Page 18 RAIN December 1976 NUCLEAR POWER The Electric War: The Fight Over Nu- ) clear Power, by Sheldon Novick, 1976, 376 pp., $12.50 from: Sierra Club Books 530 Bush Street' San Francisco, CA 94108 This book is so outr(l.geous in the story it tells and the comprehensiveness of its telling that Lane has still not gotten to read-it, though she ordered it. I could not put it down. Noyick provides us with the observations of a passive eye, not the exaggerations or hyperbole of a pro- or an anti-, or of the news muck- . raker. We see Thomas Edison, the electrical wizard of Menlo Park, and Sam Insull, his private secretary, as Edison fails and Insull finally wins in the attempt to create the electric-power monopolies we have today. We learn how the Cold War provided the breeding ground for civilian nuclear power's multi-billion-dollar industry. We hear how Creative Initiative formed Project Survival to back nuclear safeguards legislation in Oregon, California and other states. We learn a lot, yet are not told how to decide . . . but come to understand that we must soon do so. For, as Jefferson and Samuel Johnson both have said, when we see experts and concerned citizens on both sides, we know the decision will ultim~tely be up to all the people. Novjck's work is an excellent primer for 'that decision. (LJ) "Nuclear Power Facilities in the U.S. _1977,"a map; "Safety-Related Incidents at U.S. Nuclear Faciliti~s," a diagram, and "World Nuclear Prolifera- . tion and Opposition," a map, are available as a set for $10 postpaid from: Special Nuclear Materials Eco Graphix 13 Center St. Rutland,·VT 05701 All are 17" x 24" reference charts chock-full of useful details. Ask about their bu.lk rates for organizations. (LJ) ENERGY SAVING Less Is More, quarterly newsletter, $5 per year from: Alex Wade Box 43 Barrytown, NY 12507 Covers cheaper housing, transportation and food and includes feedback from owner-builders. This is neat stuff. Alex was one of the contributors to LowCost, Energy-Efficient Shelter, edited by Eugene Eccli, and has continue~ hi~ ·work by producing complete workmg drawings for various energy-conservative, build-it-yourself home designs, including detailed construction notes. The Fall '76 L.l.M. contained consumer evaluations of five small cars: Honda Civic, Renault R5, VW Rabbit, Chevette and Subaru; low-cost heating systems; building codes and the energy-efficient houses and other very interesting hints on how to live lightly. Send a selfaddressed, stamped envelope for his publication list. (LJ) Have a Wrap Session with Your Electric Water Heater, 4 pp., free from: Water Heater Wrap Conservation Dept. Portland General Electric Co. 121 S.W. Salmon Portland, OR 97204 If yours is an electric hot water heater located in an unheated space, you can save $15 maximum, $8-$10 average, per year on your electric bill. Takes 45 minutes of your time, 1 roll of R-11 (3·-112'1) kraft-backed insulation, 15" wide, a 15-yd. roll of duct tape, scissors, marking pen, a measuring tape and gloves. An excellent idea being ably promoted by Pacific Power & Light's full-page "how-to-wrap-it" newspaper ads and by PGE's nifty little red booklet. Easiest $20/hour we've seen. (LJ) TYPiCAL SUBDIVISION B\..OCK SHOWIN~ WASTED SPACE. UNUSEi\"BL.E PARKI"lf. SPACE' UNUSED FRONT YARD SPAc.E' 0 UNUSED SIDF. YARD SPACE.. Planning for Energy Conservation, $7.50 from: Living Systems Route 1, Box 170 Winters, CA 95694 Living Systems has been doing some of · the finest innovative work in energy conservation we've seen. They've-recently completed the design of a passive solar heated and cooled office building for the state of California that should reduce energy use in the building by 90%. They've built a number of homes with insulating shutters, water walls and other simple techniques that cause energy use to plummet. Planning for Energy Conservation contains a series of city ordinances they've prepar~d for energy conservation, many of which have already been adopted in Davis, CA.. Their new building code reduces energy needed to heat and cool dwellings by 50%. Tree planting ordinances are expected to reduce summe_r teinper~tures in the city by 10°F. Ordmances establishing solar zonin~, reducing setb~cks J of buildings (allowmg more effective use of land), reducing street widths, setting up bikeways to open lower e~ergy transportation options, allowmg work at home, restricting fossil fuel pool heaters and permitting clotheslines (!) are outlined and their effects analyzed. They have also studied many existing \ I buildings in Davis under a HUD Innova- ,. tive Project Grant, showing how energy,·, ' use could be significantly reduced in each, and distribute a quarterly Energy Conserva,tion News to the residents of the city. (TB) COMMUNICATION Mass Media Booknotes, edited by Christopher Sterling, monthly, $3.50/ yr. ($4.50 overseas) from: Dept. of Radio-TV-Film School of Communications & Theater Temple University Philadelphia, PA 19122 While basically intended for communications department professors, this monthly 10-page newsletter is chockfull of critical and personal reviews of the latest books in the field of mass comm'unications. Each issue covers publications in media journalism, general mass media, popular culture, law and regulation, telecommunications, and a special feature called "Book of the Month." Especially useful for librarians. And the price is right. (RE) I I
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