Page 4 RAIN December from Solar G.H. Homing_ln t•~ w.,.:'~ There's a tradition in agriculture of "over the garden fence" information sharing. It's a tradition based on regionalism, on neighborhoods (and neighborliness), and on doers telling other doers how it's done. Three books came into RAIN this month that bring that verbal tradition to print. - CC Solar Greenhouse Workshop Manual (draft copy only; to be published spring, 1980) available then from: Center for Neighborhood Technology 570 W. Randolph St. Chicago, IL 60606 Recognizing that there are several excellent greenhouse books on the market this handbook focusses itself on filling the gaps left by the others. The biggest need I've spotted is that for specific regional data. Drawing a line around "the midwest climatic region ... an area defined by eastern Ne~ braska and Kansas on the west; northern Illinois, Indiana and Ohio in the center; and portions of Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Rhode Island on the east; (those eastern states portions are included because of the overall meteorological similarity to the Midwest)," the folks at C.N.T. describe first the climate of that region, then the design criteria to suit that climate. energy cont. But the handbook doesn't stop with the design of greenhouse structures. There are good fat sections on both the horticultural and econqmic management of solar greenhouses with a dual focus on private as well as community scales. Perhaps the.most valuable section of the book is the last, ironically, the section on planning. "The design and horticulture sections precede the one on planning only because it is a good idea to know what something is and how it works before implementing it." I've seen a lot of solar greenhouses over the pas·t few years and I'm disheartened by the number of them that stand empty and unused. All too frequently the focus is on the construction of the structure and no care is taken to insure its ongoing usefulness. CNT's history of "co-developing solar greenhouses with neighborhood organizations in the Chic~o area" is explored through reprints from '(he Neighborhood Works (published bi-weekly by CNT, same address, $2 5 per year for indi:viduals and non-profits, $40 per year for institutions, governments, libraries, and $60 per year for for-profit organizations) as well as a critique of their own experience. "In theory the steering committee model may sound like a good way to oversee a community greenhouse project, but our experience with the Sun Project has shown that things don't always wor:k out as planned." Not only should every community greenhouse project read this handbook carefully, but some qualified people in each climatic region should develop their own anq you-know-who should come up with the scratch to foot the bill. We need it now! Citizens' Energy ])irectory, Jan SimpS0.".1 with Ken Bossong, 195 pp., $10.00 for non-profit, $15.00 for profit makers from: Citizens' Energy Project 1110 6th St;, N.W. Washington, DC 20001 Approximately one year after its first printing, an updated second edition of the Citizens' Energy Directory has been printed by the Citizens' Energy Project. This edition includes over 600 entires of indivic;luaJs and groups in the U.S. who are active in the field of appropriate/alternative technologies. The stateby-state format has remained the same (listing contact person, organization type and size, purpose and' goals, interests, activities, services and publications) So/plan 3, Solar Greenhouses for Canada, by Richard Kadulski, Eswyn Lyster and Terry Lyster; 60 pp., Oct. 1979, $4.50 (plus $.50 postage) from: The Drawing Room Graphic Services Ltd. Box 86627 :if,;'llf.••~Nor'th Vancouver, BC V7L4L2 .:-: .: ,t_ ' Solplan 3 is another regionally focussed simple guide to solar greenhousing, this one specific to the Northern tier butand here's the rub-the cover is a sad lesson in exploitation, mis-advertising, but 100 or so additions have been included. Within the growing field of "a.t." this updated Citizens' Energy Directory is a wise purchase for all who wish to grow with the tide. - DW Periodicals ofPublic Interest Organizations: A Citizen's Guide, compiled and published by the Commission for the Advancement of Public Interest Organizations, 47 pp., $4.00 for public interest groups, $5.00 for individuals from: Commission for the Advancement of Public Interest Organizations 1875 Connecticut Ave., N.W., No. 1013 Washington, DC 20009
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