RAIN Page 21 from Heating with Coal energy producers already have electricity and an ever-rising electric bill. A growing number of requests for information come from people who have moved from the city onto a rural site without commercial lines. After the back-to-the-land honeymoon is over and a little electricity is wanted, these urbanites find that the power company wants thousand of dollars to bring in a power line and the monthly bill. So they turn to some alternate form of energy and home production. Unfortunately, very few people understand the basics and why their bills are so high. To get the most from electrical power, whether you produce it yourself or buy it monthly from the utility company, is the first step towards lower bills and greater degree of energy independence. Michael Hack- leman's newest (best to date) book will provide the necessary information to get the most power for the least dollars. This book is not just for the rural solar or windpower producer. It also contains valuable information for the person who is grid-connected and dependent on the power company. By following Mr. Hackleman's tips and suggestions, do-it-yourselfers can increase the range of uses of their home-produced power. For the rest who still buy their electricity monthly, this book can help to cut that bill, sometimes by half or more, and show the potential of home electrical production. The book is realistic, pulls no punches, makes no false promises and lays out the facts in such a way that the reader is encouraged to at least consider the first step toward energy independence; conservation. Once a person has followed the recommendations in this book, he or she is well on the way to enjoying the electricty without being punished by high costs. I highly recommend this book for use by both those people already producing their own power and those seriously considering reducing their power consumption. Now there is finally a book I can recommend to the person who would like to know more about using and producing electricity. Thank you, Michael Hackleman, for sharing your knowledge and experience. —Joel Davidson Joel is an energy consultant who lives in Pettigrew, Arkansas. Installation Guidelines for Solar DHW Systems in One- and Two-Family Dwellings, Second Edition, by Franklin Research Center, Philadelphia, PA, for U.S. Dept, of Housing and Urban Development in cooperation with the U.S. Dept. of Energy, May 1980,107 pp., $4.25 from: Superintendent of Documents U.S. Government Printing Office Washington, DC 20402 Once you've decided on a domestic hot water draining system, picked a system type (draindown, drainback, antifreeze, etc.), and sized the components, sit down and read this book before picking up a hammer and wrench. Tve never seen anything as good as this on structural support for both rooftop and ground level collectors. Nice touches include advice on protecting your installed collectors from vandalism and checking with your neighbors about glare if you plan to ground mount. You'll also learn about materials comparability of piping, seals, collectors with different heat transfer fluids; where to locate sensors, gauges, pumps and valves to optimize operation and eliminate freeze-up problems; insulation; and safety procedures. At the end of this book is a useful start-up checklist. —Gail Katz Heating with Coal, by John W. Bartok, Jr., 1980,188 pp., $7.95 postpaid from: Garden Way Publishing Charlotte, VT 05445 As gas and oil supplies dwindle and prices increase, the powers that be have been looking to coal as an alternative. This book jumps on that particular bandwagon and tells you how to heat your home with coal. It includes a description of types of coal, stoves and grates, together with information on safety and methods for keeping a coal fire burning overnight. What the author briefly glosses over or neglects entirely are the social and environmental implications of burning coal. Coal is not a renewable resource. Some types of coal contain substantial amounts of sulfur and produce pollutants which result in acid rain. Strip mining disrupts delicate ecosystems, and in the East it has been wreaking havoc with Native American cultural integrity (see RAIN, VI:5,6). Maybe you should try storm windows and insulation instead of this "alternative" fuel. —-Gail Katz FUTURES Alternative Futures: The Journal of Utopian Studies, quarterly, $10/yr. from: Alternative Futures Human Dimensions Center Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Troy, NY 12181 I have always liked utopias. 1 think they offer an invaluable opportunity for studying alternative luho/e systems in a way that allows us to better understand what is wrong with our current one. So naturally I was delighted to find out about Alternative Futures, a scholarly journal that takes utopian thought seriously and attempts to learn from it. It was the article titles that got me interested— e.g., "Women in Utopia," "Utopian Socialism in America," "Efficiency and After," "The Economics of Utopia”—but it is the consistently excellent writing that prompts me to recommend it to others. Articles, for the most part, are written by academic types, so they tend to be lengthy and heavily referenced. But this is well balanced by clear, precise writing and authoritative knowledge. There's more than enough enlightening information here to justify the price. One article I found especially worthwhile was entitled "The Anti-Politics of Utopia" that appeared in the Winter 1978-79 issue. The author, Gordon Beauchamp, argued persuasively that utopian thought as a whole leaves no role for politics in its social vision. Utopias are usually projected to emerge as the result of one great transformation— what might be called the big bang theory of social change. After that, when everything is ideal, there is no longer a need for political change and thus no need for politics. Beauchamp contrasts this attitude with the more evolutionary approach posited in the democratic, pluralist ideal which prevails in most western democracies. The skill with which he draws out the best aspects of both visions and alerts us to the problems of each is dazzling in its insight and clarity. His conclusion would stand well as the credo of this powerful little journal: "The hope embodied in the image of utopia sustains man in his darkest historical hour and motivates him to seek the transformation of his world in a way that the sobriety of limited, piecemeal reforms never can." ^Scitt Androes ' . >
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