Page 2 RAIN May 1980 tettefS Dear Friends, Thanks for the article on owner-builders and code reform (Jan. '80). It's nice to keep up on events in other parts of the country. Vermont still has relatively few building regulations in rural areas, but in my more pessimistic moments I suppose the tide is inexorable. The sometimes hostile attitude of local officials seems to have caused the most problems for people we have worked with, often made worse by owner-builder defensiveness. Efforts at code reform are a step in the right direction, since the process involves creative dialogue to be successful. Lenders are another story. RAIN readers might be interested in two other references on the subject. The Owner-Builder and the Code by Ken Kern, et al, is a good overview of the problems owner-builders can face, and discusses different ways to cope with technical provisions of codes, enforcement, and officials. It includes an encouraging history of the United Stand struggle to reform the California code. Building Regulations: A SelfHelp Guide for the Owner-Builder by Edmund Vitale is new from Scribner's. I haven't seen it yet, but it got a good review by J. Baldwin in the Fall '79 CoEvolution Quarterly, and sounds potentially useful. Vitale probably provides technical information and advice, while Kern gives moral support. Both are necessary. Thanks again for a good article. Best wishes, Paul Hanke P.S. to Tom Bender: The unit price of a bar of soap is based only on the weight of the soap, the weight of air at sea level doesn't add anything. Eight ounces of cream still weighs eight ounces after it has been whipped. Dear RAIN, This is just a short note in praise of those who haven't. Those who haven't plugged back into grants-person-shit. Whether it be NCAT, DOE, TVAoranyotherco-opting, big spending government program that wastes so much good human energy that can never be reclaimed. Praise to those who haven't pulled off some slick written funding proposal which reminds you at the bottom that the IRS knows how much you got and who and where you are. Praise to those who haven't hustled and pushed and pulled to get the very last word on "passive reverse juice blocking thermic diodes" and these people themselves becoming energy inefficient. Praise to those who haven't zoomed off to the latest energy conference to say "well, no, I haven't quite got my own solar water heater hooked up yet-but you know I'm just too busy!" And finally, praise to those who don't get around to reading this because they' re out pounding nails and skinning knuckles putting up insulation that couldn't wait any longer. Tom Knight Tallulah Falls, GA RAIN To the Editor, There's hope that Appropriate Technology will really appeal to future genera- \ tions: My 10-year-old nephew was looking at my typewriter and asked how you turn it on. I said you don't need to because it's not electric. He pressed a key, and when it typed the letter, he said, "Wow, that's neat!" Dorothy Mack Indianapolis, IN P.S. Your magazine is terrific! Dear Carlotta, Just a brief note to thank you for the mention of the National Family Farm Coalition and the National Family Farm Education Project in the Feb ./Mar. issue of RAIN. However, I have to ask you to make a correction that may seem nit-picky to you but which looms large to the Internal Revenue Service. The National Family Farm Coalition is a lobbying group set up to work in the Family Farm Development Act. The National Family Farm Education Project is a research I education /networking organization that does not lobby. The Education Project is trying to do public education about why it is important to all Americans that family farms are protected and encouraged by public policy, but it is not advocating any specific legislative solutions. Thanks again for all your help. I hope you are liking Portland and the new job.. Best, Cathy Lerza National Family Farm Education Project Washington, DC Sorry, Cathy, I'd never want to sic the IRS on anyone, and yes, I like Portland and the new job, a lot. -Carlotta Journal of Appropriate Technology RAIN is a national information access journal making connections for people seeking more simple and satisfying lifestyles, working to make their communities and regions economically self-reliant, building a society that is durable, just and ecologically sound. \IN STAFF: Carlotta Collette, Mark Roseland, Pauline Deppen, Jill Stapleton, Dawn Brenholtz, John Ferrell, Karen Struening 1 Becky Banyas-Koach RAIN, Journal of Appropriate Technology, is published 10 times yearly by the Rain Umbrella, Inc.; a non-profit corporation located at 2270 N.W. Irving, Portland, Oregon 97210, telephone 503/227-5110. Copyright © 1980 Rain Umbrella, Inc. No part may be reprinted without written permission. Typesetting: Irish Setter Printing: Times Litho
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