Page 12 RAIN May 1981 The Village As Solar Ecology: Proceedings of The New Alchemy /Threshold Generic Design Conference, April 16-21, 1979, 1980, 134 pp., $22.50 from: The New Alchemy Institute 237 Hatchville Road East Falmouth, MA 02536 Ecology is providing an intellectual framework that can link the polymer physics of a materials scientist to the electronic information of the computer specialist, to structural forms of the architect, to experts in diverse energy systems, food culture, and waste recycling and ultimately to the sociologist, anthropologist and artist who speak for the human condition. -John Todd, ecologist & designer All these disciplines are represented in the proceedings of The Village As Solar Ecology, inspired by the late Margaret Mead. Sixteen New Alchemists and twenty-one outside participants combined to form an incredible array of talent and expertise. Together they discussed village energy, architectural·concepts and ecological cycles along with the historical roots of solar village ecology and the future of sustainable cultures. Paul Sun's essay on Feng-Shui, the ancient Chinese theory of village siting, and Ron Zweig's article on village-scale aquaculture are particularly interesting. The final section of the book consists of initial design plans for solar villages, one each in New York, Maine, Colorado and California. Integration of systems has always been the strength of New Alchemy's work. As suggested by the quotes and drawings reprinted here, this is an inspiring volume of technical expertise and social vision. -MR The Village as Solar Ecolog In the long run, energy probably isn't a terribly interesting problem, because we already know conceptually how to solve it, and are starting to do so in practice. If we get out in one piece, then we can get on with some of the really interesting problems: like water, soil fertility, food/population, climatic change, ecological resilience, social justice, and peace. In energy, technic is in a sense trivial: full of delights and traps for the techno-twit, but no longer full of deep, scary conceptual gulfs. But using energy to worthy ends, for right livelihood, is profoundly difficult, and is not a technical issue at all. -Amory Lovins, physicist Village Food Production. Ecological Integration Alternate streets or neighborhood cores are redesigned to house small l1sh farms. raised bed vegetable and berry production and lru11 and nut lrees Some of the space may be for community food gardening. wh1fe lrees. aquat,c fac1ht1es and ••• growing beds could be leased lo urban farmers who lend and locally market 1r,e crops The model of the sustainable city need not be built all of a piece. It need not involve a radically different process from the way communities get planned and built today. The critical aspect is the disposition of land, building guidelines and the design of life support systems. Ecological communities are possible right now, and the construction of some modest first examples might help to restore some of our lost hope. Visionary eco-designers·need to join forces with number-crunching analysts and community leaders to create prototypes. Our more enlightened entrepreneurs, fat cats and politicians need to commit themselves to the idea. -Sim Van der Ryn, architect & ecodeveloper In the union re-vision the r, structures itse1 structure itself tant with this J rise of the ecol appearance of • miniaturizatio -William J It's not intellectually tr what holds society togeth able and you can't manuf; -L. Hunter Lovins, sc ••Village agriculture could take many forms and develo broad-based market economy. Its first priority is two-fo its people and to restock the biological community rendt food. -Colleen Armstrong, biological control specialist
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