Page8 RAIN THE NEWEST IN ~[L(OO[}={](Q)[L [F(UJ[~IL . ~- PuBLtCATIONS ~ _ by Scott Sklar Scott Sklar is· Washington director of the National Center for Appropriate Technology. Some of Scott's reviews have also appeared in Outlook, $6.00/yr. (12 issues), from: Qutlook Governor's State University Park Forest South, IL 60466 We are enteri~g the year with a number of new books introduced on alcohol fuels. This is not surprising due to the fact that int'erest a{Ilong the general public in producing th~ir own fuel is skyrocketing out of all proportion. I have picked the newest publications printed, keeping in mind which books are most accurate, easily found and of low cost. . , I have omitt.ed two publications which are not new but deserve mention. The first, written by John Ware Lincoln and published by Garden Way Publishers of Char.,. lotte, VT 05445, is entitled "Methanol and Other Ways Around the Gas Pump." Published in 1976 before the "gasohol • craze," Lincoln describes automobile conversion using methanol.. Many of the prin- • #1 ' r/{! . ciples in his book apply to ethanol fuel as well. The other'publication is distributed free by Robert S. Chambers of .the ACR Corporation, 808 S._Lincoln Avenue #14, Urbana, Illinois 61801. "The Small FuelAlcohol Distillery: General Description and Economic Feasibility Workbook" is an excellent resource for the amateur and i:irofessional alike. This 21-page workbook sys;- tematically walks you through the economics of the technology and marketing and is still the best resource for such a low price. I highly recommend it to you. Makin' It on the Farm, by Micki Nellis, 1979, 88 pp., $2.95 from: American Agriculture Movement P.O. Boxl00 Iredell, TX 7664? A really fine, concise, usable energy primer on alcohol production covering enzyme use, solar stills, methanol'and engine conversions. What makes this book different from all others is its low cost, documenting production success stories (Albert Turner, Gene Shrader, Archie Zeitheimer and Lance Crombie., etc.) and thorough coverage of the field. This book is a must for anyone who intends to produce ethanol, methanol or convert their car. -The book includes an excellent list of materials, resource_people and useful data. Lastly, it answers any 'questions you might want to know about the actual hands-on production. I recommend it. , With t~e addition of the penalty, Corbett fell short of ahy aspirations it held (or perhaps more accurately, its outside partner held) A few suggestions follow: l. Consider carefully how tbe Compact group is formed. In Corbett no concerted effort was made to include the indifferent with the initiators in writing the Compact, Had it been, its range of stakeholders might h~ve beerr much broader. to surmount the mainstream of American life. Together, we pressed the logic of a total voluntary commitment'within a fixed population and came up short. Corbett is indeed part of mass society. And they have learned its le.ssons well. . We can probably justify this impact on the basis bf its learning value, not only for Corbett residents, but for others who might. bene_fit from. this experience. And that is the point of the next section of this article. • Lessons Learned: Suggestions for Consideration There is no question that the Compact has prov~d a useful tool for community development. It has defined an early process of resident involvement in decision making, set forth principles, contractual agreements and role definitions, and added an emotional and,symbolic dimension. " While the Compact in Corbett has notably enhanced parti'cipati:on and leadership by a thin majority of residents, there are others that it has not really touched or involved. More must be done to include those who are less enfranchised, and in a·s-ocial sense more marginal, in shaping a document that will reflect their needs ~nd aspirations. 2. Consider a better strategy for gaining public reaction and feedback in Compact formation. Once the Compact group had shaped the document, few changes were suggested by residents. In largemeasure, we.think that the reason was inhibition-not wanting to ask "dumb" questions or surface feelings, and no amount of rhetoric about "no such thing as a dumb question" was adequate to overcome this inhibition. Different formats for feedback should have been attempted until more iµteraction was achieved, 3. Consider carefully the balance point between a voluntary document and one which contains penalties as well as incentive. Per~ haps an emphasis should have been placed on making voluntarism more operational by defining incentive?· 4. Consider all·possible ways to reality-test a Compact. We did not adequately consider the difference in disposition between those on the Compact group and the range'of people in the broader cdrnmunity, the high opportunity cost for the required participation, or adequate baseline data on the amount of work which would actually be required for such projects as water system renovation.
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