now consolidated into the General Assembly to Stop the Powerlines (GASP). Farmers in Minnesota have also been strongly supported by the urban-based Powerline Taskforce, which is part of the Northern Sun Alliance. For more information contact: GASP-General Assembly to Stop the Powerlines Lowry Town Hall Lowry, MN The Powerline Taskforce/Northern Sun Alliance 1513 East Franklin Ave. Minneapolis, MN 55404 Upstate New York Powerline groups in New York are part of a loose network called the KV Alliance. Out-of-region inquiries for general information would best be sent to Upstate People for Safe Energy Technology (UPSET). For more information contact. UPSET-Upstate People for Safe Energy Technology Box 571 Canton, NY 13617 Citizens for Safe Power Transmission Box 351 Red Hook, NY 12571 Lake Shore Alliance c/o Bielemeier Gcncral Delivery Rosc, NY 14541
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