Nov 1975 RAIN Page 23 the possibility of truly making people think carefully about consumption... . If we did make a fairly large supply of kilowatt hours a~ai~able by going to solar heating, if we stop overlighting buildings, and if we take energy conservation seriously in other ways, and if industries stop going to more and more energy intensive stuff and laying off people, we might well find that massive new sources of energy are not necessary. I think in the first stages of a strict allocation, the heavy hand is likely to fall. But there's going to come a day when, in all fairness, a utility which has ptit its neck on the line, and gone out and tried to find positive alternatives, is going to be rewarded. I refuse to say that our society is not going to eventually recognize innovation. I frankly would just as soon make do with what we're doing now in electricity generation, without having to add solar power plants. I would like to add solar plants only as we could replace fossil fuel. WVO: In other words, you're optimistic about conservation? WVO: So you might be called a middle-term optimist-you do see that the Eugene area could have its legitimate needs met at some time in the somewhat foreseeable future? R: Yes, I am. Because I still see flagrant waste, absolutely flagrant waste, from people who think that they're conserving. R: (laughing) Yeah-there's a lot of modifiers in there, but how else can you speak when the picture is so incredibly complex? WVO: How do you see EWEB surviving as an independent entity in the midst of the entire nation's power needs? WVO: But you do think it's going to happen? R: I don't see how it could help but happen. I guess there are really two ways of being optimistic. One is that we're going to discover something like fusion, and it's going to solve all our problems. We're going. R: Oh, not very well. I think the best thing we can do is to set a positive example. And I think by doing a little bit of research in solarprevious little research, so far-and by joining in and helping the wind project at Oregon State University, by building a little methanol plant, by doing this thing at Weyerhaeuser where we'll be getting roughly 80 per cent efficiency from fuel oil, rather than 40 per cent-I think these are positive things that EWEB's doing. to have all the electricity we're ever possibly going to use. The other optimistic viewpoint is that we're going to learn to live within our budget of incoming energy. And I think we'll do that.... It's all in recognizing that the earth wasn't just made for man.... Keith Parks (EWEB general manager) says that in the event of another national shortage, he believes that there will be across-the-board allocations that won't take account of an individual facility's contributions. We're only one of many species, and we cannot continue to not only increase our numbers but our consumption. The resources aren't there. That's one of the fundamentally attractive things about solar energy. It's limited. It's ongoing, It's steady state, but you're not going to have any more of it. LANDUSE continued from page 18 Interceptor Sewers and Suburban Sprawl: The Impact of Construction Grants on Residential Land Use, Vol. 1, Analysis, by Urban Systems Research & Engineering for Council on Environmental Quality, 1974, available from: National Technical Information Service U.S. Department of Commerce Report No. PB-226 477 A long title and a longer report, but there's some stuff in here worth digging out. "Study findings indicate that current financing procedures-both on the local and federal level-may encourage construction of sewage systems tailored to the needs of future developers rather than the control of pollution problems." EPA funded sewage systems with large excess capacity further expensive suburban sprawl and rapid growth. The report includes 200 pages of data and case histories to substantiate this conclusion. €11SCELLANEOU~ Eugene Update Our Federal Credit Union 380 W. 13th Eugene, OR 97401 Youth Rights Center 1236 Kincaid Eugene, OR 97401 Planet Drum sent out a mailing (originating from the Linn House: Rt. 1, Box 311, Anacortes, WA 98221). Mainly about the upcoming Rocky Mountain Consciousness Packet, "Continental Backbone Bundle." Elaborate, too much and interesting outline-a large clue as to what it takes to inventory a region. COSM P Committee o Sm zine Editors and Publishers) P.O. Box 703 San Francisco, CA 94101 Especially a network for publishers of literature in its various facets and disguises. The COSMEP newsletter tries to keep track of small magazines and book publishers. For $20 membership now you can also get their series of booklets on: distribution, library and booksales, printing, promotion, finances and miscellania, production/design. All of these are useful, quite good introductions. COSMEP also produces extensive mailing lists for small publishers, including bookstores, libraries, etc. "One mag recently announced its impending birth with the statement: 'Each issue will have a different name.' You can imagine the happiness of the whole library staff. That was just what we'd always been waiting for! Let me share with you a letter that reads, verbatim: 'Thank you for your enquiry about Big Venus, the latest issue of which you would like to receive at the library. I'm not exactly clear which issue it is you wish your sub to begin with-Big Venus began is (sic) 1969 with Big Venus, followed by Big Venus and then Big Big (sic) Venus. Next came Queen Camel, officially Big Venus 4, and the most recent in the series to date. I have copies of each of these issues and would be grateful if you could tell me whether you want to order a set or whether in fact it is Queen Camel you require, even though it doesn't bear the title Big Venus.' " (From: Library/Bookstore sales) Keeping Healthy in a Polluted World, Harold Taub, Penguin Books, 197 5 (Harper & Row, 1974), $2.95 I have mixed feelings about this book by the former editor of Prevention magazine. Is there anything I can eat or breathe safely? Lots of good information here about health problems, from allergies to cancer caused by pollution, food additives and other chemicals in our environment, along with lots of preventive ideas. Vitamin C seems to be an incredible cure-all (and the fact that our bodies can't produce it like virtually all other animals may be a genetic Il}Utation). Much of his advice jibes with my own knowledge and instincts, though he tends to recommend pill supplements rather than natural sources and makes a couple of inexcusably sexist comments. It's all so complicated. Memoirs of a Survivor, Doris Lessing, Alfred Knopf, 1974 (should be out soon in paperback) Future scenario? It is set in a large British city, presumably London, where things have just about ground to a halt. Electricity and most services have been cut off, bands of people roam about. Though the government is keeping up the appearance of functioning, most people ignore it. It's wiser not to attract their attention. At times it seems as if things are improving-a gang of children begins to settle in an abandoned neighborhood and relearns gardening, a wondering crowd gathers around an old, old man repairing watches. At other times it looks grim. Maybe it will be like this if we never stop to see what's happening and stay dependent on our fossil fuel subsidies until the well runs dry. Doris Lessing is definitely a powerful writer. Chaos doesn't look too cheerful. continued on page 28
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