Page 2 RAIN December 1978 RAIN Just a simple bridge.. . ... but nO( the kind of bridges we build. These bridges in China were buih (0 las'( a thousand years-and they have. Immense s(One slabs spanning more than 70 feet, using almost 100 percenr of the ultimate strength of the material. Expensive (0 build-bur buih just once a millenium. Incredibly cheaper and wiser in the long run than bridges like ours that need repainring, repaving, repair and replacemenr several times a century. A wisdom that has experienced the ultimare cost of things and chosen well. Every society gains a different kind of wisdom when it has been around a while. The wisdom to survive, to sustain itself simply, to reach towards meaningful and rewarding life for itself and its people. We're starting to find that wisdom. RAIN tries to help and share that search. POLITICS The San Juan Project, A Power Structure Overview, Steve Goldin and John Liebendorfer, Research Directors, 1978, from: Southwest Research and Information Center P.O. Box 4524 Albuquerque, NM 87106 San Juan County, New Mexico, part of the Four Corners area of the Southwest, is a microcosm of the many economies and interests that have come into conflict around large-scale, energy development projects: with 90 percent of its land in the public domain and a population that is 50 percent Native American, it hosts oil and gas wells, refineries, strip mines and generating stations (including the mammoth Four Corners edifice), some of the world's largest energy corporations, and a boom town expected to double in size within the decade. For the purpose of future public interest organizing, litigative and investigative efforts, the San Juan Project set ou t to document who controls the county, entirely through the use of public records and interviews. Their ll-month research effort gathered an enormous amount of data which was then crossreferenced by compu ter for quick retrieval. This overview summarizes how the project was organized, the kinds of information compiled, and the computer program utilized. It is published as a research model for other groups investigating local power structures, especially in areas impacted by largescale energy development. -SA RAIN's office is at 2270 N.W. Irving, Portland, OR 97210. Ph: (503) 227-5110. RAIN Phil Conti Linda Sawaya Lee Johnson Nandie Szabo STAFF: Steven Ames Lane deMoll Tom Bender .11 Copyright © 1978 RAIN Umbrella Inc. Reprint by permission only 1'1. ' . . ~pesettmg: Iris~ ~~ter Princlng: Times Litho .
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