RAIN Page 9 OF ECOTOPIAN NATIONS Geo-cultural· Regions ' The political regions of .our country have developed with total disregard for the realities of our land and our regional cultures arising from that land. Our "melting pot" mythology has attempted to erase local and regional cultures-but it has yet to erase the landforms, climate, soils, vegetation and living creatures that constantly bring into ~eing regional personalities and cultures in response to the unique problems, potentials and rhythms of each place. Those regional lives and cultures are essential and will endure beyond any artificial political boundaries. A look at one of Erwin Raisz's intricately beaut~ful landform maps of the U.S. (No. 3-$1.00 from Erwin Raisz, 130 Charles St., Boston, MA 02114) gives real meaning to the regions shown above, which respond like a well-fitting shoe to the different landform regions. These regions have shared problems, potentials and lifestyles which sharing among the people of the regions can do much to improve. The life of rQ,lina ,r \f eorgia , • -f \ ~:~ \ {} · \j Tidewater, Virginia, is closer to that of New Orleans than to West Virginia. The myths of Planet Drum and Ecotopia are alive for the people of the Pacific Coast. The dryland farming of eastern Montana has more to share with that of the Texas Panhandle than with western Montana. Regional publications are arising to further the sharing of our lives and the meeting of our common needs. A sense of our regions and their cultures gives us a sense of place and of our roots as·well as of where we can find resources to answer our needs. Atlases such as the Climati·c Atlas of the U.S. by Stephen Visher can giv~ more detailed regional maps for topography, geology; climate, soils, flora and fauna-but they only bring into finer focus the general regional pattern. Different regions have distinctive features and resources, and much to share1 with each other, but our lives are nourished and formed dominantly by what is offered and required of us by the region in which we live. Know it well. • Some other regional publications we've mentioned before: AERO ·' Center for Rural Affairs Down to Earth 418 Stapleton Bldg. P.O. Box 405 Environmental Info Cent. Billings, MT 59101 Walthill, NE 68067 P.O. Box 12 B.C. Alternative RR2 Lumby, BC, Canada Bolinas Hearsay News Box 1, Elm Rd. B~linas, CA 94924 Briarpatch Review 330 Ellis St. San Francisco, CA 94102 Comm'(l.nity Environmental Ed. Notes - 109 E. de la Guerra Santa Barbara, CA 9J101 Contact Institute for Ecological Studies U of North Dakota Grand Forks, ND' 58202: Helena, MT 59601 Environmental News P.O. Box 11000 Montgomery, AL 36111 Living in the Ozarks Pettigrew, AK 72752 • 1''{orthern Light Alaska Cent. for Environ. 913 S. 6th St. Anchorage, AK 99501 Self-Reliance Newsletter Institute for Local Self Reliance 1717 18th St., N.W. , , Washington, DC 200_09 • Street Pratt Cent. for Coinm. Development 240 Hull St. Brooklyn, NY 11205
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