Page 6 RAIN May 1979 Ed McGrath's short book notes insulation considerations peculiar to arctic climates, concentrating on framing, materials, "holes", mass and economics. Valuable to cold-climate builders and weatherizers. Geothermal Energy and Wind Potential BOLAR COLLECTOR INTEGRATED WITH in Alaska, by Tunis Wentink Jr. and BOUTH WALL Robert Forbes, April 1976, frorn: Geophysical Institute _. / ;' .., ::' :=, ;':, University of Alaska Fairbanks, AK 99701 '*~, Surveys of geothermal resources and :;:' ::;:-\ applications and wind resources in Alaska. " ~~;:~:.:~ flGU~ ,. An Arctic passive solar prototype: hot air collectors are integrated in the south wall, utiliztng recycled beverage containers, gravel thermal storage, and operating by natural convection. This augments conventional fuel systems. Not the most efficient adaptation, but cheap and easy to build. From Solar Tempered Arctic Housing. "Solar Tempered Arctic Housing," by Hai-Toh Lim, pp. 17-26, in The Northern Engineer, Vol. 9, No.3, from : Geophysical Institute . University of Alaska Fairbanks, AK 99701 " A solar-tempered home that incorporates an inexpensive and simple solar system to carry part of the heating load is feasible, even in the arctic. With suffil'iendy low initial and operating costs, it homeowner could afford not to collect solar energy during the dark winter or on cloudy days." Intriguing schematics. How to Build a Super-Insulated House, by Project 20-20,1978, $3.00 frorn: Cold Weather Editions P.O. Box 81961 College, AK 99708 AGRICULTURE A Design for Agriculture in the Tanana Loop: Appropriate Technology and Small-Scale Farming, Sarnuel Skaggs and Wendy Warnick, September 1978, 61 pp., frorn: Office of Northern Technology/ State of Alaska Pouch AD Juneau, AK 99811 A solid contribution to local self-reliance in Alaska sponsored by the Office of Northern Technology. Tanana Loop is an aka near Fairbanks where 20-to-320 acre plots were auctioned off in April 1978 by the state for small-scale farming and where 81 percent of the purchasers have indicated that they would like to be involved in cooperative marketing and/or dIrect farmer to consumer markets. Tanana Loop discusses agricultural rights, renewable resource potential. specific case examples and related cottage industries, public policy choices and marketing alternatives which would benefit appropriate technology and agriculture throughout the state. Good directory of resource people throughout the state. ..Alaska can play 'catch up' and make efforts to legitimize itself by creating the same type of fossil fuel dependent agriculture which has evolved in the lower 48 in the past 30 years, or Alaska could be a leader in developing new technologies and energy substitutions. and new systems for land tenure, marketing and transportation." Consultants Skaggs and Warnick can be reached at Box 73431, Fairbanks, AK 99707. ~~~. ~o~vv~ agencies a commitment to development that is appropriate in scale. Two groups with which aNT hopes to work are Alaska's Council on Science and Technology, a committee of legislators, researchers and citizens set up to determine research needs for the state, and the Renewable Resources Development Corporation, a financing mechanism funded by oil and mineral royalties ($10 million this fiscal year) to promote a stable economic base through the use of renewable resources. Both groups are well est.ablished, have legislative mandates and no expressed commitment to the northern tcchnology concept. This is partially reflected in RRDC's sometimes hi-tech- albeit renewably-based- development proposals, such as the $2 billion Susinta Dam. But some speculate that with the right emphasis. these three groups could form a progressive triad capable of coordinating and capitalizing a totally new approach to regional development-one sensitive not only to a renewable resource base, but to scale and local self-reliance as well. There is potential in the air. That potential is supported by a surge of acknowledgement that Alaska is in a unique situation. The finite nature of this nation's fossil fuel reserves (Alaska Pipeli nes aside!) and Alaska's end-of-the-line position in most vital distribution systems make it especially vulnerable to changing times. Rural Alaska is already reeling from such pressure to the extent that it has become dependent on the outside world. There is little sense in becoming more interlocked in such an economy by selling raw materials anti commodities and buying back goods and services that fit local needs poorly and cost so much. The
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