Journal of Appropriate Technology Hard Look at How-To Children Plan the Future VolumeVI No.3 DECEMBER 1979 $1.50 NoAdvertising Women and Solar
Page 2 RAIN December 1979 Last month we snuck Mark by you without introducing him. The fact is he dropped in one day during the frenzy of copy deadline, pulled out a proofing pen, and was drafted into service. Which is not to say that he fell out of the sky. Before his summer migration (he'll explain below) he was teaching social ecology at the College of Science in Society at Wesleyan University in Connecticut. Is it serendipity which brings together unlikely but fortunate combinations? I hope so. I've been wanting to use that word all month. But Mark's not the only new face from the East. We have a new intern, Kiko Denzer, from Hampshire College. Kiko is the magician who worked with Jill and Debra to transform the boxes of periodicals piled in our back room into an honest-to-goodness library. Now he's starting in on our files, many of them dating back five or six years. Thank you, Hampshire College! It's not all good news, though. RAIN is losing good energy, too. Yale, who came first as an intern and stayed to shepherd the magazine throu_gh this summer, is returning to Massachusetts and Debra is going home also. Debra began the process that Kiko's now assuming, of organizing RA/N's resource library, but even more important were her insights into women's health, nutrition, and the politics of change that contributed to RA/N's Access over the summer. We'll miss them both. And then there's Del. Our ability to· brag last month that we were finally solvent was due in no small measure to Del Greenfield. She came on board to job-share the business manager's position with Pauline and brought with her wisdom, order and balance (real world as well as checkbook). Her moving on leaves RAIN in desperate need of another kindred spirit (see RUSH). Last month I managed to speak at a conference back home in Minnesota, providing me with three days of Minnesota-style winter. It turned out to be just enough. The grass is greener in Oregon! -CC RAIN IIIIIIE p s I came to RAIN somewhat less directly than Carlotta did, taking about four months and 15,000 miles to get here from New England. It had never occurred to me that I might end up in Portland (especially when I found out Portland wasn't on the coast!). I heard that RAIN needed another editor just as I was heading back east. I thought about it, kept going, thought about it some more, went further and then, when I was all the way across the Rockies in Colorado, decided to turn around and head back to Portland. As I said, it wasn't the most direct route, but I'm really glad.to be here. Working at RAIN, though I've only been here a month, is an experience in itself. The hours are long and demanding, but they're spent with good people doing, as the late E.F. Schumacher put it, "good work." There's a special kind of satisfaction that comes from good work, and it's hard to find in other places. I feel lucky to have come upon it. I was told that it "greys" a lot in Oregon, which seems to be true. However, if I get another glimpse or two of the snowy-white shoulders of Ml:. St. Helens or Mt. Hood fading into the night sky before year's end it will be a very wonderful holiday season. Seeing them in their awesome massiveness hovering over the city like great clouds is a far better gift than any storebo ugh t-presen t -in-n o n- re cy clabl epackaging could ever be. - MR Journal of Appropriate T echnology RA IN_ is a national information access journal making connections for people seeking more simple and satisfying lifestyles, workmg to make their communities and regions economically self-reliant, bu.ilding a society that is durable, just and ecologically sound. RAIN STAFF Carlotta Collette Yale Lansky Mark Roseland Debra Whitelaw Pauline Deppen Kiko Denzer Jill Stapleton-Layout CONTRIBUTO RS Fred Lorish Lane deMoll Tom Bender Phil Conti Steven Ames T ypesetting: Irish Setter Printing : Times Litho Cover: Ancil Nance RAIN, Journal of Appropriate Technology, is published 10 times yearly by the Rain Umbrella, Inc., a non-profit corporation located at 2270 N .W. Irving, Portland, Oregon 97210. Telephone: 503-227-511 0. Copyright © 1979 Rain Umbrella, Inc. No part may be reprinted without written permission. QJ .u C Cl$ z
I ENERGY Energy-Efficient Community Planning, James Ridg~way, 1979, 218 pp., $9.95 from: • The JG J?ress Box 351 Emmaus, PA 18049 Long-time RAIN readers will already be familiar with many of the experiments described in this book, such as the ordinances of Davi~, California promoting energy conservation, the Clayton, New •Mexico, wind turbine generator, Seattle's source separation recycli,ng program and the policies of Hartford, Connecticut in assisting the development of an urban food production system. If you don't recognize those projects then the book will be a good introduction to many of the innovative energy conservation programs being implemented on the local level. The municipal documents (e.g. Davis housing code, Hartford's "Community Energy Corporation") at the end of each chapter are a useful tool for anyone attempting to draft similar policies. Now what we need is a critical analysis of these programs to determine if they are living up to their expectations. -PC Energy, Jobs and the Economy, Richar~ Grossman and Gail Daneker, 1979, 116 pp., $3.45 from: Carrier Pigeon 75 Kneeland St., Room 309 Boston, MA 02111 The book is an updated version (e.g. cites Rodberg's Solar Transition) of the Jobs and Energy Study by Environmentalists for Full Employment (RAIN, May 1977) plus excerpts from Senator Kennedy's Creating Jobs through Energy hearings in March of 1978. The information, which is easily digestible, is stil( valuable reading. Buy a copy for an unemployed 'friend. -PC Creating Jobs Through Energy: A Guide to Resources for Decisionmakers, V.S~ Department of Energy, $6.00, 1979, 105-plus pp., from Superintendent of Documents U.S. Government Printing Office Washington, DC 20402 Stock No. 061-000-00329-1 Although the expression "energy creates jobs" is somewhat cliched among solar activists, the DOE has finally come out with a handbook which focuses on the employment effects of energy development at the local, state-and national level. Lofs of charts, numbers and equations make Creating Jobs - Through Energy an item for those . "decisionmakers" who want the technical, bare, economic facts ·about energy and employment. -DW I December 1979 RAIN Page 3 RAIN ACCESS "Paying for Power," 10/10/79 In These Times, $1.00 from: In These Times 1509 N. Milwaukee Ave. Chicago, IL 60622 In this article David Moberg reviews four of the leading books on the current energy crisis and their proposals for the future. The books are: The Politics of Energy, by Barry Commoner, Alfred A. Knopf, $4.95. Energy in America's Future: The Choices Before Us (a study prepared for the Resources for the Future National Energy Strategies Project). Sam H. Schurr, Project Director. The Johns Hopkins University Press, $10.95. Energy Future: Report of the Ener- . gy Project at the Harvard Business School, edited by Robert Stobaught and Daniel Yergin, Random House, $12.95. Energy: The Next Tw(j!nty Years (a report sponsored by the Ford Foundation), Hans H. Landsberg, Study Group Chairman, Ballinger Publishing Co., $9.95. The way we envision and plan our energy future is not simply a problem of te~tmical engineering but raises many sticky political questions .. . "not only about energy but also about much of the the country's production of goods and values-such as equality, fairness, or safety." Moberg writes that the studies by Resources for the Future and the Ford Foundation have an easy answer: leave it all to the market. The Harvard Business School professors share that basic faith but temper their vi~w with some healthy skepticism and a somewhat more global perspective. (Note:· others contend that this book is more radical than Moberg would h<1,-ve us believe.) Commoner (see RAIN VI: 1: 3, Oct. '79) is the heretic, arguing for "social governance" of the economy to. improve the market and even for supplanting the market, in many cases, with conscious coordination. Uftimately, Moberg concludes, we should "combine the best features of the market with the best features of planning. Our ~nergy future is too important to leave to powerful megacorporations and the roughshod adjustments wrought by uncontrolled price increases." -MR "Energy for a New Society: Visions of a People's Energy Future," $.10 ($6.00/100) from: • Movement for a New Society 4722 Baltimore Ave., Box A Philadelphia, PA 19143 Is nuke fighting melting you down? Are you spending all your energy trying to save energy? If so, then this little tabloid may be just what you need. This special issue of the MNS Dandelion is printed as a four-page newspaper for easy reading and distribution. It emerged from "the stated need of anti-nuclear and safe-energy activists at the grassroots level to find a way to articulate a coherent long.- - term energy vision which people joining the struggle can understand." • The energy situation is explained in the context of the decline of the modern .industrial era and is posed for comparison against a vision of the future complete with diversity, self-reliance, and appropriate social/productive technologies. There is also a good section on the tr11.nsition to a renewable energy future, and the entire issue is laid out ni·cely with several charts and graphics. I think this would be a handy tool for all of us working on t~e grassroots.level to distribute at conferences, when we canvass, and in our communities and workplaces. As the authors point out: "In the end, the energy 'crisis' is really a crisis of human energy, a test of our ability as a society to change and grow as loving human beings, to use our best creativity to build a just and humane social.order." -MR
Page 4 RAIN December from Solar G.H. Homing_ln t•~ w.,.:'~ There's a tradition in agriculture of "over the garden fence" information sharing. It's a tradition based on regionalism, on neighborhoods (and neighborliness), and on doers telling other doers how it's done. Three books came into RAIN this month that bring that verbal tradition to print. - CC Solar Greenhouse Workshop Manual (draft copy only; to be published spring, 1980) available then from: Center for Neighborhood Technology 570 W. Randolph St. Chicago, IL 60606 Recognizing that there are several excellent greenhouse books on the market this handbook focusses itself on filling the gaps left by the others. The biggest need I've spotted is that for specific regional data. Drawing a line around "the midwest climatic region ... an area defined by eastern Ne~ braska and Kansas on the west; northern Illinois, Indiana and Ohio in the center; and portions of Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Rhode Island on the east; (those eastern states portions are included because of the overall meteorological similarity to the Midwest)," the folks at C.N.T. describe first the climate of that region, then the design criteria to suit that climate. energy cont. But the handbook doesn't stop with the design of greenhouse structures. There are good fat sections on both the horticultural and econqmic management of solar greenhouses with a dual focus on private as well as community scales. Perhaps the.most valuable section of the book is the last, ironically, the section on planning. "The design and horticulture sections precede the one on planning only because it is a good idea to know what something is and how it works before implementing it." I've seen a lot of solar greenhouses over the pas·t few years and I'm disheartened by the number of them that stand empty and unused. All too frequently the focus is on the construction of the structure and no care is taken to insure its ongoing usefulness. CNT's history of "co-developing solar greenhouses with neighborhood organizations in the Chic~o area" is explored through reprints from '(he Neighborhood Works (published bi-weekly by CNT, same address, $2 5 per year for indi:viduals and non-profits, $40 per year for institutions, governments, libraries, and $60 per year for for-profit organizations) as well as a critique of their own experience. "In theory the steering committee model may sound like a good way to oversee a community greenhouse project, but our experience with the Sun Project has shown that things don't always wor:k out as planned." Not only should every community greenhouse project read this handbook carefully, but some qualified people in each climatic region should develop their own anq you-know-who should come up with the scratch to foot the bill. We need it now! Citizens' Energy ])irectory, Jan SimpS0.".1 with Ken Bossong, 195 pp., $10.00 for non-profit, $15.00 for profit makers from: Citizens' Energy Project 1110 6th St;, N.W. Washington, DC 20001 Approximately one year after its first printing, an updated second edition of the Citizens' Energy Directory has been printed by the Citizens' Energy Project. This edition includes over 600 entires of indivic;luaJs and groups in the U.S. who are active in the field of appropriate/alternative technologies. The stateby-state format has remained the same (listing contact person, organization type and size, purpose and' goals, interests, activities, services and publications) So/plan 3, Solar Greenhouses for Canada, by Richard Kadulski, Eswyn Lyster and Terry Lyster; 60 pp., Oct. 1979, $4.50 (plus $.50 postage) from: The Drawing Room Graphic Services Ltd. Box 86627 :if,;'llf.••~Nor'th Vancouver, BC V7L4L2 .:-: .: ,t_ ' Solplan 3 is another regionally focussed simple guide to solar greenhousing, this one specific to the Northern tier butand here's the rub-the cover is a sad lesson in exploitation, mis-advertising, but 100 or so additions have been included. Within the growing field of "a.t." this updated Citizens' Energy Directory is a wise purchase for all who wish to grow with the tide. - DW Periodicals ofPublic Interest Organizations: A Citizen's Guide, compiled and published by the Commission for the Advancement of Public Interest Organizations, 47 pp., $4.00 for public interest groups, $5.00 for individuals from: Commission for the Advancement of Public Interest Organizations 1875 Connecticut Ave., N.W., No. 1013 Washington, DC 20009
and distortion. We decided to print the cov~r to discourage people from try~ng . to find or order the book just to look at it. It's not difficult to imagine where the ~uthors' heads ar:e at when they subtitle a book with its price (that's right, folks, the big 4.50 there is dollars and cents!). But lemon trees, potted palms, and bikinis by the pool have little to do with the facts of life in an energy-starved era, in Canada, of all places! The book itself doesn't provide us with a whole lot of new information ~ut does include some interesting designs for several varying scale and style structures. I'm pleased that they start small with cloches ("the smallest and· ·simplest are just protective covers for young plants which shield them from late spring frosts") and do not ·include a plan for a greenhouse with swimming pool. In fact, their descriptions of the green_houses they do include are pretty practical and down to earth. Which ' leads me to believe that the cover people and the contents people may be two different groups altogether. Nonetheless, they put the book out with that cover and deserve to be criticized for it. DRAIN OUTFLOW INFLOW WATER INTO FILTERS -· -----~ With today's many pending environ111ental hazards, it can be a rather timeconsuming task for one to pinpoint just the right citizen group for pertinent •sources of information. This handy, pleasurable-to-read listing of periodicals not only offers the reader a good, concise descript_ion of the publications, but of the philosophy, techniques and goals behind the sponsoring interest group as well. Pe11iodicals of Public Interest Organization: A Citizen's Guide allows the concerned citizen to transform "searching time'' into learning and acting time. Emphasizing New • York, California and Washington, D.C. groups and periodicals, it can be recommended for citizens everywhere. -DW Fish _Farming in Your Solar Greenhouse by William Head & Jon Splane, 43 pp., ' June 1979, $5.00, from: Amity Foundation· P.O. Box 7066 Eugene, OR 97401 For several years now I've be~n intereste~ in learning more about aquaculture m solar greenhouses. The idea of using the large amounts of water needed t? store heat to also raise high-protein fish seems pretty basic in terms of efficiency. Yet every time I've picked up a book on the subject I've been scared INTERMEDIATE WATER RELEASE VALVES INFLOW1 WA'll:R PUMPED TO RIJ'ER SUBMERSIBLE PUMP NORTH TANK Solar Energy Technical Training Directory, George Corcoleotes, Katherine Kramer, Kevin O'Connor, 36 'pp., no charge from: ' National Solar Heating and Cooling Information Center . P.O. Box 1607 Rockville, MD 20850 Order toll free 800/523-2929 or SERI 1536 Cole Blvd. Golden, CO 80401 Many solar enthusiasts have experienced bouts of frustration.due to a lack of technical expertise in the solar technolbgy field. Now, all you frustrated folks out there (myself included) can refer to The Solar Energy Technical Training Directory, which offers the reader Dece111ber 1979 RAIN Page 5 off by charts, figures and molecular formulas. Fish Farming in Your Solar Greenhouse is hardly.remedial reading, but it's not too intimidating to-prohibit a~yo~e's sitting down for an ·evening w~th It. The product of such an evening will be an understanding of how to begi~ to go about fish farming coupled with that g<;>0d feeling of having overcome a previously mystifying body of knowledge. Bill and Jon have managed to translate a lot of technical information into person-to-person English. What chemistry you may not understand at the outset is quickly, competently and simply explained. Besides the basic procedures for designing an a_quacul~ure system, creating a supportive environment (with proper temperature, pH, oxygen and purification of the water) and managing your fish farm, the authors have included an illustrated guide to several suitable aquaculture fish. Each listing describes the basic conditions needed for successfully raising that fish. This is the sort of book that, like the CNT book, carr be utilized by community projects, CAP agencies, and anyone with a yen to experiment. Amity Foundation is a non-profit corporation located in Eugr?ine, Oregon, where they provide community members with the technology they need to live more self-reliant and less energydependent lives. They do research and provide educational programs in the areas ofalternative domestio waste treatment methods, solar design, urban agriculture, and aquaculture. They also operate a tool lending library. over 90 post-secondary institutions conducting solar energy courses in the U.S. Specifically emphasizing solar system fabrication, installation and maintenance courses, the directory's layout is clear and straightforward (really like a college catalog, i.e. giving credits earned, instructor, course coverage, etc.). The technical directory is a "subs~t of ~he National Solar Energy Education Directory released by SERI, which contains information on all solar-related ~ours~s an~ programs." This directory 1s available at $4.95 from: Superint~ndent o_f Documents U.S. Government Printing Office Washington, DC 20402 Stock No. 061-000-00210-3 Both directories are a-good resource for the "solar student." -DW
Page 6 RAIN December 1979 A HARD LOOK AT HOW·TO by Lloyd Kahn T_ime for a good stiff shot of criticism. Who's to deny that most of us in this hopeful business are occasionally guilty of a.t. cheerleading? It's hard not to sometimes. But people who go around pushing good dreams have a responsibility to make sure that big headaches (or little nightmares) don't result. The fallowing article by Lloyd Kahn, experienced owner-builder and editor of Shelter and Shelter II, grew out of a series of conversations we've had in the last few months. Drawing on his own learning exp·eriences, and casting a critical eye on the technological evangelism and misinformation that abounds, Lloyd argues that it's time to be much more demanding of ourselves and our work. People are depending on it. Undercurrent to this piece is the familiar theme that we should go first to those alternatives that are time-tested, tried and.true. ... Here are observations bound to spark some reactions. That's the point. ·- sA "What Went Wrong?" asks B~b Cooperrider in his recent article in Tilth on organic strawberry production. Cooperrider, a farmer, explains in <let.ail what happened when he grew an acre and a quarter of strawberries without chemical fertilizers or herbicides in 1978-79 in Oregon's Willamette Valley. There were all kinds of problems: "... the first discou.raging discovery. Even before we had the last plants in the ground the first planted rows were full ofweeds . .. but continued hot dry weather caused the fallowing berries to ripen much smaller ... so finally in early November I had to run the cultivator . through the patch even though the ground was already too we{ ... " Bob gives a complete rundown of the operation, tells what went wrong (and why) and what he learned, and presents a complete cash accounting of income and expenses from the two seasons' strawberry production. The reality turned out, as is so often the case, quite a bit different from the original vision. I kept thinking about the article after I read it; about why it seemed so refreshing. Amidst all the self-congratulatory how-to-do-it books and articles around these days, here's a guy admitting something went wrong. Not only that, but also how he thinks it could be done better next time. We need more honest reports like this. Conditions are more critical.now, and good information is vital. For more than a decade we have been swamped with accounts of how well things work. How to Run a Small Dairy on an Acre. How I Built My Energy-Efficient Post & Beam House. The Complete Book ofSolar Heating. And so forth. Bookstores are loaded with glowing accounts of how to do virtually everything. No problems! My new house/organic homestead/solar heater work great and here's how I did it and you can do the same. No one seems to be asking criticar questions. Has your new home design gone through five seasons? Would this solar heater work as well in other climates? Ju-st what appliances can you power with this $3,000 wind generator? Are you sure you can make this much grow_ing jojoba beans, year after year? These authors usually write of their experiences while in the midst of the project, often ·before there's been any time for a seasoned evaluation. Reporters apparently believe what they're told and don't ask hard questions..Editors and publishers seem more interested in book and magazine sales than in providing.reliable information to the public. And readers, many of whom are young and/or inexperienced and searching for something worthwhile to do, are left with a gloriously optimistic view of alternative food, shelter and energy production. I've suspected for some time that there's a lot less solid information in the last decade's how-to-do-it literature than meets the reader's eye. Lately I've been thinking that if we're to make any progress in providing 01,.1r own basics, _we've got to have reliable information. We've got to know What Went Wrong, so others won't have to repeat the same mistakes. Let me give some examples of areas that I believe could use a closer look;
there's a lot less solid infonnation in the last decade's how-to-do-it literature than meets the reader's eye. FOOD It's a wonderful idea to produce food with no salt fertilizers, herbicides or insecticides. But it's not easy, especially for those who haven't tried it before. I'm no fan of Earl Butz, but there's more than a grain of truth in his question, "Which 50 • million Americans are you going to pick to starve?" if we abandon agri-biz farming overnight. This isn't to say we can't work our way toward a system of food production that is healthier for humans and topsoil-perhaps America's most crucial resource in coming years. But kicking the agri-biz habit won't be simple and will probably come about only by economic necessity, such as the cost of fertilizer or ?il, anyway. Small-Scale Farming:· It's very difficult. Simply put, you need enough land to justify the proper equipment to farm • efficiently. Work horses-are gr~at for a very few farmers, but the others need tractors. And discs. And cultivators and seed broadcasters and weeders and harvesting equipment and so on. In farming, as in building and the other practical crafts, I've found that if something isn't being done, there's probably a pretty good reason. A few years ago several of us didn't see any reason why we couldn't gro.w grains here in our coastal climate just north of San Francisco, even though no one was doing it. So we tried it. Wheat, oats, rye, triticale, millet, even rice. Sure, it worked okay on a garden scale, with a lot of labor and watchfulness. But when we then planted larger areas, we found that along with the initial problems of birds and drought years, it takes an immense amount of time to get the grain harvested, dried, threshed, winnowed and ready to grind without an expensive harvesting combine. And that was if we were luc;ky enough to have it dry properly in the fields without going moldy in the summer fog. Experience taught us why they grow potatoes and artichokes, not wheat and millet, here. Many, many would-be organic farmers have found, as did ~e, and as did Bob Cooperrider, that it's a lot tougher than the visionary organic literature would have you believe. It may take years to get soil in condition for growing healthy crops without chemicals (if you are lucky enough to have the land in the first place); prices for organic produce are dep,ressingly low.compared to labor and energy expended; seasonal variations and fluctuating demand are factors unlike those encountered in other jobs. Small-scale organic farming can succeed, but it's going to take time, patience, dedication, more hard work than most people would believe, the right land, and luck. RAIN Page 7 Urban Food Production: A lot is being written about it. 'No problems? What about th~ effect of smog, lead, air impurities on urban vegetables? Chickens in the city? They are noisy, even without a rooster, and it might be a good idea to consult neighbors first (and perhaps let them participate by getting eggs in exchange for the noise). Backyard bees? Maybe, if the beekeeper is experienced and understands how to handle bees in t~at situation. Even if you start with gentle Italian bees, they can cross with drones from more aggressive colonies and become meaner. BACK-TO-THE-LAND It's a shame no one sees fit to write about the pitfalls of rural living. Instead, we have a host of books praising life on the homestead, often written prematurely, before the authors have been through enough seasons to know their stuff. Many homesteader-writers make a good part of their living writing about this kind of a life, and are not as qependent upon food and craft income as will be those inspired by their published work. Cou.ntry living is a lo~ more difficult and less romantic than most of those who dream about homesteading would believe. Many people find this out the hard way, often being driven . back to the city _by the rigors of the first winter. Others aren't • ready for the hard work or haven't developed the skills needed for growing food or caring for animals. Still others, who get things ·working well, find they're not happy away from a community of neighbors and intellectual companionship. George and Nell Abernathy, who built a home on 40 acres of forested land in 1959 and now, 20 years later, are moving back into the city, explained: " .. . ~anctuaries are one thing, but complete satisfaction for all your needs may not be found in a sanctuary. You can only take so big a dose of contemplative life. "1 WASTE The Composting Privy: Another great idea-saving five gallons of water, returning composted excreta to the soil, etc. But wait a minute: There are reports, either getting less media coverage or appearing in smaller print, of tropical parasites surviving, of fruit fly infestations, of insufficient aeration or too much moisture for complete decomposition. In theory privies and Clivuses sound good and we want them to work, but in practice they work only in special situations and require alert and conscientious tending. How many people can be trusted to deal safely with their own shit? Waste Water: What they don '.t tell you in most of the simple schemes for running grey water out into the garden is that your kitchen sink water becomes evil-smelling when it percolates slowly through a pipe into the garden, tends to block up with scum in surprisingly short order, or, if a filter is used, it must be changed frequently. It can be done, with care, but takes a lot of time to make it work propedy. '
Page 8 RAIN December 1979 A HARD LOOK CONTINUED SHELTER Bad information abounds in the owner-built housing field these days. This is the area I've invest.igated the most thoroughly, and where I've made some embarrassing •mistakes myself. . Domes: After helping to build 17 domes at Pacific High School in the '60s, publishing two dome-building books,2 •and corresponding with dome-builders all over the country, I finally concluded that domes were totally unsatisfactory shelters. Without going into detail here, domes have unique and specific drawbacks which mc1:ke them, in my opinion, less efficient and practical than conventional stud construction. I ended up writing rather extensively about why they don't work,3 and have tried to show what went wrong, even though a lot of people apparently don't want to hear about it. Shelter Publications still gets letters and phone calls every day, asking for Domebook 2, which has been out of print for five years. The Post & Beam or Mortise and Tenon House: Ther_e are many books and accounts that advocate t)lis type of construction over stud-frame, stating that it is " ... cheaper and quicker to build than conventional houses."4 Nonsense, as any experienced, practical builder can tell you. Post and beam was superseded over 100 years ago by the stud-frame method for good reasons: The new system was a lighter, more practical, cheaper way to build. I realized one aspect of this several years ago in the midst of building a post and beam house. After the building was framed and I was about to put my walls on, I began thinking: Here are these posts, 8 feet apart and I'll have to build a stud wall in between them to put my sheathing on. Why do I need these big posts? I could have just built stud walls in the first place, properly braced, instead of fooling around with heavy timbers. Of course, the posts and beams looked good. There are also problems of insulation with exposed ceilings: You need two layers of roof sheathing, or must settle for less efficient insulation than putting fiberglas between the rafters as in conventional construction. Underground Housing: This one I can't believe! To advocate that people actually build underground is risky enough, but to publish explicit plans and how-to-do-it drawings seems highly dangerous. One such book has sold 50,000 copies.5 As I found with Domebook 2, you can't depend upon people to follow instructions safely. Novice builders will add their own interpretations or cut corners, or quite often simply do not have the skills to build well. When you've got 15 .tons of wet earth on your roof, things become a lot m0re critical. It's also expensive to build a roof strong enough for such loads. And if you develop a small leak, you've got to remove all the earth to get to it. What do we know of the effects on people of living underground for years? Isn't it only done in countries where there are hardly any building materials and the climate is dry? How about earthquakes? How good an insulator is wet dirt? The "Flash" House Design: A sculpture, a n_ine-sided tower, a logarithmic-spiral shaped home, etc. Using an abstract idea for house design instead of tried and tested methods has caused much wastage of time and materials, and often bitter disappointment. Many a builder has learned his less\>ns the hci.rd way. Building a house will be t,he biggest thing you will ever attempt-in sheer physical size, money invested, hours spent, energy exerted. You can't afford for it to take forever, to get hurt while-building, or to end up with an expressive or artistic assemblage that promises nothing but continual discomfort, compromise and maintenance. The houseas-art makes grea:t color photographs, but you can't live in a photograph, and with something as large as a building, unlike a painting or ceramic piece, the mist:ake can't be thrown away. Used Wood: Especially close to my heart, since most of the materials I've used in 20 years of building have been recycled. I love the look of used wood and enjoy utilizing something that's not brand new. But ... roughsawn used wood on walls can give you splinters and collects dirt. Ceilings, even after careful washing, drop particles of dirt forever. Used wood takes far longer to work with, due to imperfections: Sawblades hitting the occasional nail must be sharpened, dry two-inch lumber can bend nails, powder post beetles and wood rot can infest your new building. Anyone who has worked with it knows these and other disadvantages. I· , " 'Where Have All the Domes Gone? From visionary panacea to widespread disappointment-that's where. Shelter Publications' early w,ork with geodesic-inspired - structures almost ten years ago helped popularize this radical departure from conventional building techniques and forms. These efforts culminated in the Domebook series of the early '70s. Yet, with time and the sharing of mutual experiences, the unique and specific drawbacks of domes became apparent, leading to the deliberate decision to cease publication of these books. The dome saga is an alternative technology classic from whkh we can all learn. For a copy of "Why We Stopped Printing Domebook 2," write to Shelter Publications, P.O. Box 279, Bolinas, CA 94924. ENERGY The magic words: solar heating, wind electricity, methane digesters, fish tanks... . Some useful information on solar heating, etc., has been developed in the past ten to fifteen years, but much of it is decades old and is being re-invented. (Miro-mit solar water heaters have been operating for over 3 o. ye<\.rS in Israel.) There have been new ideas that are useful, even inspiring. But in the field of devices for producing energy or heat, we need more objective analysis and full disclosure by inventors and promoters, and a more watchful eye on the part of the public. It could well do more harm than good for • people to believe and invest in devices purported to save fossil fuels _or conserve electrical energy, only to find that the devices fail to perform as expected, or there are hidden costs or high maintenance requirements. Caveat emptor! Active Solar Space Heating: Usually expensive and permanent, often-requires two heating systems. In many cases, building a small house, r_emodeling, landscaping, insulation, window alterations, weatherstripping, or wearing warmer clothes indoors could save more energy than installing new, expensive hardware. Solar space heating offers much promise for the future, but it is very difficult right now for builders or homeowners to know which of the many systems will provide economical and trouble-free service over a period of time.
We want to keep alive thatcreative· spark ... but ,we wai# 'fa.go, into new ventures with our eyes open;. .. • r l Wind Generators: Work well in some situations, but are expensive, high i;naintenance machines that produce very small amounts' of power in proportion to their cost. For example, a 200-watt Winco·g,enerator with a 10-foot tower costs roughly $600; batteries $200; in a relatively windy area you can run ~-few lights and a radio-the equivalent of about $10 worth of electricity from a power company per year. Further you cannot just plug in your lamps or radio. You must set up an expensive converter or buy all new direct . current (DC) appliances. Methane Digesters: Require a lot of manure; sludge ha,ndling is often a problem; they often show a net energy loss ;md have been known to explode. Methane digesters tend }Owor~. for large farming operations, or sewage plants, but do not seem.to be a feasible backyard or homestead source of generating energy. • "Alternative energy" is a phrase that has always troubled me. As if we wer:e going to have clean sources such ·as sun and wind for continued high American energy consumpti<;rn, P~rhaps the emphasis should be on less rather than alternative energy. Much can be done in improving ~n what _exists, ,~~ch '· as using heavy drapes in doorways and wmd~ws m the winter, employing natural ventilation rather than air conditioning in the summer, using a water-saving-shower head, insulating h:0t water heaters1 or using the sun af1:d wind to dry clothes _i~- . stead of electric dryers. If we begin to improve in areas such . as these, the useful devices and new inventions will sort ,themselves out"'as the y·ears pass. The good ones will be obvious, .·. and the useless o~eSwill drop by _the wayside. • • • What is the point of all this? Do I conclude that all of the how-to literature o~' alternfLtive .food/shelter/energy is u·ntrustworthy? Or that organic farming won't work, compost 1 privies lead to disease, and solar heating is a sham? Not at _- all. It's not that 1-thi'µk you shouldn't work with used materials. Or moV.e to the co.untr:y, or Save the kitchen sink wate:r. l 1 • But I dq think inexperienced people need to know what ·_ they're up against, an'd-not hyped along into undertaking ventures based on incomplete information. As we enter an era of· diminishing resources and escalating prices we need the_?_est possible information if we are to make any real progress.m providing for purselves. • · In retrospect, the '60s may have been a time of awakening.- of communicatio.n of new concepts, and the '70s the years of testing and reflection. The 1980s could be the time when we begin to apply what we have learned. We want to keep alive that creative Sf!a;rk that led ~o many of us to try domes, sol.ar. heaters, or organic farming. But we want to go into new yentures with ourJeyes open, with the benefit of past experience - and what ·others have learned. We can profit from honest disclosure of past mistakes. We are going to need sharper reponing, better editing, and 1more responsible publishing to produce the good information \\:e need now more tpan ever. \ - • © 1979, Shelter Publications.-Printed by Permission. Notes: .. , 1. Shelter JI, 1978, pp: 170-71,: 2, Domebaok One1 1970; Domebook 2, 19,71. (Both out of print.) ,·i . · • •:. •! r., 3. For details se.e Shfltrr, 1973, pp. 108-10,9, 112-14, 118-19, 136; and Sh.?.lte.r.H, pf 200-205. . . 1 ,, 4. 30 Energy-Effic.ient Houses, 1977, Wade & Ewensteiri, ·:.s 11' Rodale Press, p. xii. . · ,J,. . 5. Earth Sheltered.Housing' Pesign, Underground Space Center, University of Minnesota, 19.79. i December 1979 RAIN Page 9 SOLAR Protecting Solar Access for Residential Development, The American Planniµg Association, 1979, 154 pp., free from: National Solar Heating and Cooling Information Center P.O. Box 1607 • Rockville, MD 20850 When I first picked up this guidebook I thought the text would probably put me to sleep. However the clear present . tation and well organized format complete with boxed checklists and instructive diagrams made the material both understandable and easy to read. The manual explains techniques for pro- .tecting solar access through the use of ,zoning ordinances, subdivision regulations, private agreements and tree planting and vegetation control. Individuals, particularly planners and attorneys, working with development land use issues, will find this parpphlet a valuable tool. Model legislation and local ordinances and information on shading patterns and shadow calculation are also included. -PC II HEALTH A Visual Encyclopedia of Unconventional Medicine-A Health Manual for the Whole Person, edited by Ann Hill, 1978, 240 pp., $6.95 from: Crown Publishers Inc., One.Park Ave. New York, NY 10016 It_is refreshing and unique t~,find a comprehens.iv~ reference to the natural Healing Arts that is authored by European practitio~ers. A Visual Encyclopedia is jµst such a book. Over 120 therapies and diagnostic approaches are presented by chiropractic, osteopathic and naruropathic physicians, as well as nutritionists, acupuncturists and lay healers. The book is laid out under major sections: Physical Therapies, Nutrition, Plant-Based Therapies, Mind and Spirit Therapies, etc., under which there ·are many smalle,r topic headings. Photos, drawings and charts are found on nearly every page. From Homeopathy to Nutrition, from Acupuncture to Herbalism, and from Aromatherapy to Bioenergetics, one finds history and philosophy as well as practical information. There is hardly an esoteric or unconventional therapy that is not included in A Visual Encyclopedia. This may be the only flaw in the text: that it attempts to cover too much material. The reader is left asking for more on • any one topic. Recommended for anyone interested in Natural Therapeuticspractitioner or lay person. -Steve Dubey/YI: II
Page 10 RAIN December 1979 -FOOD Ampranth from the Past for the Future, by John N. Cole, 311 pp., 1979, $8.95 from: Rodale Press, Inc. 33 E. Minor St. Emmaus, PA 19049 Picture Cortez and his Spanish·warriors trampling over the precious earth which fostered the growth of the amaranth plant-a plant which was a chief contributor to the health, vitality and survival of the Spanish-conquered Aztec culture. In his guest to annihilate the Aztec people Cortez called for complete destruction of amaranth. Although he succeeded in eliminating their civilization, the life of amaranth was perpetuated. And today this ancient plant of the Aztecs is becoming an increasingly promising crop to help feed a hungry world. Amaranth from the Past for the Future is a potpourri of history, anthropology, science, nutrition and politics of the amaranth plant-from early times to the days of fast foods. Cole is an amaranth advocate, but the plant nearly speaks for itself, as: • The leaves can be eaten as a gr'e'en vegetable. • It has a high calcium and fiber content. • It is resistant ·w drought and is a vigorous grower (ideal for many devel- _oping countries). • It uses a C4 pathway for fixing carbon and building up its tissue (this is more efficient than the C3 p'athway used by most plants). • It has a high quality starch but is low in fat (i.e., it's low in calories but high in energy). • It comes closer to attaining protein perfection than any other grain. This last point is amaranth's most appealing virtue. Unlike the deficiency that exists with most cereals (a lack of the amino acid lysine) and with vegetables (which lack the sulphur-containing amino acids), amaranth contains a combination of both the lysine and sulphur amino acids. Although this combination is not 100 percent "protein efficiency," it does do a particularly good job of balancing aminos. Plus, when mixed with soy or wheat flour, amaranth becomes a source of 100 percent perfect protein. Good news for the diet of a protein deficient planet. For those who are.more active in the palate than the politic, Amaranth from the Past for the Future offers a selection of recipes from such culinary treats as Amaranth Fruit Cookies to Marinated Amaranth Salad. Also included are sections on how to grow amaranth ; a botanical presentation of the various amaranth species; informative nutritional charts on amaranth; an extensive bibliography and lots more! Table. I.I The Seven Basic Types of Tofu Shops &.Soy Dairies (1979 data) beans/day tofu/day soyniilk/ day eqpt. cost Type (lb., dry) (lb.) (gallons) (S) Community 3-12 9-45 3-19 50-200 Traditional caldron 50-lOQ 160-400 40-80 2000-5000 Steam~ker 70-250 200-875 60-200 3500-7000 I encourage you all to investigate this fascinating plant. The d,ictionary defines amaranth as an "imaginary flower that never fades." Imagination aside-Viva la amaranth! -DW For more information: Organic Gardening Magazine 33 E. Minor St. Emmaus, PA 18049 Science News, Vol. 116, No. 10, September 8, 1979, pp. 168-9. Tofu & Soymilk Production: The Book of Tofu, Vol. II, William Shurtleff and Akiko Aoyagi, 336 pp., 1979, $17.95, from: New-Age Foods Study Center P.O. Box 234 Lafayette, CA 94549 •When Bill and Akiko came by recently to introduce the RAIN staff to their companion volume to The Book of Tofu, they emphasized tofu production as a pioneer form of service to the community and the world. They articulated a philosophy of fine craftsmanship and a sense of work as spiritual practice. Their book is an excellent example of this sensibility. Undoubtedly it is the most comprehensive and authoritative work on its subject. The book is printed in large format and includes numerous detailed illustrations by Akiko as well as appendices, recipes, a bibliography and an index. Various steps are outlined for planning a tofu business and estimating the local market for tofu, how to determine the scale of the shop and how to choose a good location. Throughout the book Bill and Akiko argue. persuasively for their conviction that "making'tofu and soymilk is not only a rewarding ancient/ futuristic craft and source of right livelihood, it offers a practical yet revolutionary approach to meeting the world's critical food requirements." From its initial discussion of tofu production at the planning stage to its in-depth discussion of the production process, Bill and Akiko's work offers v_aluable assistance. It will most likely serve as a tremendous aid to people attempting to make tofu production widespread. -Pat McNabb Pat McNabb is starting her own tofu manufacturing business here in Port- ~n~ , total cost no. production floor space ($) workers/ shift (total sq. ft.) 75-400 1-2 80-200 3500-10 ,000 1-2 180-1000 5000-12,000 2-5 200-2000 Pressure cooker 160-1400 400-3700 130-1120 8000-25 ,000 15,000-45,000 3-8 400-4000 Soy dairy 160-1400 400-3700 • 130-1120 9000-40,000 16,0Q0-60,000 3-9 600-6000 Automatic steam 400-2100 1200-6600 320-1680 30,000-60,000 40,000-70,000 2-5 , 60(),.400() cooker Modem factory 2000-30,000 6000-90,000 1600-24,0QO 55,000 up S100,000 up 4-10 2000-30,000
Soycraft, Journal of the Soycrafter's Association of North America, quarterly, $15/yr. from: Soycrafters Assoc. of North America 158 Main St., No. 3 Greenfield, MA O 1301 413/774-5480 It is refreshing to come across a new publication which actually fills a need and provides useful information as well as enjoyable reading. Soycraft is one such publication. Written by the folks of the Soycrafters Association of North America, this quarterly journal provides the burgeoning soyfoods industry with v~luable information on marketing techniques, new soy shops, problems and ~olutions_in manufacturi,ng processes, mformat1on on farming activities of soybea~ growe~s, and enlightening articles on mnovative approaches to this new and exciting industry. With acceptance of soy products growing by kaps and bounds in this country, S oycraft should prove to be an invaluable cool to the producers as well as to the consumer. - YL l I _ .. ....--- . ! ~ Whole Foods Natural Foods Guide: What Happens to Natural Food Products from Farm to Consumer, compiled f~om the pages of Whole Foods magazme, 301 pp., $8.95 from: And/Or Press P.O. Box 2246 Berkeley, CA 94702 From the shelves of processed and re- ~i~ed food comes the dawning of organ1c1sm. But how natural/organic is that store-bought herbal hair rinse, sprouted salad, or millet muffin? The Whole Foods Natu'!_al Foo1s Guide_ attempts to give a consumer onented discussion of the contemporary natural foods industry so the above questions, and more, can be answered. This guide does not advo- ~ate a "dietary philosophy," rather it 1s a representation of the whole makeup and production of natural foods so that anyone, not just chemists, can comprehend ~hat_ they are purchasing. For the consc1ent1ous shopper, this is a helpful aid to avoid such items as fraudulent alfalfa. - DW December 1979 RAIN Page 11 By Bill Day ~or some time, many readers have quest10ned my lack of interest in woodlot management. The reason for not writing about woodlot care is that so many other better qualified people have already d_on_e so. So I've put together a short bibliography of information sources. For a copy of the list send a selfaddressed stamped envelope to RAIN and we'll send it to you. I'm happy to report the new address .and phone number of the Wood Energy Institute, which is: Wood Energy Institute 1101 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Suite 700 Washington, DC 20036 202/857-1100 The positive outlook of this organization _is likely to be enhanced by the enthusiasm shown by the current active Board of Directors. It is possible that s?me staff positions may be open at this time. Wood as an Energy Resource by David A. Tillman, 1978,$13.50, fro,m: Academic Press Harcourt Brace Publishers 111 Fifth Ave. New York, NY 10003 Mr. Tillman has assembled in this book a most comprehensive guide to the present and future use of wood energy. I read Mr. Tillman's book because a ~riend quietly asked for an opinion on 1~. I f~und it t? be the finest publication I ve read m some time. Subjects such as the history ~f and present use of wood fuels are approached ~ith the same competence as are potential future supplies and uses. Numerous graphs_ and tables encourage the reader co_achieve a greater understanding than might otherwise be possible. This is a useful reference book for wood energy_enthusiasts of all types. Consumer onented (domestic home heating) as well as commercial-industrial trends and uses are discussed'with equal thoroughness. This is a work of tremendous foresight and achievement, and I recommend it highly. Wood'Heat Safety, by Jay Shelton, 1979, $7.95, from: Garden Way Publishing Carlotte, VT 05445 -.... (I> .!= (I> ..c [J"J At last, we have a comprehensive reference which addresses the potential hazards created by the use of woodburning appliances. From 1950 to 1973 very few solid fuel appliances were relied upon; consequently, little attention was pai? to safe~y problems generated by their operation. In recent years there has been a return to wood and coal stoves and furnaces. Their increased use, plus the significant new manufacturing innovations and installation standards (Mr. Shelton suggests alternatives to outmoded ones) has generated a need for the quality information compiled in this book. Homeowners Guide to Wood Stoves by the Editors of Sunset Books, ' 1979,$5.59, from: . Lane Pub_lishing Co. Willow & Middlefield Rds., Menlo Park, CA 94205 The Homeowners Guide to Wood Stoves sports_ the Sunset style, with a large selection of color photos. Those unaccustomed to the wide variety of available products will find high quality, durable stoves alongside less desirable short-lived ones on these pages. However, no attempt is made to qualify them a_ccording to style, type, or brand. !here 1s an 18-page section devoted to ms~all~tion and maintenance safety which 1s carefully written and illustrated. Relative heating values of West Coast native woods are featured in the "Woodchopper's Guide." Do-it-yourself home decorators and woodburning neophytes are encouraged to read and enjov this decor-oriented book. '
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