Page 18 RAIN July/August 1984 economies by replacing their imports with locally produced goods and services. The article was excerpted from Jacobs' book by the same title, available from Random House, 201 East 50th Street, New York, NY 10022. See also "The Economy of Regions" by Jacobs, the text of her address at the Third Annaul E. F. Schumacher Lectures, October 1983 ($3 from the E. F. Schumacher Society, Box , 76A, RD 3, Great Barrington, MA 01230). —KN "Abstract of Proposal to Issue an Independent Currency in the Berkshire Region of New England," send a self- addressed, stamped envelope to: The E. F. Schumacher Society Box 76A, RD 3 Great Barrington, MA 01230 The proposal, by the Self-Help Association for a Regional Economy (SHARE), is a design to employ a cord of wood as a backing for a local currency. Also available (for $2) is "Selecting a Local Currency" by Shann Turnbull. —KN Joint Committee on Municipal Investment 7431 Baltimore Avenue Tacoma Park, MD 20912 Attn: Jay Levy The committee is composed of elected officials and leaders of local peace groups and is charged with defining Tacoma Park's policy against municipal investment in or business with companies that .produce nuclear weapons or their cornpo- nents. The policy is a national model in locally responsible social investing. —KN Nuclear Free Investment Packet, $3 from: Nuclear Free America 2521 Guilford Avenue Baltimore, MD 21218 The packet is part of Nuclear Free America's national campaign to promote the adoption of social investment criteria for municipal funds. Includes list of 50 defense contractors to avoid (nuclear weapons producers), suggested criteria for local social-investment ordinances, and social investment information for individuals and institutions. Excellent resource. —KN Local Exchange Trading Systems (LETS) Landsman Associates 479 4th Street Courtenay, BC, V9N 1G9 Canada 604/338-0213 Can you imagine a local economic system that would allow individuals to issue and manage their own money supply and would keep money circulating within the community to stimulate employment and reduce the need for government subsidies? Michael Linton, creator of LETS, claims that such a system can be developed in any community with little difficulty. LETS has been operating successfully on Vancouver Island in British Columbia for over a year. How does it work? It's simple. LETS is similar to barter; it's based on consensual transactions between two people where no money is exchanged. But LETS doe*^' ot require reciprocal exchange—if only one person wants something that the other can give, trading is not impeded. A central computerized account exists for the entire system, where the person who gives something (either a good or a service) gets a credit of some agreed- upon amount, and the recipient gets a debit of the same amount. Debts are worked off through later transactions. The debtor effectively gets interest-free credit in the interim. Though the system is simple, the ramifications are profound. LETS has several benefits, but it is most attractive in communities with high unemployment. In such communities, lack of federal currency to stimulate exchange paralyzes economic activity. LETS supplements the conventional money system to bring underemployed labor, equipment, land, and other resources into use as the community needs them. Landsman Associates offers a 40-page booklet outlining everything you need to know to set up a LETS in your community for $12, and also offers software for doing the accounting for $100. —LR Rainforest's best friend: "Tropical rain forests around the world depend heavily upon fruit- and nectar-eating bats for seed dispersal and pollination. More than 130 genera of tropical trees and shrubs are known to depend on bats for pollination. Many, if not most, economically important tropical fruits originally were or continue to be dependent upon bats. These include peaches, bananas, mangoes, guavas, breadfruit, avocados, dates, figs and many more. .. . We are only beginning to understand the great value of bats in,tropical ecosystems." (From: Smithsonian magazine) TOUCH & GO Tithe of a tithe: The Rolls Royce buyer is not the most charitable fellow in the world, according to Sojour)iers. Households with an annual income of $50,000 to $100,000 donate 1% to 2% of their income to churches and charity, but those with incomes of less than $5,000 give an average of at least 5%. (From: The Washington Spectator) What? Me worry? When a West Virginia legislative committee questioned Miles Dean, director of the state's Office of Economic and Community Development, about acid rain, he testified, "Our position is that it doesn't exist." (From: The Progressive) Bone hungry? Some young archeologists in California think that, through chemical analysis of fossil bones, they can figure out what early man ate. It's an appealing prospect. If they are right, they could end years of debate over the place of diet in evolution. Think what some similar researchers might one day conclude about us. Finding PCBs in our fpssil remains, will they conclude that Homo americanus subsisted largely on plastics? (From: The New York Times) Potato power: Tired of supporting the battery industry? Support the state of Idaho instead. Run your clocks on potatoes. That's what North Carolina electronics technician Bill Borst is doing for fun and, he hopes, profit. Omni reports that Borst's invention is a clock that runs on two potatoes. The spuds are stuck on a pair of metal bolts wired to a digital display mechanism. One bolt is copper, the other zinc; the two different metals react with acid in the potato, causing a chemical reaction that generates electricity. He gets 0.85 volts from each potato, and the clock needs 1.5 volts to operate. Spud power is very economical, but, Borst notes, potatoes go dead in four weeks. (From: The San Francisco Chronicle)
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