1 For more info, and to find out what exists in your area with the elderly and energy, contact : Citizen Labor Energy Coalition International Union of Machinists 1300 Connecticut Ave. N.W. Washington, DC 20036 202 /857-5200 Massachusetts Fair Share 304 Boylston Street Boston, MA02116 617/ 266-7505 New York Statewide Senior Action Council, Inc. 349 Broadway, Rm . 217 New York, NY 10013 212 /925-0762 itizen's Action League 814 Mission Street San Francisco, CA 94103 415/543-4101 Last October The Energy Consumer carried excerpts from the testimony of Ruth Toothaker, age 65, from Maine, where she lives alone. Ruth testified before the Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee, adding a special perspective on the conditions Debra speaks of above. " . . . Old people in this country are proud. They don't like to tell their personal business-most of us have gotten by all these years by going without to make ends meet and don't want to change now . .. . The thought of asking to get help . . . makes my stomach feel sick. I'm just not used to asking for a handout and I don't want to start now, although with the price of oil it looks like this winter I might have to eat my pride." The Office of Consumer Affairs at DOE is still our best advocate on the inside. Tina Hobson, its director, has been in many of our communities personally listening to complaints and responding to them with as much positive action as their budget allows. The Energy Consumer is the conduit for feedback and the best source of information regarding federal energy programs available, and it's FREE! Write to be put on their mailing list. -CC The Energy Consumer, free from: Department of Energy Office of Consumer Affairs Washington, DC 20585 ( SOLAR ) Solar Education Directories (by states), 1979, free from: National Solar Heating &: Cooling Information Hotline 1-800 1523-2929 800/462-4983 in PA 800/523-4700 in Hawaii &: Alaska SERI writes us that the National Solar Education Dirl?Ctory is going into its second printing with no copies left of its fi rst. They did, however, send us the Solar Edllcation Directories for Idaho-Montans-Wyoming and Oregon-Washington. The directories include information on colleges, universities, junior colleges and vocationaltechnical colleges in each region wh ich offer courses andior programs relating to energy. They seem to be fairly inclusive and are a good place to start looking for solar training from that sector.-CC ( WIND) Wind Power: Recent Developments, edited by D.J. De Renzo, 1979, $36.00 from: Noyes Data Corporation Mill Road at Grand Avenue Park Ridge, NJ 07656 The Noyes Data Energy Technology Review Series taken as a whole have a few drawbacks, not the least of which are theIr prices. Beyond the price constraint, there are two other tendencies thl'y have that you should be aware of before running OUt and buying them. These books make certain assumptions about the technical background of their readers. That is to say, they're not for beginners. By the same token, even engineers and others with extensive background might prefer books which start more generally and work their way to more specific information. These books are, for the most part, nonjudgemental reviews of the latest material passing through the U.S. patent offices. Keep that in mind-they' re good references for that kind of information. The Wind Power book covers much of the technical research going on at Lockheed and Boeing having to do with structural stress factors, and work being done for these two corporations at MIT and Georgia Tech. It's from that perspective that the economics of wind are explored, but there's also a chapter on rural self-sufficiency and the economics of that scale. Probably the best info in the book covers the wind characteristics for different regions and the two chapters on rotor design and blade specs for into the wind and vertical blade systems. -Gail Katz Gail Katz has a background in carpentry and is an engineer with n double degree in electrical arId mrchnnrcal eng i llee rr n~ . F{'bruary-March 1980 ~AIN Page 5 r v. ... ~ <: -'" '"' E .g ( COIVVV1U\JrfY ) Communities Here are two gUIdes for residents beginning to equip their arsenal against threatening neighborhood developments. Deanna Nord Rebel Residents: How They Fight Developers, by Carolyn R. Logan, 76 pp., $4.95 plus $.59 postage from: Western Search Inc. P.O. Box 334 Seahurst, WA 98062 This book vividly illustrates tht' important fact that anger and self-righteousness are no match for the money and expertise of an unwanted developer. Outlinmg political subtleties and describing various strategies, this guide portrays thl' effectiveness of thoroughly examining an issue. You should know who you're fighting as well as who and what can help you. WhJ1l' focus109 on the firslhand t'xperil'nce of Kings County, Washington, organization, this knowledgl' can certainly be applied to the problem in any area . -ON Insurance Redlining: A Guide for Action, 14 pp., free from: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Washington, DC 20410 Imagine a red line drawn around your neighborhood, banks and insurance companies who never cross that line. That's redlining. Insurance rl'Cl.lining is a crucial issue for our cities. This is particularly true for "older neighborhoods which contain a diverSIty of people and property" and arl'as that are integrated and transitional. Thl'sl' neighborhoods are labl'k'd " high risk ." However, many consumers an.' not versed in the types of insurance coverage available, the relative costs, insurance terms, and rate systl'ms- all of which this short handbook explains. The book also outlines the basic strategies of investigation and confrontation of insurance rl'dlining and pomts out that "there have been indications that lenders' decisions to redline a neighborhood are sometimes based on signals they receive from the insuranCl' industry." A useful handbook for any group fighting this industry bias against our urban neighborhoods. - ON
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