A~g./Sept. 1980 RAIN Page ~ □ ~DDDDODDDDDDDOODDDOOOOOODDDOODDD□q□□□□□□□□□o□□ooooooooo□oooooooo□o□o□ooooooooo $10.95 from TMEN [The Mother Earth News] and $12.00 from Rutan. I hope ,,, you'll have more (good) sources of material next issue. Rich Miller Everett, WA Dear RAIN, I had to respond to Stan Knapp's defeat-. ism with regard to controversy in RAIN, , and to the inevitability of war (RAIN Letters, July '80).' It would be foolish to think that we can isolate ourselves in'our organic ghettoes and·escape the effects of the manipulations of corporation_s and governments. As long as groups like RAIN don't think that they should (or even can) remain apolitical in a society in which every decision has political implications, we will have a chance to avoid the military madness that Knapp accepts as inevitable. Thanx, Jim Elleson Madison, WI Dear RAIN folks, Enclosed is my renewal check. I want to thank you for the articles by Murray Bookchin (April), Donna'Warnock (April),,and Gerri Traina (December). They have helped me sort out a big patch of thought I had forgotten was there. I also appreciate the access to social change resources, especially being turned on to the Journal of Community Communications. The dialogue on population has been refreshing: both in itself and for being accorded generous space by your editors. Please continue your ecological analyses and commitment to sociable (appropriate) technology. . The m,a.ilings I've gotten via your list exchanges have been interesting, not "so muc;h junk mail," but alas for their senders haven't collected much money.• You have my best wishes for happy labors and play. Peace, Gordon Pederson Minneapolis, MN I hope you qt~ help me with something. Where is Lloyd Kahn these days? Many of us really liked his article, ''A Hard Look at How-To," which ran last December. I'd like to get in touch with him. We are thinking of running a similar type of article, only with the focus on energy gizmos that are now being oversold by the AT crowd to developing countries (e.g., not mentioning how expensive windmills are, ignoring the land ownership problems of small-scale hydro, etc.). I want to get Lloyd's reaction to tlµs. Who else do you suggest as good people to contact for an article like this? Who might be a good lead author? Suggestions are most appreciated! Once again, keep up the good work. I hope we will stay in contact in the future! Yours, _David Jarmul . Mankging Editor, VITA News 3706 Rhode Island Ave. , Mt. Rainier, MD 20822 David-Thanks for your kind words. We're • sending you Lloyd's address plus names of other people to contact. Perhaps some of our readers will send you suggestions also. Dear RAIN, When I first began working with solar heating, I fell in love with natural convection. Warm air rises, cold air sinks. Where such self-operating systems work it seems a shame to install fans. It took a long time to understand how to build efficient solar air ;ollectors that would store the sun's heat in rocks during the day and then shut the_mselves off at night. . The first investigations of these syst~ms ,. were conducted by what today would be judged improbable investigators at improbable sites. Berry Hickman, Ed Heinz, John Curl and I finally got a good system work- ' ing in September, 1968. I remember the date because it was during the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. This first successful installation was made at Drop City, Colorado. Drop City became known as a hippie commun~-it wasn't long before the founders abandoned the place to drifters, dope addicts and alcoholics. The solar heated dome burned to the ground a few years later. Who cares? What differDear Friends: 1 ence does·this make? understand. What the hell is wrong with those idiots? I would like to come at least part way to a conclusion concerning the "Movement" and solar energy. The Solar Lobby and the ''Movement'' frighten me. What are they after? Couldn't all this energy and excitement be used to build houses and other equipment that is more to'this group's liking? I am also jealous, how can Dennis Hayes and Tom Hayden .be the sol~r big shots while people like me and my fellow solar workers are uninteresting to the newspapers, television and magazines? Why don't they ask Harry Thomason his opinion? Why not ask Harold Hay? In 1969, six months after we had finished the solar heating system at Drop City, Berry Hickman, Ed Hein~ and I started Zomeworks.... I'm glad we went into business. I am part of a movem'entthe production of useful goods., the economy, the human race, life. I recommend business for other great idealists, dreamers, people who have end- .less ideas and good advice for others. The •whole adventure can even have some of the delights and beauties of the natural convection system. If you have something that is useful to others they will want to trade with you and, like the warm air, your business will rise. "Yes-it sounds like a lot of hot air," you may say, because you know that the businessmen are cheaters, greedy for profits. Well, plenty of businessmen . ' are narrowm.inded and greedy for profits• and some are cheaters, too. They are people. But if you want a new world-with many of today's c·onveniences-that runs on solar energy, there is a lot of work to do and it may be a good idea to try and do some of this work one's self-directly- - instead of insisting that others do it tor, you. It is possible that forming lobbying groups, striking poses, and demonstrating against "bad things" will bring this world into being, but I wouldn't give these tactics very good odds.. Steve Baer Albuquerque, NM Congratulations on your most recent 1 • I am trying to understand what is goin'g Hi, issues of the magazine. RAIN is consis- on. What does it mean that recently 65,000 Loved the article (July) about the Abotently one of the most thought-provoking people assembled in Washington, D.C., to rigine Peace Corps by Ianto Evans, espemagazines to pass through our office, and it protest against nuclear energy and the cially the statement "we have answers to is well read by our staff. As a fellow editor, speakers I saw on television spoke of how their problems (many of which were caused I know the frustration of working hard on a delighted they w,ere to have the "Move- by us in the first place)." However the final publication and then not knowing whether ment" underway again. What is this · statement~"perhaps we can show them people o_ut there really like it. Rest assured: "Movement"? I know'that in the late '60s (the poor) some of us are less ugly than many of us like what you are doing. (Now: and early '70s I felt that many of my others"-disqualified the article for me. before your heads get too swelled, please do friends and I were involved in a very im- 1 Again we have a split, a division, a power not run any more three-page interviews · portant project. It was quite simple-we struggle as one tries to play God and decide with former VITA [Volunteers in Technical were going to remake the world.·Our mis- .who i's ugly and who is beautiful? , Assistance] staffers and then forget to iden- sion was so important that I for one had Paula Finek tify them!) nothing but disdain forthose who didn't Pittsburgh, PA □□□□□□□□□□o□□□□□oo□□DD□D□DDDDDDD□□□□□oo□□□o□□ DDDDOODDODDDDDDDDD□□ D□□□□□□□□
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