Page 6 RAIN January 1978 In both the above examples there are several distinct issues to be dealt with. The use of solar energy or. more effective agricultural tools is one issue. How those technologies are produced and used is a quite separate issue. (See David Morris's letter in this issue.) Despite its name, a.~. is not dominantly /a technological thing. It is the doing of things at the proper scale in the proper ways to the ends that create a society and a world of wh_ich we are happy to be a part. Once the feasibility of the necessary technology is shown, the real task of a.t. becomes a political one-dealing with the changing of the institutions that tie us to certain forms of doing things. That is the stage we need to move into now. It has hit home here in Oregon with compost toilets recently. Legislation permitting use of compost toilets was passed in the last legislative session and the Plumbing Advisory Board given the responsibility of drawing up regulations for their use. Everyone relaxed. Then draft regulations appeared, limiting use of compost toilets to areas where sewers or septic tanks were not available. This would effectively turn compost toilets into a tool for real estate development rather than an economical and ecological altern~tive to sewers. The technology is not enough without the appropriate institutional forms aff~cting its use. The efforts of most a.t. p~ople so far have been on proving its feasibiliW, but we will reach a dead end unless we turn , from promoting harmless things like solar collectors and compost toilets t9 dealing wi_th the real issue_s of institutional power and control that allow or prevent things from happening on more local and controllable levels. No community industries can succeed in a sustainable way,,for example, until the role of advertising in centralizing economic activity and power has successfully been dealt with. The same is true of finance and unregulated federal taxation. Our ability to deal successfully with many of these issues is greater than we may think. Our visions and o.ur own capabilities have gained credibility time and ti~e again in issue after issue- the nuclear/solar/conservation tug of war, in Vietnam, about pesticides-you name it. WHAT ABOUT ADVERTISING? Advertising promotes consumption anq causes centralization of production by those who can,afford massive advertising campaigns. It is an added and unnecessary cost of production. All these effects are undesirable in the resource-limited conditions we are - entering. Centralization of production brings centralization of economic and thus political power-a major threat to any democratic society. It also is ineffective in meeting local needs and using local resources effectively. The use of puplic media to promote increased desires when it is b'ecoming more and more difficult to fulfill such desires seems against the best _interests of society. Where do we begin to limit advertising to informational purposes (such as classified ads)? In contrast, our country has buiit up a horrible record of lies, deceit and wrongdoing through the lack of vision and integrity of our decision-makers-both in public office and private actions: We damn other countries for violation of human .rights but have violated human rights both here and abroad since our country's beginning, as badly_as other countries do. Our government trains terrorists, troops.and torturers for repressive dictators in other countries. The activities of th~ CIA and FBI in this country against Native Americans, Blacks, ~nti-war activists and others is finally coming to light and is scarcely less shocking. And both probably pall when the full nature of our "legal" economic exploitation of people is understood. Our country desp'erately needs people involved in all levels of decision-making whose vision and integrity can be _trusted. , Who do you trust? The corporate leaders whose deliberate mistruths fill volum~s from the advertising in every newspaper to the Congressional Record? The mercenary bureaucrats who drag down any designated path with a pay-check at the end regardless of where their hearts want to go? Or the silent academics who have failed to sp~ak out on any of the real issues we face until their students have beaten the answers into their .heads? Or is it the people who stand 'UP bravely and stubborn-. ly against the tide until the wisdom of their perceptions is finally understood. People echo whoever feeds them. Feed yourself. It's time to work through the politics of changes-from inside and outside government; at home, in our neighborhoods • and 'in Washington, D.C. And we need to remember that power does· corrupt. It needs to be shared, localized and taken control of locally ourselves. Get to it. . Tom Bender • Work for removal of the massive postal subsidies for magazines, etc., that predominantly contain advertising. Consumer Reports, RAIN, Seven Days and other publications show that advertising is not necessary for viable operation. • • Ban outdoor advertising. Several states have already, for various reasons. • Intervene in license renewal procedures for radio/ TV stations for a gradual phaseout of lids and substitution of public funding. Lo'cal governmental and citizen testimony can show the negative effect advertising has on local economies and the price of goods and services. • Remove advertising from public buses, airports, train stations,' etc., Any of these actions can start a • snowball effect similar to what has happened with regulation of cigarette smoking in public places or the effect that the ban on advertising lighting had on energy conservation efforts in Oregon in 1973.
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