Page 2 RAIN January/February 1985 RAIN Volume XI, Number 2 January/February 1985 Staff Rob Baird Ben Bishoff Brenda Jamsgard Steve Johnson Alan Locklear Steve Manthe Katherine Sadler F. Lansing Scott Jeff Strang Contributors David Biddle Ann Borquist Bruce Borquist }. David Colfax Ellen Ghilarducci Debbie Habib Kim Knorr Bev Koch David Mozer Kris Nelson CarolAnn Oldershaw Pamela Parker Kim Stafford Mary Vogel Graphic Design Susan Applegate Printing: Argus Printing Typesetting: Irish Setter RAIN magazine publishes information that can help people lead simple and satisfying lives, make their communities and regions economically self-reliant, and build a society that is durable, just, and ecologically sound. RAIN is published six times a year by the Rain Umbrella, Inc., a nonprofit corporation located at 3116 North Williams, Portland, OR 97227; 503/249-7218. Subscriptions are $25/year for institutions, $15/year for individuals ($9.50 for persons with incomes under $6000 a year). For additional information on subscriptions and publications, see page 39. Writers' guidelines are available for a SASE. Editorial and advertising deadlines are two months prior to publication date. RAIN is indexed in the Alternative Press Index and New Periodicals Index. Members of the Rain Umbrella Board of Directors: E. K. MacColl, Mimi Maduro, Maggie Rogers, Steve Rudman, Sumner Sharpe, and Michael Wells. Copyright © 1985 Rain Umbrella, Inc. No part may be reprinted without written permission. ISSN 0739-621x. Cover: Cape Horn on the Columbia River, 1984. Photo by Terry Toedtemeier RAINDROPS RAIN in transition again? It's true, but it feels like we have this one under control, and that we will come out of it better than ever. There are some changes under way. We will tell you more about them when thing are firmed up. Steve Johnson, one of RAIN's founding fathers, has gotten back in the action. He helped us get this issue together, and will be filling in as editor for at least the next couple of issues. Also, Mimi Maduro, a long-time RAIN friend and member of our Board of Directors, provided editorial assistance for this issue. Also, alert readers may notice the absence of our usual guest bioregion report, "Voices of Reinhabitation." With the current staff and current workload we simply cannot afford the time to actively solicit these reports from around the country. However, we are still interested in this feature and will gladly accept submissions. If you are interested in providing a report on the activities in your bioregion, contact us and we will send you our guidelines. Thanks to all the people who have sent us letters in the last two months. We have printed some of them here, but we got many more than we could publish. It's good to get feedback. It helps us stay relevant. LETTERS Our agency is very interested in receiving queries from prospective authors (among your readers) who have book ideas regarding the topics addressed by your newsletter. We work with all major publishers, and we work with clients who have promising book ideas whether or not they have previously had books or articles published. If you know of anyone who is now working on a book or who is interested in doing so, please ask him or her to send us a query letter that includes a summary of the book idea, outline, targeted readers, and the writer's background. We do not need to see a manuscript or sample chapters initially. Rainer Luedtke Literary Agency 9417 Great Hills Trail Suite 3037 Austin, TX 78759 Take a look at RAIN September-October, page 11, second column, about 11/z inches from the bottom of the page. The statement is made that bamboo boasts a higher tensile strength than steel. That is such a fantastic assertion that it should have sent you running for a reference book. Steel averages 23,000 pounds per square inch tensile strength? Don't believe it. Steel really ranges from 75,000 to 460,000. Even cast iron is twice as strong as bamboo. What is meant by an average tensile strength for steel? The average of the high and low? In that case about 260,000! Take the weakest steel-it is three times the strength of bamboo. You can verify the numbers in the Chemical Rubber Handbook in any library, or borrow one from a chemistry major at most colleges. Now if you want to talk about strength on a per unit weight basis, that is something else. Bamboo would rate pretty high. But for concrete reinforcement where weight is not a hindrance you had better stick with steel if you really want strength. Now when the article speaks about 170 times less energy than the equivalent steel-take another look. What is the equivalent steel? The fictitious 24,000 pounds per square inch steel, or real steel, which at its weakest is three times stronger than bamboo? I think that you should run that 170 number down to 55 times less energy ... F. M. Walters Bethesda, MD Those are fine, well researched articles on bamboo in the September/October RAIN-nice work! Here's an ad for the bamboo bicycle produced in 1895 (copied from King of the Road by Andrew Ritchie, Ten Speed Press). If Max's Pot or the Aprovecho Research Center wanted to start producing bamboo bicycle frames, I'd be happy to help with a marketing plan. I'm not sure if bamboo bikes are still produced in Asia, but a friend of mine once saw one in use-in New Hampshire! John Dowlin Philadelphia, PA
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