Page 32 RAIN Jan./Feb. 1984 the document's guidelines for change. "Individuals, groups, and decision makers will have something they can refer to. So many people are talking this way in private—about the implications of basic value shifts—but not in public," observes Martha Shannon of Spokane. In March, a published version of the document will list the number of signatures by state as well as by a cross-section of people who signed it. The policy guide will then be distributed to signers and decision makers to help steer planning and legislation. Those who have not yet responded and are interested in circulating five copies for signing should send $10.00 (if that's a problem, send as little as $5.00) to The Communications Era Task Force, P.O. Box 3623, Spokane, WA 99220; 509/327-5596. Plutonium Fever In November, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) reportedly completed the renovation of a nuclear plant that could reprocess spent fuel from commercial reactors into weapons-grade plutonium. The DOE also appears to be eyeing the area surrounding the plant, located on the Hanford Nuclear Reservation outside of Richland, Washington, for a nationwide high-level waste repository. The reprocessing plant, known as PUREX (Plutonium-URanium Extractions), "is a key facility in the Reagan Administration's plans to make 14,000 new nuclear bombs by 1990," said Chuck Bell of the Hanford Oversight Committee. In 1969, the Oregon Board of Health found that because of the then-operating PUREX plant the nearby Columbia River contained more radioactivity than any other known body of water in the world. In 1982, two counties downstream from Hanford passed resolutions calling for a delay in the restart of PUREX until further environmental studies could be done. After expressing exasperation with the lack of responsiveness of other governmental bodies, Gina Maduro, a spokesperson for the Hanford Oversight Committee, said she thinks direct actions such as civil disobedience may be the most powerful tools to stop the PUREX plant and Hanford waste dump from opening. Hanford Oversight Committee, 814 N.E. 40th, Seattle, WA 98105; 206/632-0500.— Steve Salmi New Funds To Serve Eugene Food System Struggling small farmers in Lane County, Oregon, have reason to sharpen their pencils and plan ahead. After a year of planning, the Association for a Regional Agriculture Building the Local Economy (ARABLE) expects to begin receiving deposits and investments in February. Loans will be made soon thereafter. ARABLE'S depositor-directed financing emanates from a model project called SHARE, or Self- Help Association for a Regional Economy. It was developed by the E. F. Schumacher Society in Great Barrington, Massachusetts (see access information on page 23). At the hub of ARABLE are its producer-consumer associations. They reduce risk on loans, lowering interest rates, because members' deposits act as collateral on loans to other members. Both local food retailers and growers are eligible for loan assistance. The three types of funds available are only administered by a host bank, not directly dependent on it. The cooperative investment program includes a trust fund to assist community- related projects. ARABLE coordinator Thomas Forster feels the effort could bring new character to the local agricultural economy: "By expanding this to include all participants in the area's food chain. they can have greater control over where investments go. That means more jobs." For more excitement contact ARABLE, P.O. Box 5230, Eugene, OR 97405; 503/345-1218. Community Net Working Computer access. For many, including nonprofit organizations, it remains a dream. Developing the financial and technical resources necessary to make use of computer services still requires tremendous effort. By sharing computers and expertise already available, however, computer access can be made real. Community Communications Services, a Seattle-based cooperative, is beginning to do just that. It functions cooperatively in that members teach each other how to use the computer resources. For a $20.00 fee (or fair exchange), members learn how to do word processing, recordkeeping, and other functions and are assisted in choosing microcomputer systems. Other member services include typesetting by remote computers, mailing list and membership records management, and access to a "Community Resource Directory" database. (See A Quiet Place under Northwest Publications.) Members can use the equipment for a couple of bucks an hour, and database access is free or low cost. Steps are being taken to provide a publicly owned and operated information exchange. As an electronic bulletin board, it would allow groups and individuals to enter and retrieve messages, news alerts, and data at any time from numerous community-access terminals. Unfortunately, such militant schemes require money (although not billions). So Community Communications will move ahead as finances and energy allow. Community Communications Services, P.O. Box 12173, Seattle, WA 98102; 206/329-3804.
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