of British Columbia. The 52-page book is divided according to state and includes names, addresses and brief descriptions of environmental organizations and their purposes. -LJ Idabo Enoironmental Quarterly. To get on the mailing list, Doris Schneider Division of Environment Idaho Department of Health & Welfare Statehouse Boise, ID 83720 This newsletter reviews the top environmental issues confronting Idaho. The most recent issue included articles on sewage construction grants, breast cancer x-rays, the use of wastewater on crops, air pollution in Pocatello, new regulations for swimming pools, and the outlook for drinking water shortages in Idaho communities. -LJ AGRICULTURE My Garden Companion, Jamie Jobb, 1977, $9.95 from, Sierra Club Books Charles Scribner's Sons 597 Fifth Avenue New York, New York 10017 This comprehensive guide should be a August/September 1977 RAIN Page 5 welcomed friend to any novice gardener. Written for children, it appeals to thar part of all of us looking for advenrure in the mystery of the seasons and the magic of mother nature. Wonderfully composed and enchantingly illustrate d, one might expect to find a tale of silver bells, cockle shells and pretty maids all in a row but instead discovers a wealth of detailed how-tos from evaluating your soil and climate to plant breeding and organic pest control. Including Planter's and Picker's Pages with botanic and biological bug control and seed catalog directories and a "Digger's Guide to Soil Supplies," My Garden Companion is a helpful handbook, good source list and rare treasure. -CM Wow, Jung was right about synchronicity . . . what's called coincidence. The three items below came up from my nebulous pile and into a pattern that should help illuminate the wetlands-subdivision problem and provide focused techniques for citizen action. Lord, let your humble servant see more such patterns. Ready the white charger, here goes' Promised Lands 2: Subdiztisions in Florida's Wetlands, 1977, $20 from' Inform 25 Broad St. New York, NY 10004 A3-Il2 year study led to this report, which is a textbook on the destructive consequences of irresponsible development practices. Focusing on 9 recently built coastal suburbs, it relates the devastating consequences of greed in paradise. These environmental case studies should raise your ire. If you need an argument with a dollar value, keep reading. "Putting Wetlands to Work," in May{une 1977 Mosaic, $1.45 from' Editor Mosaic National Science Foundation Washington, DC 20050 Cypress domes and peatlands offer ecologically sound, energyconserving municipal wastewater disposal. Conventional tertiary treatment, so-called advanced facilities, are expensive to build and to operate, as you may have noticed from local bond issues or property tax increases . . . $20 billion nationally for construction only; according to the EPA. This article exPlains the NSF-funded research, by Kadlec of U. of Michigan and the famous "net-energy" Odum of U. of Florida, that suggests wetlands cannot only absorb treated effluents, treating them in a natural rather than energy-consuming, artificial way, but can benefit from the fertilization secondarily treated effluents are able to provide. And, where such wetlands are still unpaved, money can be saved. Convinced? Then use the last item as a model for the way to put all this info together and act. -LJ Commanity Workbook, Vol, 1: Subditsision, by Environmental Information Center, lune 1977,20 pp., free from' Environmental Information Center P.O. Box 12 Helena, MT 59601 An excellent, step-by-step primer on how to stop a suburban development. There are actually a number of laws and regu- - iation ihat give you a strong say in the future growth of youf town. None of them requires you to have any legal or scientific expertise, or eve n a great deal of money. What they do require is your commitment to collect good information like that assembled for you above, make sound decisions, and back it all up "vith some hard work. Although designed for Montana, this workbook can be translated to your own wetland vs. suburb crisis and start you on the path to local citizen action. -LJ
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