uc37 december 1979-january 1980

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Undercurrents 37 December 1979 - January 1980 Contents

1 Eddies : News from everywhere 7 What’s When and What’s What 9 Third World Energy - Andrew MacKillop: AT’s no gas for the Third World 12 Vienna Blues - Het Fort Van Sjakoo Bookshop: More than double-Dutch at UNCSTAD 13 Anvil Chorus - Rick Hoversall: Forging ahead in Papua New-Guinea 14 UN-Revolutionary - Richard Baker: More than sweet FAO 16 Street-Fightin’ Man - Simon Watt: A programme for creative destruc-tion 18 Home-Grown Gas - Bill Evans and Dick Stowe: A digest of excre-mental politics 21 Weeder’s Digest - Peter King: What to do with the condensed books 22 Eco-Logical- Chris Hall: Ecology and the environmental fix 24 A Topoly - The Undercurrents Game: How to play the system and lose 26 A Woman’s Right ... - Tarn Dougan: No return to the back streets 27 ... On Baby - Debby Hyams: The Kids are not alright 28 Fit For the Family - John Dennis: Adults make kids ill 30 Environmental Education - So What? - Steve Stirling 32 Silkwood And After - Jim Garrison & Claire Ryle 34 Behave Yourself - Kieran O’Connor: Think yourself out of a corner 37 Reviews 45 Letters 47 Small Ads48 Masthead________________________________________________________________________

Published every two months by Undercurrents Ltd., 27 Clerkenwell Close. London EC1R OAT. Full details of editorial meetings. distribution etc. are on page 48. ISSN 0306 2392.____________________________________________________________________________

New secrets law : state could burn books BENEATH THE CITY STREETS, Peter Laurie's lengthy examination of secret precautions for home defence and the protection of state institutions, has just been

ipublished in a third edition. Also published recently is the government's new 'rotection of Official Information Bill' which, if it becomes law, threatens to nprison readers of the book and researchers who wish to continue the same line

,f research. I t would also resurrect the 'oppr'essive' legal provisions which rapidly collapsed when journalist Duncan Campbell was prosecuted for 'collecting information' in last year's notorious ABC case. He reports:

HE somewhat archeadogical research and investigation recounted in Beneath the City Streets began in 1963, within the libertarian activists of the 'ommittee of 100.

In 1963, one group ..scovered and carefully searched the underground bunker at Warren Row, near Reading, and uncovered much of the story of the secret plans for underground shelters for senior officials that have subsequently become notorious as the Regional Seats of Government.

The revelations o f the Spies for Peace outraged many in power, and astonished many more outside the government. They also inspired others t o continue the same sort of research over the years that followed. The first Beneath the City Streets, in 1970, contained a wide range of rumours and analyses; the hidden significance of the Post Office towers that scatter the cities and countryside, A e continuing development of the secret defence bunkers, the wholly inadequate plans for actually protecting the civil population, and so on.

Republication o f this the book, which was hampered not least by the proceedings in the ABC case, marks how far this sort o f research has come. Public awareness of the significance o f odd bits o f hardware strewn around is higher, and more critical. Some serious conclusions have emerged from the research. The Post Office network of microwave radio towers, with their slightly surreal conglomerations of dishes and horns pointing across the landscape, do serve secret purposes.

Down the east coast, whole segments of this supposedly civil network serve only military radar stations and control centres. In places as far apart as London, Yorkshire and south Devon, the network kinks weirdly in order to accommodate secret requirements t o stand close to bunkers or

Standard Underground Shelter Entrance, Mkl! The '1-Shaped Houses' which were built all over Britain in the 50s give access t o underground shelters via lifts i n the rear extension. Anstruther, Fife, one of the Scottish government hideaways;

listening posts. Large chunks of its phenomenal communications carryingcapacity disappear o f f to odd military corners and other centres, such as the Government Communications Headquarters in Cheltenham, or the RAF's huge underground communications centre at Rudloe Manor, north of Bath.

Mystery news = nexus Several links throuah the Post Office tower system have no apparent purpose in any o f its applications. There are four such networks, all o f which appear t o converge at a tower near Harrogate in Yorkshire. The four links come from each point o f the compass; from Craigowl near Dundee in the north, From Fairseat near Maidstone in the south, neatly bypassing London, Birmingham and Manchester en route.

Two other links reach the Harrogate tower, called Hunter's Stones, from Quernmore near Lancaster, and the centre o f York. These four links do not carry telephone or telex calls, telegrams or television. They do not l ink radar stations, or wen fly o f f to important military bases. But the centre of this mvsterv system. . . . Hunter's Stones, is just a mile or

two south of a huge, and decidedly secret USArmy Security Agency base, Menwith Hill, Bristling with satellite communications antennae, Menwith Hill remains somewhat enigmatic.

Vast phone tap When researching an article on the communications monitoring activities-The Eavesdroppers-the Menwith Hill spokesman told me that "your government won't allow us to say what goes on here". US

sources suggest that this base~one of three major American monitorin centres in B r i ta in~may monitor vast amounts of international telephone and other traffic, going out on telephone cables to Europe and Canada. I f that is so, then these mystery parts of the Post Office microwave network are the most gigantic telephone taps ever invented.

One famous part of Post Office tower mythology-the idea that secret sites lay underneath the paths of the radio beams between the towers-turned out to be untrue, and has now been dropped in favour o f more sophisticated starting points than the notion of twentieth century electronic ley lines.

Rather sadly, not much more is said about the networks of secret bunkers-now called sub-regional headquarters, or SRHQS-than was originally discovered fifteen years ago. Since then, the secret planners have been busily at work building whole new chains of them, burrowing existing ones deeper and concealing monumental and deep basements below new government office blocks.

standard fake houses One rattier delightful feature has emerged, however; the typically British bureaucratic way in which the secret underground constructions o f the 1950s were all marked by the construction.of a standard house to provide a concealed underground entrance; These houses are distinguished by their T-shaped floor plan, front verandah. circular window in the (cont. 0 2 co l 1 )

Buchan, near Peterhead, a major RAF radar station.

' . of intonnÃ§ti from people within

I

inciercurrents a / GUUIC

29 October: Report from Torness by Severnside Anti-nuclear Alliance.

The sun rose on a 24foot high scaffold tower chained with a massive chain and two large padlocks to the main gates at the site of the Torness nuclear power station in East Lothian. The tower was clad with banners and protestors, mainly from the evernside area, all set to remain up there as long as possible, (ith the help of their support people.

7am site workers the area were present throughout egnn t o arrive, and w r e handed mmt of ,,,e after,,oon, taflets about the action. There was rapid build-up o f workers and ieir vehicles all along the A.l as ley could not drive onto the site.

The atmosphere, after the i t i a l shock of the groups surprise rrival. remained friendly, but as i e numbers o f workers grew and

Eviction A t sunset the police arrived in force and swiftly surrounded the base of the scaffold tower and impounded two of the groups' support vehicles.

-- ley got cold waiting they began t o et restless. Eventually a side gate 3 the site was opened and so the nrkers had access to the site;long CÃ‘itersp shop - - lads d id not gain access unti l the

They had obviously spent the day planning how to get the protestors down (confirmed by the diagram of the scaffold tower on a blackboard in Dunbar police station!) Workers from the site removed the chains on the main gates with oxyacetylene burners and bolt cutters.

Immediately after this a large earth-moving machine drove up inside the site with a platform built so that police could gain access to the middle of the tower above the top of the gate. Some protestors were escorted o f f the tower,others had chained themselves t o the scaffolding and so had to be cut away -going limp they were lowered individually and carried into the waiting police minibus and van. The tower was rapidly dismantled by site workers.

Arrests Two final gestures-one person chained himself to the door handle of the police van and two people sat down in front of it. There were 9 arrests, all being charged with breach o f the peace.

Thegroup leaflettad Dunbar the following morning with a leaflet explaining their action. There was good coverage o f the action by the Scottish Press and Radio Forth.

In summary-our plans worked well, we made mistakes, learned a great deal about ourselves and our capabilities, shared an important experience, but most o f all we worked well together as a group. Non-violent direct action by small groups could be effective in bringing work to stop, given sufficient preparation and number!

fternoon through a different gate. ANY Undercurrents readers

JOW profile who are not only paranoid but ibout 20 workers continued t o Ã£er i.n.ll.hm.ld will want to , ~~- ~-~ gait by the pedestrian gate. which ish to g2 g,,,,th A,,diey ad been chained and Padlocked London wl, to stock iy the group on their arrival at the ite. After a long delay the chain "Pat new Counterspy

, , mmectiateiu the oate was Shop just opened there. The , . . - - ~ ~ ,pened 2 members o f the group sat shop i s run by something hwn i n front of it and linked arms. called Communication Conto1

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kfter some time they were removed iy the police.

The police kept a minimal iresence throughout the day, irecting site traffic to the side nuance. They indicated that the roup would be left t o freeze ~vernightl There were doubts about his as the two senior policemen for

Systems, which strenuously denies links with "organised crime".

I t is full of goodies like telephone scramblers, devices t o reveal whether phone lines are taooed. and all manner o f bits and . . . pieces for repelling intruders, baffling buggers, foiling kidnappers and otherwise keeping yourself t o yourself, at an average cost of several thousand dollars a box.

"Defensive weapons" CCS, whose US founder was indicted by a grand jury in the 1960safter his bugs got into the wrong hands, had some problems at its previous home in London's Wilton Mews. For instance, Scotland Yard wascuriousabout its stock o f CS gas-purely defensive, according to CCS-and about a device called the Taser, which administers a 10,000V shock to, say, recalcitrant Department of Energy officials. The Taser has now been classed as an offensive weapon but the Counterspy Shop stocks another device-a torch giving out a very bright flash o f light which leaves victims disoriented for long periods-which could be at least as dangerous.

Although the Shop claims to stock only defensive gadgetry, i t was recently showing spy cameras and listening devices along with the Voice Stress Analysers for curious personnel managers. As one o f the Shop's functionaries Jo Ann O'Neil says, "Al l we do is self them; it's Just like a knife. You but i t in a shop and it's up t o you whether

An automatic scanning receiver for the detection and location of 'bugs'. Its sweeps the spectrum from 10 MHz t o 4 GHz and looks on t o the strongest signal. For more information write t o Undercurrents, Box SPY.

you cut meat with i t or use it t o murder someone."

Rubbish Watchersof pedlars in this field reckon that much is grossly over- priced and that many of the electronic devices have exagerated

claims or are largely ineffectual. Nevertheless, Counterspy in particular has received a lot o f publicity recently and, i f the published f i b res are t o be believed, their turnover has increased astronomically.

Taking a liberty BAD NEWS for magic mushroom freaks: a Judge has ruled, and a jury has agreed, that powdered Psilocybin mushrooms constitute a 'preparation' of a chemical (psilocybin) forbidden under the 1971 Misuse o f Drugs Act. This reverses and contradicts the 1978 Appeal Court decision (R vs. Goodchild. The Times 7 April) that possession of a plant containing a controlled drug was not an offence if no attempt had been made t o extract the drug.

The judge argued that 'preparation' was not to be taken solely in its pharmacological sense but in the wider sense of, for example, 'the preparation of a cricket pitch'. After 1% days o f g a l argument the jury agreed, though only by a majority verdict. The sentence was a Â£10 fine and a suspended jail sentence. The case

will go to appeal, but in the rnean- time take care.

MEANWHILE. Younu Torv Charli . . Smedley's revelation that he is (or was) a pot head has produced a predictably Pavlovian response from two leading young lefties: Nick Butler of the Fabians alleged that the Tories had a plan to dope young people 'so that they would not n i t ice the chaos being created by the Tory Government' and Bot Labi. a Youna Socialist, stated he was against legalisation as i t 'wouli be another way o f encouraging escapism from the problems that young people face'.

Cold comfort for the 10.500 people busted for dope last year but perhaps we should be glad tha there's one bandwagon that these political opportunists aren't scrambling to get on to. y> (News Release) 7-2 -

Brain li'- -'--ge THE POWERFUL agriculture lobby hm won twice over with the 7th report of the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution, which has spent 2% yews (not?) looking at "Agriculture end Pollution". Apart from the report itself, which was almost wet enough to counteract the destruction by draining of the Sommet Levels, the glue on the spine of the report staged en industrial action and the report has had to be withdrawn from sale while Her Majesty and the rest of the Stationary Office put some blackleg glue in.

The report itself will cause no- nothing new or radical about the , one to lose any deep at night problem. (except battery chickens). It leys, among other things, that intensive Silence in government livestock units should be subject to To that extent, it should be

better than the 7th report, and the, 6th report, known at the Flowers Report after its chairman, produced excellent comments on the dangers t o civil liberties from nukes.

Questions are already being asked an Padlament about the delay, and the Government will have to do something. e ~ Ã § i f it's only accusing the Comminion of being in l ugww i th lefties, MOSCOW end Dr Goebellt. At the level of current thinking about nuclear power and the environment within the Tory party, thÃ§ might lust do that.

Carry on.polluting Meanwhile, mother piece of environmental leaisletion ooes for

planning end pollution controls; acceptable to the agricultural a friadmm, wry, burton.The that there ahwld be ' t m e r establishment and so might Government are strenuously trying control* of pesticide usage and that actually get an answer from the to cover it up, but the Control of anxiety about possible health Govrnment, if it's lucky. No Pollution Act's m ~ u r n o n water threats from rritogenouc fertilized ', is not fustifired 'on the present evidence'.

After examining the threats to people and wildlife, from over- reliance on toxic pesticides, the Commission only questions whether spraying 'more freely than , is necessary' really prqducat benefits of 'blemish-frw' produce thetoutweighs the coftt i n environmental health. No questioning of whether to spray at all,end the whole report produces

Government in Action + . . . .or Govwnment inaction? Two more indications of the

the wind blows with the Tories.. . .

ruction hat yet come from the ' pollution are likely to be delayed Government on either the 6th at leak five years. As we drown in report, on ~ i r h t l u t i o n , or thÃ the s e w ~ e outride the c l o d 6th report on nuclearpower, both hotpitel,isn't it great to live in now 3 years old. Both were much Mamie's Britain? -

HUT THE ELECTRICITY Council is planning to mew* in on the thriving busiwu of brenwtfon. It Wiem that there broom for expamion bocaut* of the riling coit of oil and an.

According to Circuit News, the official publication of the Council, Mt Bill Dobie presented a paper to the Cremation Society explaining how superior Qlactricity was. The time taken for the operation, he said, would be reduced from en average of 78 minutes with "fuel

L And Exmoor is on its way out station? Then the customer! could is a totfonei Park. thanks to the be incinerated free. Jovernment's kowtoww to a This would provide a ulendid, action of the agro-busin-& lobby, and apposite. Â¥dvertiMmen for the

Moorland Conservation Orders, benefits brought to humanity by ntended to protect Exmoor from the nukes. ~loughing up, are now norfoing to The one snag would be if the orm part of the Government's reactor happened not to bÃ

buntryside & Wildlife Bill, despite "available", as the CEGB politely upport from ell pa-ties end even puts it. There is the materiel (or a Â¥ar of the agri-lobby. The Orders, splendid farce, mrr ing Jacques irst recommended in thehchwter Teti pertnpt. showing t t m s of 7emrt of 1977. were ~ r t of a bill funeral cars and fuming mourms

or kings UNDER THREAT of d-BuctiOm 1~ CWUI~ Girdm Community Guden. A woman pro- mcmtly chÃ§lno h in r t f to tomt f i x t um in the G u d m u put of a camp* to draw etmntion to their Covmt G u d m community's dwim to k*w this at 0pm KMC*. She wes 8-d md chargwl for breach of the pieo*.

It is one of the few pieces of mpen space left in Central London, built largely by volun- teen, to use as an open public facility. It is used by local nursery groups, of? work? casual visitors an the l o o community.

It isalso the site of an annual festival plus other smaller festivities. it has two ponds, f l o w beck, lawns, play area, an allotmen including a greenhouse, a nage and 1 barbecue. It has one full-time gardener, plus many volunteemam cost Â£5,00 to build, mainly financed by Westminster and Camden Councils. It was w successful it won the 1979'Britain in Bloom' Improvement Award for the London region.

The garden w a built in 1977, after a 'gentlemen's agreement' with the site owner, MEPC Ltd. ' who did not have the necessary financeavailableat the time. It was aareed that as won as t hw had the Â£4 million required, the kte would be handed back to enable them to bliild the intendedoffice block to accommodate 1,500 office worker..

Not to le t The company want to build m an investment, wen i f left empty it would remain a company asset. MEPC admit that thav do not have - inntended tenant for the building.

the seafront at Dungenen while The social price to pay, for engineer, try frantic.llV to make ailowing multinational companies the thing work.. . to be pulled out of the slump t h e

duo themselves into. throuah speculative gambling in theearly 70s, would be high. It would be

U prize the local community of an inner city area, those whomost appreciate a non-exploitive island

I N CASE you did not realin, in a see of commercialism, who Oetoba waa i n tana t i od maw would lose out. comani ion month. IIB n w k chit, At present, if the local people ttr R o y l Society end E m Jointly win, there ar i plans to build en Â¥wante 4 f10QO prize for emrgy adventure playground for older connuvation. You might upoct kids, end a stall to sell refreshmenn the w in t o w to tho- desbnina and the produce from theallotment combined h Ã § and p o w &stanis, which was abundant last y r . or hnprowd inwlation-but no, Procwck us to go bock into the vouarawrono. Theorlrwn develooment of thenerden. Ã ‘n tue l l a&&4ocl m MÃ‘ J W It All be interesting to see who Harris end V W Eldnd, of BakdÃ§ will (uccmd in this stru~l* . the Nud- LJbormorMi end the kings of commerci8l enfrprfh, or Windu la b b o f o r y r fe tha ly , the humble allotment ubbÃ§aÃ for dulr work on Â¥xtmdh th i Tha campaign to save the lifa of fuÃ§ (lÂ¥mÂ¥ In Wgrmx g f t h n is at 14 Endell Street,

London WC2. ost due to the election. lined up in a wl id traffic Ian) along

a the Jfpann*. Meanwhile, back in the old

ountrv, our engineers, wentors and scientists are onfined to playing about with wdels that are never b i i r han one-tenth scale.

This incredible Â¥xempl of iritein playing the r a g M d - t r ~ d hilanthmpist, end doing for e matthy, proiperous country what t is not pnpared to do for itÃ‘If one as a rnult of e decision by he bbour Gcwnment to ollabomte in the International :wgy ~g~ncv 's w e energy 1wmm. -

The Jwxneu have launched a W t o n ship. the KÃˆmÃ with 22 mlu in the bottom. As tha WNU in end fall, air is pushed out and ucked in and air turbines sitting in the deck me sent winning. Each inadrives an alternator and the i~wtriciw flows.

The method was invented by a luanew. Yoshio Mawdo, and he if 300 Avigmtion buoys waking n thm Pacific without noad for any bni l fuel to kwp the light shining. rrinity Hour is now buying them ur British wfrs.

v.."".'""..".,:." -.

n m away . . U D W W

'HE BRITISH GOVERNMENT h i G i l t 8 full-*cale air-turbine could build e ship aimil.r'TO (and far electricity from the wwi-and givenit w h o m mom efficient than) the

Kaimei have b u n cloud do-, at Falmouth, dockyards which beaur of a lack of o h .

US entrepreneurs on a six foot square concrete

British timidity iriteln decided to develop the idea md the National Engineering Laboratory at East Kilbride improved on hin scheme to make a more efficient device. (The Mawdo ship M i l have holm in the bottom; Britain's contribution is to have the holn in thasida, rather like port- ?olM, and thus cwture pore of the Move power).

But, becauw of the caution of the Government and, i t must be h i t f d , wme of the mginurs and scientists working on wave w g y in Britain, i t has been decided to launch the British ship atpine-tenth seals in the mouth of the Clyde. We like to make progress iiowlv. feeding everything into committees aid computers.

And thus it came about that we decided to help the Japanese with their len efficient experiment-but a t full-scale.

The British contribution i s 1 chembor f i n metres high. Under tmt conditions. with a simulated wave of fivem&es, the mean turbine w t w t Power has been 100 kilowatts; withlarger simulated waves, the mean power increased up to 170 kilowatts. Britain's mow ambitious schemes w far have been uoducinn about one kilowatt.

The (rnermtor being r n t to Japan w built under contract for the Deuertment of Enerw bv en

US Windpower Inc. (USWP) a 1Smployea Massachusetts company, has butt o m the' aimrican electricity utility market for renewable energy by contracting with the Californian Department of. Water Reiource~ to supply 100 megawatts for 20 yean at 3% cents a kWh.

The company will install up to 2,000 60kW mills on itate lend new Pacheco Pass, an area of high and constant winds 80 miles wuth edt of Sin Francisco. Backed by private venture capital,the engineer! of US Windpower have developed the 'model T Ford' of windmills: it i s made of mass- produced off-the-shelf cheap and lightweight components end is. designed for assembly by two people. the 44' tower has a built- in winch thet allows the hub and drive train to be installed and repaired without a crane; it rests

footinn. which is the onlv permment construction needed.

A model deal Corporate . - .- - -. - - - - If they can deliver at the bargain price thw have contracted for (and some wind pundits are sceptical), alternative USWs scheme is likely to become a model for the adoption of AT in thÃ US. Already three other mull

d u l l and USWP is rmgo~lming with large users in other parts of the . country. They forecast that by 1986 their annual turnover will be $75 million and production 000 mills.

California alone has identified 100.000 MW of potential win& power on state lend end plans to hernasa one-tenth of this by the year 2000. And n va a11 know, what California don today the reit of the USA don ten VI later. INnu Rwtsl

Home sweet dome

ThÃ donr home for 'Intaemted LiftSupport SyiUm< ~iborttorv'l of RobTt end LM Rdna in N w Mexico, USA, will Ir f Ã ‘ u in Un TV

technology A RECENT VISIT to thi Centre for Alternative Technology in darkest Powy rwertd Hurt the faithful un

progremmuvi thm @nn Uniwritty's ruw foundalon courn, Linw with Tahnolon. Powad only by the Kin end thÃ wind, the domu have bnn function& wcccafully for ovr m e n yew. The TV proarmmn ( d m by thm OU's Nigd CTosmd BBC produw Colin Mobimon) Â¥xplel how the domes work end -lore the im l io t iom d ueh Mif-wffkii it Ihina. T h d will be b r o i d ~ ~ t on BBC2 it 11.16~1 on Snurdey 6 Jtmiary md Siturdny l S J > n u ~ y 1980.

hnwham. Steve Bur and other u r tv uromotm d domu lib the ~ -

Shatter book tÃ‘ will not -rim or u $ f their works Inca thw no

completely u n d i i e o u d by tho multinationah moving in on the Kt.

But KM thw would h i m bnn Ki rp r iq to hear themwivw baing ' publiiiud by Or Jack Birks, Mmaging Director (TMhnial) of BP, at the launch of BP's nmv, end not very exciting, ~ n r w rÃ‘Ã‘r prizes.

According to Eiiks, W >pÃ‡nd about Â£7. million a yea on renewable enerw reuwch end dwelopmmt, end is in the proc~

of putting ell that under one roof m its Sunburv m w c h let# on the outskirts of London. And i t will b* rather en unusual roof, b u u r tha building will not only hour Itr rnurchtn but dtnonstrme th* idms thev em workim on. e - i e ~ ~ ~ solar, windMKI hut - wmos. "A kind of compmy w a n of an idea which is, I w intqmsM to read, alrmdy going on in North Wain" w how Birks d m r i b d it. although sartorial standards will uotablv be highw and watt IÃ visible. . , -

The Centre for Alternative Technoloov itÃ‘I is Ptonnina to build a I;& 60ft dimmer wind generator. I t s purpose would bÃ to relieve the Centre's enerov sh- in theKim&er and providt e

-

demonstration of l 'villain Â¥ale scheme which they curroitly believe i s the most economic.

They are hiving difficulty in raising the f i i i m m thÃ§ hme Iwndnd an apoaal. Any mrmoul souls inmeiu-d in the ipomonhip don* should writ* to CAT.

~ - -~ 7~ ~ -. .

winwring firm named Centrex at . .

N- ~ b b o t . A ftw milea e w . hama on the Ã‘II of thak hw-1 PW-s.

, . . . -.. - . , ' 6

~lectricity demand it (till risinl at$%pw -urn. To arrive a t a su<tripibIe syttnn early next cÃ‡Ãˆu will require action more thin words.-The d n d Nitwork for Alternative Technology end Technology Annsmant mnfennce. Auws 23-24, set out work on - v i d e dtamativw and itabliil a permanent AT network. ,

Research and Developmen A lot of interest at NATTA 2 centred on the problem of AT m r c h and the Likelihood of institutional co-option, mainly by ~rogrsssivemuttinationals such as Philps. It means applying AT in competition to the vast resources (ticked against ui. Without the potsibility a f c a ~ k s o u t R& D work then the embryonic AT' workp~cfli are doomed to wr ly extinctioi!. . ,

Theproposal is to tot up an alkmative fundinflnetwork, with ~ ~ f i ~ , ' & t i ' i # 6$ to interface with all thed~u'a~monetary'taps, byt on a level obredibility, th& doesnot exist at presÃ§nt

systems of alternative levies could becreated in the future. Grbtit applications in the range E200.t2,000 ere being provisionally accepted.

Wrdination NATTA could take a co-ordinating rob, as many people require AT advice end have nowhere to 90 and no-one is in touch with all the worl going on, hence much overlap of retoarch inevitably occurs.

Pooling their resources, existing AT groups could run joint projects

Art impressive lead has been given by the northern branch 01 the Industrial Common Ownership Movement increetina tfsu~oort '

structure whereby I& c&s can help eich other out.

Education A priority would be the production ofrelevant video tapes or kids hooks e.&fletting through to student teachers.

~ l s o the& would be work with adults through Trade Unions end the WEA to help alternative work strategies to be drawn up.

m r f h i p of NATTA costs Â£ for individuals, Â£1 for groups and organisations, for which the members will receive the NATTA newsletter and any publications. Credit isdue to the Open University for a ma i l grant and the AT Group for support.

Orgenisationscurrent~~ affiliatec include: Centre for Alternative Technology, New Age Access, SERAsCentre for Alternative lagu@rMl and Technological Svstems,Undercurrents and close liaison is being maintained with bA)3LIGAES, the Parliamentary L j r i s~n Group for Almrnetive E m Strafoies.

CAAT-The Campaign Against the Arms Trade-ere holding their quarterly national meeting on 1 b w r , 11 ern-6pm. London University Catholic Chaplaincy, 11 Gower Street. London WC1. Details from CAAT. 5 Caledonian Road. London N1.

ICOM ere holding a two dw workshop on 8-9 DÃ§cÃ§mb et their Beechwood Collage, Elmete Lane. peds 8 (0532 720208). Cost is Â£ 1 per person including food, accommodation andcreche. I t will consider the legal, financial end organisational problems of co-ops as well as speakers from existing co-ops;

There will be a Co-operative Villages Conference on 24-26 Novmber. Anyone interested in helping to establish such a village shouldcontact Jan Bang, Mount Pleasant, Hainton, Lincoln. (Tel: Burgh-on-Bain 397).

LOWER SHAW FARMHOUSE have a few weekend events left this wear: 7-9 D-~Ã‡~MUS

weekend Â£15 28 OJClnber-1 Jinuirv New Year Celebration

Tha NATIONAL CENTRE FOR ALTERNATIVETECHNOLOGY has a programme of winter courses: F9 hcwmba How to Insulate; 11-13.bnuny Self Build; 8-10 W a r y Human Ecology; 1617 FUmuy Ecological Land Management Coursescost Â£2 singte. Â£4 double inclusive. Details from NCAT, Machynllth, Powys,

If you ere a small businexs in London affected bv bureaucratic planning regulations than attend the Town and Country Planning Association's Small Businesses and the Planner forum on 11 Dwnnbw at 6.30pm. at TCPA, 17 Ortton Terrace, London SW1. - (entrapce130p on the door).

The National Conservation Corps have a WlNTER TASKprogramme which gives people the opportunity to learn practical rural skills very cheaply M i l e helping to consam the environment The tasks, usually 1 week events, take place all over the UK. They include such skills as Woodland , Management. Hedging, Clearing stream and opening UP old footoatha. Details from NCC,

Â£3 &tails from them at Show. nuke st-, Reeding. Swindon, Wttshire. . Berkshire. (Include see).

/

T ~ Ã CONSERVATION TRUST ere running a competition for illustrations on environmental themes to brighten up their study notes. Small cash prizes will be awarded to three age ranges up t o ega 21. Closing date is 31 January so send your am for details to: The Conservation Trust. 246 London Road, Earlev, Reading. They have aho opened a resources bulk and study centre in Reading, cr&med with environmental type information plus visual aid copying facilities. /

Socialist Entiwneurs note that the NATIONAL EXTENSION COLLEGE is running courses entitled Your Own Business taking place in oariy 1- The courses use the excellent Small Business Kit published by them. Thiscoincides with the BBC2 programme on Sundays, 1 0 m until the and of this year. The courses will be run at the following placÃ§ depending on demand: So~~wrer-Yeovil, Taunton, Bridewater; Dwon- Barnstable, Bideford, Exeter, Plymouth. Torbay, Exmouth; Cornwall-St Austall, Fdmouth. Havle, Combome, Bude, Wadebridge, Further @tails from Your Own Business, Central Offices, Dartinnton, Totnw, Devon. (0803 865024). The Business k i t contains a macial section on co-oos and i o n of utofu~ practkaltdvfci on financial/nurkÃ§ting/l*ga problems, enablingyou m realistically appraise aqy of your business Ideas before you smrt yourco-op ai well 4s Illowing you how t o run it effectively. The Small Businsa Kit is available from the National Extension College, 18 Brooklanda Avenue, Cambridge. Price Â£4.5 inc. BOB.

ENERGY POLITICS are m e t h i n g claw to our hearts. For thow of you who fwl that a mil elite group of MPÃ sining In an ivory tower somewhere in London can change anything for the tatter then the-PTliementw Liaiwn Group for Alternative Energy Stringy will intamt You. They have had succeuful discussions in the pit. I n punuit of a wider M a r e of influence they are holding mother wries of discussions in early 1980. Details from Harry Frost, London University Extra Mural Dipt., Gowr Street, London WC1.

BEANSTALK, a local community group in the Wimbledon London em, Is planning a fringe fmtivl next Miy to coincide'with the regular-md boring-Mtrton Fei t i i l . They wnnt to include k i d events. fanlnht theatre. photo@rÃ‘h Me. Mom PWPla m d t o J o i n l n t h a m v w n W w on eaollactlve bails. Hino Joan on 01-947 6476 or Val 6 01-870 4319

AOIIMAMTAL W E N S OIKMJF Ã‡ at up by feminhts Involvd in thm Agriopitel group 1 SOCMhI group i d n d in MXking found tauu of food, food Productbn, Â¥grk~ltum me. mly frit thtt i nun particularly concerning ~ o m w i w m being W K f d by the group u l whole.

ATLANTIC annrwrmim with their ~nti-Umn6mcamp& in Eire. They em distributing l f m pimbhlet. produced in bifaat, all am DomgmI. Anybody inurwttd in hoping t h i n in t h i r or doming to help c o w the coma a n contact them at Atlantis, Burton Port. Co. Donegal, Eire.

fm&ei&a~ndfthm CREATIVE MIND who publish a thanm: SoK- l f f l~~. nnoazin* of the ume m e . an

I f any womm would lib to their Liwpooi Ctntre. The+ are Incoirn involnd In tha group, abo letting UP a map hop to

- . - --. ~ f f of <h* cointry, confct turn. proytmms e1c. to help fond 181 Mvrtla Roil, Sheffidd 2 their community action. Ommils

from 26 Linnet Lane, Liverpool WntVI-â gukr to emlogid 1.17. IMng in South London is e new bookit wrlnÃ§ by andmorth Fun is not m i n t the law ym. ~ I E M O ~ O F THE EARTH. lt NEW GAMES will help you a h &in on -ti of achieve this dusive hi. The+ Oty IIh, including food,. publiah Nwwiettv end orpniw -,-,a, -1- uvlmrnfov fr- mwts from tim* to tlm. i f Nld efffclmt uw of m ~ r i a l x . Pleyino with 6 foot diTWttr From Wmdunrth FOE, 77 'Grthbtlk;pirMhutw Mid old HMthorp St- London SW18 n*mm with new ruin is your idea 6BT. Me. Â£ (-1 inc. post. of fun then contact New Gems,

60 Park Road, Dartford. Kent. ,

F m Wing fife* is producad by thÃ§ORKNE ALTERNATIVE PRESt. It is ! n tmed in rigbnd Â¥utonAm particuifiy in Orkney ind community wcialim. 30p from FWE, Ow-thfrWater, Sonday, Orkney KW17 2BL.

-,. . . RECYCLE WORKSHOP in I Durham, xÃ i wt themwhw up

to promote cycling, h w a cycle repairs and rebuild businen. It i s orwniwd on a Co-op basis and has m m MSC fundim. Thw are looking for pwple to join them. You ahould hue a fair knowledge of the cycle trade, be willing to- take Ã§om financial riponsibiiity and enjoy working with the young people they train. Interened? Contact Jon StÃ§phem RbcyclÃ . Workahopt, Fowlm Yard. Back S i lw Stmat, Durham City.

HOOPERATIVE CANAL AGAY HUMANIST GROUP h Ã CARRIERS a n now holding ban wt up in the UK u a direct NWlw working partin. Theu mutt of the private prowwtion uk* p l m et E l l i i ~ ~ m Port brought m i q n Gdy New for - Milmrn. are inwiwd bluphemous libel by Miry in work on bom Mid their . Whitohwit. Orgxiiwra are - workihop. m e Coop if planning to wt up I network of looking for mmvhm in the NW contacts and group* throughout -if thW weeÃ‘fil thW will the UK.,with a view to countwing that commm* on nuking this enti-gav pr-nde, fighting

lto l unble botywd. For bnomnc* in m r d to mill of working partin and h o ~ ~ ~ x u i l i t y end introducing wÃ§ inforimtion wrim to &a to hummist v luu . Wore HXMCMIW -1 b r h i , 26, information Â¥bou thmn frob

Ehamm GHG, 46 Telford Awnue, London hire. SW2 lend me).

With the ~r Incn~im thfwt of

th~fiwtvnk in Argmuim. They em coiicwitrmlm on rdat im the vr~d of ~ u c i w i ~owr. TII& note 'Latin Amarb la not l bloc: i t It l conglomrite of npublio with l long himow d bloody dicutonhipt'. rnw em looking for pwple to build up l communicitbm ntwork and rocfive their nawx bullÃ§tins Contact Ow* Grinbwg, Pro World 89, C.C-Suc 14, Cwiml 1414, Argentina.

SCRAM (The Scottish CanxMian to Ruin the Atomic MMIM*) - hÃ§ producad l short I ~ f l a Whit'# WmtV with Nucim- P a w . ~ i n y urn* v iu to wppoq their ciTKMKinendluooÃ‘twavi which & couldcomribum.~hey <lK> e n producing e SCRAM EmmBulletin whkhckmout 6 tims 8 year end cotttÂ£ UK; Â£ O v r Ã ‘ DÃ‡ war. From SCRAM, 2Ã Aimiie Piac*, Edinburgh, EH3 6AR.

TheOEFT. OF ENERGY hwn not lust oublilhed Stuff Â¥I (A@ &/or PA rub bid^ w Product uo our OKitv end IMP Stop Un Nuclwr MUMM by I iwiMng your Home. But inatead they hwn bounht out a fm.excdlent. Ã‘I illuttmmd p i -~ t i cd wide to cutting your dunntic fud bill:

~ i a -of your ~ r t i ~ f - The fornfer title i s more accurate. Amiable from PO Box 702, London SW20 8SZ.

If you think ATHIRO is a imngi name for a city thm d i n g A Third Gmlui City, whkh is m outline for the prolMted I m n o t a h r u w c a n m h e r e 'Gmncown' s &scribed in UC at Undncurrents in London. The 35. will clear thinm UP. it is NATTA network, on the other published by the Town wid hind. iwmi to be coming alive, Country Plinning Allocietbn, following the NATTA confewic* the oldmt end itnmt of Britain's In A u w t A rawla- nwnl t f r Is

~ ~-~

eivironmenml preaaum groups , now being produced. So It Ã‘f

(prict Â£ from 17 Ctrlton Houw msible to wggm that any TTTM*, London SW1 I. The i m u n f d UC Natwork peopb TCPA would wlcon* comments join up with NATTA. NATTA- end fresh idÃ on how to procd . the Network for Alternetiv Their current plan Is to tart Tachnology and Technology mising cwimi for the p r o k t in As~nnwnt-is a coalition of AT mid-1880 with a v i w to sfrting actlvits and groups aiming to building work a year liter. promote AT both nationally and

locally. NATTA membership SCARP (Student Communitv i coats f1 oar annum for

~ ~ ~ -~

Action Rnourcm ~ r o f l r t m k ~ is ' indkidu~li (Â£1 oroupl/ wtablisMid to hdp co-ordinf orgeniwtions). NATTA, nuduit community action Alternaive Technology Group, throuohwt thecountry. Work OpÃ§ University. Milton Keynw, includn opening up c o l l ~ Bucks. rÃ‘ourc to local end dKllop~ng community ACHILLES HEEL is a new mn' l

media work by mudenti. They magazine. It i s produced by a

~ ~ s ~ ~ ~ ~ , x ~ ~ ~ KZ E e T L n Z E e n

101-739 4668). mising groups and the politic* of living as man for m e tin*. They

m e UNDERCURRENTS haw found that men* power in ~ -~~

natwo* conaim of mm* 40 sociw not only opp& women loot conucn hM UC26 for full 'but eIw impriwns men in I lit of numend addram). ~ u t d-dtning m-culinity which although Â¥on &e hiwe found cripples dl ourmbtiornhipt. It uwful locdiy. It his not ral ly Prke 6Sp (incl. post) from MÃ§n tab0 off into m mffactln Fmm PrÃ§tt 7 St MÃ§rk RIM, commniwtions network-et London EB.

ly by the" Arab OPEC states)'as urÃ§A'<ft in need of real &vetepmnt suppdrlJY. ,

, . ata laterstage gas pr~ctioN,.must'~:, := :;.;;

1 elanauoff.andbeninto;decli&.&in..:. .>:;.

Undercurrents

ment; the growth o f services and relatively low-energy activities (e.g. electronics) Each percentage reduction in growth o f the Western economies leads to around a 1% cut in energy demand -appropriate energy management can ensure that this translates to a greater than'l% cut i n oil (and imported gas), for example through upgrading the use o f indigenous fuels, and conservation o f energy. For the poor, or underdeveloped, nations the reverse is true -they must use more than 1% growth in energy demand to get a 1% growth o f GNP, the reason being that as well as economic production they must achieve the growth o f capital ahd therefore energy-rich, infrastructure and services. On equity grounds it is both rational and realistic to argue for faster growth in the poor nations. But without political admission of these facts it is convenient for the spokesmen o f the rich nations, in all kinds o f international forums, to say that the poor, as well as the rich, must be dragged down by high and rising energy prices. These same spokesmen can then argue, as they do, that yet more Western expertise and capital must be used t o develop-indigenous and usually high cost 'alternative fuels'. They do not go on to say that they hope this will cut demand for OPEC oil and gas, reduce prices and lengthen reserves, so that the rich nations do not themselves have to develop alternatives.

New resources through new co-operation

It is rapidly becoming clear that the world oil and gas resource picture is very poorly known outside the established production zones - which for the 'free' World means N. America, parts of S. America, Europe and Middle East. A few figures show how little has been spent by the International Financial Institutions (IFIs), the World Bank and its affiliates, on finding more oil and gas, and developing it.

In the period 1974-76, and in relation to expenditure planned by the IFIs for 1977-81 a total of US $8.44 billion was planned to be spent on all energy develop. ments in less developed countries. Of this some $8.367 billion was to be spent' on electricity generation and distribution (much o f this was oil-fired generation), and some $76 rnilllon was to be spent on all oil, gas and coal developments. That is the spending on electricity was planned at around 110 times that for oil, gas and coal supplies (World Bank Report 1588,1977). The sheer iniide- quacy o f this has been recognised, very late in the day, by the World Bank in its 'Programme to Accelerate Petroleum Production in the Developing Countries' (World Bank Jan. 1979). This makes the point that i f nothing is done the LDCs will have an oil and gas import bill of around US $38.3 billion in 1985 compared with $14.3 billion in 1975. Recent price rises ensure that this figure is on the conservative side.

Based on the above figures the afic- ionados of alternative energy can claim that massive funds should be switched into the solar group o f energy technologies. However this ignores at least two crucial points: the alternate fuels, apart from energy conseryation (which is not a 'fuel') and so& solar sources. are often very costly; and the likelihood of oil and gas finds, and development of coal, in a very large number o f LDCs is very good at the new international oil energy price. In regard to the costli- ness o f alternate fuels it can be pointed ou t that Brazil, thecountry that has gone furthest and fastest with power alcoh il fuels, needs a price of around 50 US con& per litre for its sugar cane alcohol system to be economic. This is with probably the world's largest sugar industry, and the international sguar price down to historic lows -which means that alrernate demand for sugar is very low. A price o f US 3 150 per ton for refined oil products (i.e. over $20 per barrel) translates to only a basic price o f around 12 US cents per litre. Alternate fuels do not come cheap, and their development is only realistic when other economic, social and political factors play their part in making up the economic deficit they produce, compared with conventional oil supplies from the 'price gouging' OPEC countries. With many millions o f workers in the sugar industry, and big landowners and corporations i n a poor profit situation because o f the low world sugar price, i t was to Brazil's net benefit t o develop sugar alcohol - there being an additional potential benefit that, i f enough sugar went into fuel production, it might stimulate the world sugar price.

For most developing countries this is not the situation. Agriculture develop. ment should be tilted towards high value crops that can give good wages and fast rural development. But the rationale for accelerated oil and gas prospecting development in the LDCs is an even stronger xgument against the 'alternate' fuels. The World Bank group, in its programme to accelerate petroleum production in LDCs made the point that explordtion activities in some 38 countries cut o f 70 surveyed had corn- pletely inadequate accumulated data on which to make any conclusions regarding potential reserves; in another 22 exploration was 'moderate', i.e. very small scale in relation to that in the present oil production areas on the world. Of these 70 LDCs some 23 were judged to have High-Very High potentials for finding and developing commercial oil and gas, with the 'Very High' category meaning a good likelihood o f finding oi.1 fields able to produce 1.5 billion barrels or more (World Bank Jan. 1979). I f this is then related to the total oil demand expected by the IFIs for the oil-importing LDCs in 1985, i.e. 7.2 million barrels aday, the possibility o f making the entire group self -""'cient for 20

The ITDG Power Project

ONE Appropriate Tachmlogitt who would not agree with Mackillop it Peter Frbmkd, P o w r Project Officer of tha Intermuliam Technology Development Group. For five-.,+, vean ha has bean dwdwing wind and . k t e r mills and l u r b i n ~ x i i fb la for locd A manufacture and mainmnancft in tha Third World. Two are particularly promising: a ' : tun-of-stream river turbineand a mkrohvdro electric turbine

Run-of-stream river turbine

Lowering tha vertical axis puts the r h r turbine into the water for a tÃ‘ run.

TRADITIONALLY. large undershot . - waterwheels were used in parts of the Middle East and the Sudan to t w ma l l quantities of river current energy, but thew are massive end material-intentiw if relation to their power output, and a? therefore uneconhic. With this in mind, the ITDG Power Project has developed a ' low solidity'' device which runs completely submerged in e river current and is therefore potentially quite efficient vet does not need much construction materiel. Initial work indicates that it can convert up to 40% of the energy flux; amounting to 720~1m2 t0.lhplft2J from a 3kt current.

This device is the same in principle as a Derrieus vertical-axis windmill or e Voigth- Schneider ship propeller. The initial prototype tested over the front of a motor boat on the river Thames is only 1m in diameter by 0.5m deep. I t is planned to develop a larger version, to be suspended beneath a Pontoon, for pump~ng irrigation watar from rivers passing tnrough and regions lsuch as the Nile. Nioer, Euphrates. Indus. etc). At the time of writing the power Project is working on a design for a unit with a cron- sectional area of 3m2 which could l i f t approximately 61m3 113500 UK gall) per hour against a 5m 116ftl heed i f submerged in a3kt 11.5mIs) current. Large areas of fertile alluvial but arid soil that cannot at present be exploited economically for agriculture (due to the high cost of imported energy sources such as diesel or electric pumps1 will becomeaccessible to a device of this kind. We are hoping to test this prototype in Juba, Southern Sudan, in late 1979 or early 1980.

MOST of the power projects have been dr*occupiwJ with lifting wnr,ona of the most I r k pnrqulsita for improved ~ rku l t um l production in most parts of the world. H-r, wr(I alatf l iat ion is ; mother imoortant MA.

To thisend, ITDG h n &pond work by in innwmive h v d r w o ~ r enginur in the Wot of Endand. Mr R u ~ w t Amutrohc~ Enns, to dev*l& further mnb promising - d l - l c d e hvdro-tlatric auimentha has wolwd. Sour of this Â¥quipmanti on tha UK market w i n uw, but tha Group and ,

Mr Irnm h w idÃ§mfle a nnd tar low hadÃ§iiÃ§lnÃ‘.Mr.Enmhaaallod>vlo an alatronk control l y s m which Ulminft nuny of th* moÃ§ upmuvi.

a cwnpof~nts in trbditionxlturblnu leg ho oaf. maar Ww. oovernbr or mechanical i n k & w needed) and which is more

'

nliabla Â¥n maintenance frw with l auictor mvonw than conventionaihvdro- h i G c o n t r o l wsmms. For hioh Ã§n mdium hÃ‘d ha has dw lwed a familv of Ptlton Whds which can also be Â¥(Â¥ctronici controlled.

Al a nwtt of identifying this MA, ITDG hi at its dimoaal i nwilv devrtoort

. .. , . . , ., , . : . , .. years or more was judged tp be very

' good. . ,LJfrwork will, it is hoped, mult In a nrunt for wtr ic i tv g>nenitim to permit . . . ~ ihd iqg and then deyettiping thÃ§s WÃ‡~M <lati;flc<tiofl d o ~ wnli-donlopÃ§ . sources w a i n s the biggert:Â¥flrtblem, , ! v r i v n *MI Klequata cyrimtt. and it is, to say the.ft#$t,:pmpf.~,ted , ,..~

1 . MK&ydro,elÃ§triclt , . . by the time f a c t o r therich nations.:. 1

' show little'inclinatibn o f limiting , ~

, . . demand, and a? becoming more b ~ e n in their, threats towards the OPEC nations. If they y m o t control their warlike impulses, the kind o f ewnomk crash envisaged by Paul Erdman ,in . pro The Cnsh o f 79, due to attempts, by

" V. the. West t c get oil, by force, comes up a; a real threat to the world.

The IFIs now acknowledge that '-

, , ' there mist be a massive increase in oil . I and gas exploration and development

in the LDCs, and the January 1979 World Bank statement envisaged an increase in such effort to alevelof , arimnd U$$6,66 bilHori by 198SÃ compared to an estimate of~s-$13. billion being spent on oil sew31 and

. .. development in rich nations at that . time. While thisis O f .coum& a wel- , . . : come developmentjt still only shifts

world funding for such explciratid and developmentto a ~tuation~where

, . the oil-lmporting, T jortty . . LDQ . ': , , , '

, ha& the minority a funds. Afco, the,'- . ' , IFIs of course.&nvisage that the bulk of this work will be undertakenby

' Western companies using Western capital, Thus thÃ longawaited advent .. ' ,.

of T@nical,Co-<Ã peratib for. Developing'Quntcies ,\TCp&proyides

1 . , sow hope (hat this w; I not the .*,. ~ - case. . .

Development : , . A t present TCDC (s id its infancy;< allow OPEC to keep up,supplies to .

, however the concept nowexists as4 ; . the LDCs while these nationsdevelop ,,

" Unite i Nations-level (affi~liated to ,- their own petroleum sources. And :

\

UNDP) ortanisation specifically for . in the next centyry, *en these encouraging and organising the transfer . soyr'ces ar~themselves beginning to , '

of technical expertise and assistance , .,:, run out, the funds accumulatedby : . . between developing codntries. Because, ..'-:. ' the LDCs thrwghexports'of their

. the LDCs now include many oil produc- , own oil and gas, and though greatly , ,

Fiji, Nepal and Pakistan. At the timeof writing about 30 are in regular uÃ§ in UK , inttdlations.

. . Â¥oratotvo ovruas in the naar futuraafd Ã ‘ v f l i a t r on i contro~~wa haw bnn sent by the Group to plows Â¥uc as

mdpublnh*d by IT Publiotiona 19 King ' St i~.London WC2: 240pp A4; Â£7.5

olus Â£ o&>. This book Inn a wid* nrietv ... . of inmr~atikally miilabla'amill-scale

. : powr w ipmmt md d iscuq the criteria - for mlatinf m tpproprnf system for a . #paid need; it il indeed "a minaof

, . ers, diverse i s Burma, Pakistan, . ' .,, ' . expanded economic activity based. , ,

Nigeria and Malaysia, it is reasonable ..': on secure and stable-priced energy, : , '

to argue that atleast a significant part , ' can b$ used to import the Western . '

ofthe technical expertise, as well as alternate energy systems. This does .:

hardware, for the new World Bank plan not, of course, mean that there should ; foe petroleum devdlopment in the , be no development o f such energy LOCs can be obtained i n and from , systems in the - but it must :-

' otherdevelo~ine countries. When this be kept inproportion to likely new opportunity is linked with the reserves, be fully economic, and be recently-announced OAPEC and approached without the hysteria OPEC chanzes in aid and investment that many Western spokesmen use to sel -~ --. -~

policy to i m ~ k v e ' h d accelerate . .

resource development in the LDCs, an altogether mom hopeful approach can . . be taken towards the speedy, develop- w n t of hew oil and gjs supplies for, ,

. the LDCs. It can be envisaged that. .~

TCDC, if able 6 freely use (i.e. with- wt rigid tying) the increased funding

' available from the IFIS, tan provide , .

much more exploration and develop.p'n effort,,for the same costs, simply by' using lbwer-cost non-Westernexpertise, , .

plant and equipment. Greater provision ..

of actual fcnds, from ,OPEC, can . ., then .

their new religion of 'energy independen Andrew Mackillop

REFERENCES

Wodd BÃ§n Wort 1688. Mirwnris Mid EMrn in ;ha Developing Countirn. World Bmk, Washinoton. USA. May 4 1977.

World BulkJm 1979. A Programw to Acol' ' . at* PetrolÃ§unrÃˆProducti in the Dmiopir

Coumria. World Emk, Washington, USA.. January 197%

UNESCAP 1979. Cimlopmant.Strmgito in. the 19801 for the ESCAP RMl0n.W

: Economic ftnd Social C o m q 6 i fa Ash md P ~ r f k . 1 &gum 1979. , ,. , . , .

enna blu I

MUD AND MOSQUITOES; police dogs and paranoia: such was the welcome the "Alternative Forum" gave to the Het Fort Van Sjakoo Bookshop when they came to the UN's conference on Science and Technology last August. Whatever happened to that fabulous Viennese gemutlichkeit?

'ienna represented nicely the underlying roblem the conferences were there to ickle; the division and subdivision of uman society which prevents us from ving and understanding our lives as a thole. The conference-goers were ivided; Stadhalle Kongresshaus, Volks- ochschule Margareten, some women on

weir own i n the Floradorf, and far, far away, hidden in the Praterwoods, the -.o-village. So from the start dialogue,

anfnntation, contact between all those iterester! was impiissible.

We suspect this was on purpose. The ,ustrian authorities, asked for a site for n alternative forum (which could o f ourse have marred their carefully con- tructed image of Vienna as the quiet, eutral, comfortable international con- :rence city), produced a distant, in- onvenient, mosquito-ridden meadow, quipped with one badly-functioning ilephone and a mobile toilet. And to lake sure the hippies in tents didn't isturb the official guests in their diluting, airconditioned Hilton and itercontinental rooms, parades of the arious police forces were arranged in ie eco-village, with dogs, portable idios,high boots, whitelgreen cape nd plain-clothes policemen as well.As 'this wasn't enough, the meadow is a ature conservation area, so another lot f police appeared to 'protect nature', assling us even more, and constantly

quibbling about polluting the water system with soap; that is, when they could be hoard above the noise of the trains carrying chemicals, the new highway and the Vienna University test nuclear reactor, all nearby.

Traffic and offices pollute and destroy Vienna; but alternatives are out the cobbles and holes in the road make i t impossible to cycle there, and the authorities refused a permit for erecting a demonstration windmill at the ecovillage, since they had no regulations govern- ing it. We put i t up anyway; i t didn't seem to notice the loss!

The 'Alternative Forum' wasn't just kept under control by the state police (at the opening o f the official conference no groups of more than 5 were allowed out o f the ecovillage). The authorities had impressed on the Forum organisers the responsibility they carried, so they behav- ed like alternative bureaucrats and police towards those they themselves had invited to Vienna, making a mockery of the sign at the ecovillage entrance 'Everyone takes responsibility for him/herself.' Claiming that 'we are going to be put in prison i f you don't behave well', the organisers imposed, or acquiesced in the imposition of, the following 'don't

* No parking in the village, so we stall- holders had to risk leaving our bus in a public car park with 750kg of books for sale in i t ;

* No sleeping on site; sleeping places were prepared half an hour's travel away from the ecovillage;

* No 'flea-market' - at least, that was the excuse used to send away or hinder greatly those who wanted to get up stalls at the ecovillage or at the Vol kshochschule Margareten;

* Control (in our case) over the content of our bookstall, to get rid of publications unacceptable to the Alternative Forum organisers. All with the well- known argument of authority, ' I f just anyone comes here. . .'

In addition, the organisers openly attack- ed many groups wanting to sell products and publications as "alternative capitalist! A misdirected and crude analysis; there is a danger of alternative capitalism, but not in our case with all the costs of bringing the books over long distances and across customs. Meanwhile, the Forum organisers were promoting self- managed industries; are they too to be stigmatised as 'alternative capitalism - or do they only come 'after the revolm tion' (on this analysis, just around the corner) . . .?

It's not nice, criticising your hosts, but we feel 'Alternative Forum' deserves i t because of the way they covered up the chaos in their organisation. They at no time invited help from other countries, so as to share the responsibility o f running the event among every body. Their main office, given as a contact address for foreigners during the event, was often unstaffed, with unanswered phones ringing away. There was even plain arrc-gance, as when a declaration against one of the authorities' threats to remove the tents was to be made. One of the organisers said, 'There are smart- er people in the Volkshuchschule Mar- gareten, let them write it. '

The Alternative Forum i s d hetero- geneous group, and it's unfair to con- demn all of them because of the conduct of some o f them, There have been severa splits in the organisation; several groups and individuals didn't like the set-up and quit. But why didn't they explain openly these differences o f opinion to those not acquainted with the Austrian situation? Such openness would have made the organisers more accepted, not less, and would have created a better atmosphere from the start.

We don't want to be diplomatic; although we know that all kinds of reactionary circles will misuse and mis- interpret our criticism, we still feel that i t will have an important function for the movement of people who are genuinely trying to get rid of suppres- sive structures.

(Note: This has been edited, and translated from Dutch English. We hope the sense of the original statement has been retained; it, together with a critique of the Dutch Government's conference paper presented at UNESCO, can be obtained from Het Fort Van Sjakoo, Jodenbreestraat 24, Amsterdam Holland).

-..--.--. . -..--,-. , . . . . ~

: , . , .& .. , . ,~ ~ ~ - . ~. .

forge. (These particular bellows were originally designed by A. Inversin of

, r . .: . . ' 8 .

' Lw. University' PNG). ' '

. . . . . The fuel used. is c arcoal prepared,, y burningdebarked wood in altmitec pply of air. We juStiftac).,wood very, ghtly in a +,gallondrum $~?d:,~t-lt. . . ight. The process,isworking when . - :' ' ick white smoke billows out of the .

'';? . .

, top of the forge. .; .. , ,

'

I - -, Â ¥ Â ¥ ... .,

Rick Hothersall shows f rom experience how t o be your own blacksmith. . In August 1977 myself and some boys started a blacksmiths forge at the high school at Bereina in Papua New Guinea. I t was constructed entirely out of natural or scrap materials. From old truck leaf. springs and other metals we have constructed hand axes, knives, screwdrivers and many other items, a few of which we sold in the school trade store. The items we made - while not professionally finished or attractively packaged - were

ly soft. , , . .-

-- . ~

be seen. Gently reheat theknd of the,, , ~

Tools required . , START I screwdriver until the tempering cotour of :.- ' A heavy hammer a hot set (which dark yellowappears. Then cool (hescrew- :~:

driver 'n water., . .. , . . is a chisel with a 306 blade angle) and . ~,

p pair of tongs will enable you to do . . (istype of screwdriver has proved.' .:..: most metal forming..The final finish

: easy to makeand doesits job without; , . .; !.

can be achieved with files or a grinding ,

wheel. We made our grinding wheel from a cement sand mixture of 1 :& An anvil is a help,'but you can use any heavy flatish piece of metal such asa cylinder head or a railway coach - . . . .

buffer! , .

Design of bellows for biac~smiuis ; 'fbtge . ~

To get iron or steel red hot y y , UPSTROKE WWW. Wesort.pf, pump. Below b (he , . ..

Undercurrents 2

Despite our scepticism of international cbferences, Richard Baker visited the FA0 f Food and Aarkulture) conference in Julv in Rome. and conclude* although thin issues w& skated over, it produced

. - more than FA

Is there really anything new to be learnt about the world food situation? The stark facts about the continuing imbalance between the developed and the developing world have been well enough known for a good many years to anyone who cared to enquire. Quite apart from the various alarming long-term forecasts,The official ' formation about the current situationis disturbing enough. FW instance, last November Edomrd Saouma, Director-General of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organisa- tion (FAO), reported to his Council that me 400 million underfed people in the Third Worid in 1969 had m w n to 450 million in 1974 and that later, incomplete, statistics -ted no improvement since. In July FA0 officials predicted the next wodd cereal harvests o f about 75 million tons less than the last and that for the next 12 months the world would need more food than it produced. Another bad harvest could take the.world back to the grave shortages of 1974. F A 0 blamed gwerpments for failing to set up reserves as agreed in that year. . . and w on. One could quote such warnings going right back to those of Boya-Orr just after and even before Wqdd War ll.

So what could be gained by yet anotffer Conference. such as that on

ment convened by FA0 in Rome which I attended in July. It was a vast assembly of official delegations from 160 states, all sorts of experts and interested parties, some 70 important 'non-governmental organisations' - not to mention the radical 'alternative' gatherings round the comer -the 'Rome Declaration Group' supported by such various people as Gunnar Myrdal and Oxfam, as well as others further to the left. This group regarded the Conference as largely a cover-up operation by the 'established dominant groups'. . 'many governments hope to divert attention from themselves as causes of rural suffering'. m e root cause hf hunger in the "Third World -the tightenink of economic, and there fore political grip of a few - i s intensifying in the industrial countries, particularly the USA. Even to some others, less radical, the . Conference results must have seemed to amount to little more than the repetition of lengthy, generalis- ed and much-qualified phrases o f good intentions Which bind nobody to do anything. And so indeed it could turn out -but only if pollti- cat action falls to follow up certain , information and pointers which were clearly evident either amongst the voluminous official conference proceedings or amongst the people and

Alien Asian n .

Tiiese pointers concern two close- ly related issues. The first is the internal rurallurban, agricultural/industrial imbalance within most countries, developed and developing, an imbalance as serious as the international imbalance between developed and develooins states. The second is the implications for agriculture in genera) and hral development on particular of present and future energy shortages - implications for many kinds of technology, agricultural, industrial transport, dp. Consideration of both these issues IS necessafyfor any understanding o f the prime problems posed ill the official onference documents ~

and speeches The phrase Third World' was coin-,

ed to emphasis the distinction from the two other industrialised worlds - capitalist and communist. I t took some while for China to be apprecia- ted as, at least till recently, something quite distinct from all these. Almost everywhere else the conventional wisdom, at least in the nineteen-six- , ties and early 'seventies, assumed that the developing countries should 'develop' on similar lines to one or other of the industrialised groups, capitalist or communist

Revolutionary Model-making This assumption ignored facts

which should have been obvious. First, the British Industrial Revolution of the Nineteenth Century was precededh by and founded u ~ o h k ~gdcultural evolution in theEighteenth Century.'

p4imSona tlnton,~ w a wsed .on Mi..M<tttÃˆtÃ‡!la~( +.iifeikune.utins -,..tf~.>-t^^ni*, t.u i hl;pu\*Wd * ,,_,)x, e^otoitatinn of the then undevelnoed two Conference Commissions with in the developed countries. One of -. .~..~. . ~ ~ ~ , -... ~~~~~-~ -. ~~ ~ -~

ywldand/or urfdeveloped or largely . . . jovialefficietky) told nie hftGoveri themst perceptive statements wis '; 2.' -: axricultural area within these coun- . ment hadlast yearhe1d.a conference'. madein an opening paper by 'Wrniin ,, - Gbs themselves. If the Third World o f a dozen black African sUWy to Santa Cruz, Secretary General of the k to develop iimilariy, what is Ifrft for Conference (a Minister in Chile till them to exdoit? Third. the British discus in snullfcde pr* rural *i ~ ~ h l f o l ~ h d e*dments the hll of the ~ l e m ~ o y e p m i h ,

~ ~ F . ~ ~~~7

er tmd hence favour large pr&,&s': that a'number o f rfsp@s&le people . ,, ' siveagricul~ureand a mqe rural- - anart fromthe extra enc* usf In FAOand In theThirdWwld are .. orientedmety if they did notvr i - - - . . - . . . - . - - . . - - -. .- . -. But much of the criticism ha$ until lookmgat t km, including the Mole tice then doctrines themselvei. My - recently remaiaed unofficial and. related question o f the us* of ~ I C question evoked some sympathy from

and/or mineral-basectfwtiliw$,flÃˆ> her and others at her press conference a v a t amount detriy rqyfn) to ))t - butshe said she did not know how explored d many vtfttd interwts such chahge$could be achieved in

~~ ~

nformation. Of part@uljir . ' tor- equipment, d~inaje,,financc+.'.: . . t-is the small water-born? : , commyicati,ons, supplies,qrk~tiqg, :,

Azolla Midi 'theChinese . protection-from floods, .&wghts;:::.~. . rtain of their rice-fields ' 'pests and diG.aSeS. Mucti.has been. :,;. . .

they claim (through the . - .:.: .'-'done in the past byJandlords, co- , .: nitrogen thrdughassocia: : ,--: operatives, bapks,.communes, farm-? , .

a certain ifgatsymbiont) ,- . erst. asskiationsand so on. Much now.: ' majorad$at?i@ ye replacement o has had the effect of more than . , ' . . requires action by governments, toc-?, ; hoe by theheavjox-drawn moul ubline the vietds of rice crops. in^. ' reaional and national. and internation-

ed particularly by Europeans. . but of the total nutrient intake of and abstractions'comm& in most artisan fishing with the traditional Chinese axriculture is derived from international documents. do soell a . ~- . . ~~~. ~~

ckOi3iThe revoi~tiCfh;hâ‚ lay on fit- ' ' ", natural f t & e s andheavy reliance: z - - -

lot of thidotit pretty.fully:.and hold: ting canoes ~ with. ~~ motors making it . :on these will continue', kciwse!say : out some useful broad tonceptioniof : possible f o r t h e m p remain48 hours. . the F A 0 experts, o( traditions, ~ , . . - ~ - ~ . rural development.- i~cluding.eiJu-' .: ~

at sea. . . Because of this wenetted a , +- preferences and practical conditions ., cation, c o m m u n i ~ t i ~ s , rural, indus-' . '

catchof 368,000 tons last year". I t w * ; " i n china and the fact thatthe ' - tries. social welfare. and. soon. ', , .. ' , ~~ ~ ~ thii kind of detail $at, gavesome :' . :Chinese would taki someti& to:,: , ' : ; whi&b&erpebple can usefully bu$d credibility tothe otherwise generalied . 'acquire a thorough knowledge of - . &I and which will, one hopes, .:.,:.: " .- .. statementsinthe Conference conclu:: , ' crop behaviour, soil quality +d . , ~ stre~atf-en the hands of local and .. ,.

sions about meetingtherweds o f ; t h e corresponding functions of particular , . . , nationalreformqrs. The major under- smallest andpooreitproducers: After. ' . wpes of mineral fertilisr. . lying issues: however; are likely to;: '.. .. jiilius Nyere-hadaddres . / . ; r Hart in it?;* . , 'kquik much more revoltifion&y :. ferirtte very p o ~ r f u l l y .. -

thought and action @.an most people ~ ; - essentlaHy political and factatiother weakness of the . ~ . in-Rome lastlulv seemed-anxious to .. . .

<natureof ruralde'velopment -essential-.:.. ' 'Qnfeipnce was that little attention , . . , talk a b o u i ~ . , , ; . . '

Iv: hesaid. a matter of 'transferof ' - - was'vaid to.the future of theurban1

Â reet-fighting man 8 ,

I

. ,

another disgustingly tick, black vision from Simon, Watt. .

. - "he ~or ies we now delivering their values.are sanctified in our culture. native tothe public expenditure cuts iromised public expenditure cuts,have ' Common hu+'iity tastes mawkish and theunrest of high unemployment - landed out private affluence to their and dishwatery t ~ t h e ideologists of anned street warfare. upporters, and have strengthened the . ' the Right who prize their sense of life's But we would do well to first under- . orces of law and order.-The swing to, more bitter flavours/Believing in the . stand our inheritance. Implicit in the he Right, a popular vote by one third survival of the fittest as the best in Tory doctrines i s the surrender of moral if the 'nation', brings the, blue heaven , .the best of all possible kr lds , they are , responsibility for the social consequenc- earerand enterprise is expected to .deaf to the consefluences of their , ' es of economic actions. This takesits lourish,.As we move into an era of 'actions. ThgTories ar~t ry ing to reverse . justification from the Protestant ethic

low growth, measures for distribution acentury o f ifiduftnahsqti& and anti- , and the history of i t s developmentis our and common humanity have apparent- . business culturewitha technically own history since the 'idyllic' relations '-(.become too expensive. Gradgrind . incompetqt businessclass in a world , . of feudal times. That theindividuals nd inseucrity will become the lot for , facing fundamental-changes. 'Ihe un- should beconcerned solely withthem-

,icreasing~umbers of the low paid as . . employment,resulting from their cuts , selves. justified and explained the fact of ye enter the Dismal New World of : may lead,* many fear, to social unrest, changed material conditions that follow- nublic poverty. The era of post-war ,~ and violence. Suretyno legitimate , . ed Europe's expansion -,an adyance that onsins'K politics, of benign Keyne- interest can justify the tremendous burst asunder.the rural bliss of the . . an measures to attempt full employ- destructions that civil unrest wil l manor houses withttieir country gentry. lent, has finally been swept away by produce? Can think of no alternatives The emerging capitalism caused the he Tories'new-found belief in . that will sa t i s f3b hunger 4"d tastes collapse of the social charities, i.e. wnetarism'operating the hidden

. . of the Right yet still give priority to . ,..medieval public expenditure, thatmade and. , ." those ingreatest need? Are all the life tolerable in an age o f scarcity. Mrs .;

We inherit anunreformed ruling , alternatives as 'wet' as Mrs. Thatcher '..Thatcher is indeed appealing to first 1: lass with a pernicious ideologywhose is reported to think? There-is an alter- - principles.

Undercurrents 31

Hell or the poorhouse? Not that the unbridled pursuit o f

private interest was confined to the nobility in feudal times -that would be asking too much o f human nature. RH Tawney quotes a monk o f the world who believed that you would go to Hell i f you practised usury and the poorhouse if you did not. Marx's condemnation o f capitalism as an economic and ethical system was pre- ceded centuries before by the School- men who tried to salvage Christian principles and fight a rearguard action against the new economic order; one dissident savagely condemned usurers who would piss on beggars stumps.

The Protestant Ethic turned usury into a fine art and buried individual conscience. Poverty was seen as a result of personal vice and riches a reward if not for virtue, then for the need for order. Inequality was an ordained' fact of nature as the medieval mind recognised, yet there was no obligation on the rich to help the poor. Economics left the realms o f moral concern and entered the market place shorn of social values to reflect and compound inequality.

These are not just idle reflections. We inherit the world view o f the Protes- tant Ethic and a ruling class that still thinks i t can operate on these principles. This is in contrast to European countries where Conservatives feel obliged to call themselves liberal. In Britain this strand of our culture, and our ruling class, unreformed by the pressures o f social democracy, has not been straightened out by history. I f we wish to change things we must enter deeply into the ethical and aesthetic viewpoint o f the Tories as represented by the Thatcher/ Josepli school of thought. We must shift the point o f the middle ground o f politics that the Tories claim to have won iii the last election. We must propose a moral equivalent to rank self-interest and competition analagous as one might say, to the mechanical equivalent o f heat. We must find some outlet for the ideologists of the Right who justify self-interest and inequality in their attempts to shift resources to a business class whose track record i s any thing but good.

The Tory Party has been returned to power with a mandate to unleash the buried forces of private enterprise, to stop the rot and reverse the fortunes of the British economy after a century of decline. But with a world recession promised the small entrepreneurial acorn of Tory dreams is even less likely now to grow into a transnational oak tree. And conflict between managers and managed, with most managers technically untrained, prevents the efficient use of the resources we do have.

The Budget Hoes not appear to have helped matters. High interest rates push up the value of an oil-protected sterling, making imports cheaper and

exports dearer and less competitive. Many firms are likely to be driven of f the market. Inflation is predicted to h i t 20% by the winter and unemployment 2 million plus. The estimated 4% real fall in income will lower Beveridge's safety net even nearer the ground. Severe tension and civil disobedience is a possible outcome.

Many on the Left see this as the fuel that will power the classic engine o f revolution. But instead o f the political kidnappings and strife on the Italian model - whose leaders have been foolish enough not to provide jobs for their radical bourgeoisie - we are likely to have sectarian and race riots with working class communities the main recipients. Unemployment will be contained in the depressed areas away from Thatcher's Laager o f the South East. Speke and other blighted parts north o f the golden triangle will become no-go areas with no answers. The post-industrial society will be here with a vengeance.

Things were different in the 1930's and the last major Depression. War finally created the demand for goods that provided jobs but war is now capital intensiveand cannot make many jobs. In this situation street warfare provides the answer, triumph o f market forces that abhore a vacuum. The Devil thus will find work for idle hanus, civil disobedience being both labnrr intensive to carry out and contain.

The ideologists o f the Right will not be moved by warnings o f this sort. They will claim history as a bath of blood. They will argue that mankind was nursed in fear and pain and that the alternative to unemployment - a pleasure and leisure economy-feminist, soft technology and the like may prove fatal and lead to a society of insipid and ubiquitous inferiority. The taxes that people never refuse to pay are war taxes and struggle is in any case a biological necessity. Street war may appear quite natural to them. And many on the Left will also see i t as the soul o f their romance as they court violent death. For disaffected youth civil struggle will be preferable to a life o f doles and degeneration.

How then can we reconcile the culturally sanctified urges of the Right to punish the poor for being in that estate with the obvious need for increased public expenditure? Plan- ned street warfare may well provide an answer. In their publication 'jobs, Through Selected Growth' the European Agenor Group argue that increased emphasis must be placed on allocating resources to more labour intensive jobs such as building with direct labour - they say that this i s the only way o f absorbing people shed from conventional industries by auto- mation and saturated markets.

Ulster shows the huge amounts of labour intensive work that street war

creates both for local artisans and the manufacturers of building products. It also shows the terrible misery caused by social violence.

Planned street war on the other hand would allow conscripted gangs o f the unemployed to play war games in areas selected for demolition and renewal. Exciting guerilla raids could be made against targets that had been cleared o f their inhabitants and their goods. Other conscripts with their traditional officer classes would then achieve fame in trying to stop them. Spying, intrigue, alliances, qualities of leadership, rabble rousing and rhetoric, would be of absorbing interest. Combat- ants would be taken out of action when cardboard stick on knee caps - designed for the purpose -are shot off by putty bullets; these cardboard devices could flourish into a new art form showing the bravery and daring of the wearer. Actual bombs for the demolition work would be soft and harmless. To prevent passions from causing real injury hostages would be taken from each side - f rom the conscripted unemployed and from the officer classes -and kept for a required period in cages. Injuries toanyone on either side would immediately be punish- ed by visiting the same on a hostage opponent -an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth - which should satisfy the vengeance lobby.

And the destroyed property could then be rebuilt by the Army using direct labour to very high standards, being a more effective way of spending the defence budget than on capital intensive weaponry. As HG Wells wrote in 1908 -nothing is more striking than to compare the progress o f civil conven- iences which has been le f t almost entirely to the trader, to the progress i n military apparatus during the last few decades. Wells added that the military is one o f the few institutions that reward selfless concern for duty with promotion. Under the military, houses would never be jerry built. Part o f the massive defence R&D budget could also be shifted to develop the alternatives that Mrs Thatcher finds wet and may even get co-operates to work under army discipline.

Planned street war - the moral equivalent to civil disobedience - would thus provide something for everyone. It would contain and direct the passions of the Right who fear social change like the death, and those of the Left who are obsessed with life itself. It would please the shareholders o f manufacturing companies in the building sector that by and large do not import much thereby reducing the pressure of imports. It would provide labour intensive jobs to both the unemployed and the army; conscription would satisfy demands for law and order. The Dismal New World of public poverty could again become brave.

Simon Watt

'.; J . ,' >$ . n g warm, i t is not worthwhile getting all the available methane out of the slurry

wn because after each 'charge' of waste has been in the system for 10 days or so i t

Nhat took two people 18 months to build, cost less than Â£150 got them ~p to their necks in pig shit, shattered lots of illusions, taught them a lot i f lessons about developing technology on a shoestring budget, and was all in the cause of a so-called Alternative Technology? Bill Evans' and Dick Stow's Methane Digester. Their spine-chilling account of the gruesome details now followsQv 2<y$c$

, v f , - % s We set about creating this monster in effluent is a black faintly tarry smelling

January 197.7 thinking i t would take & liquid with slightly improved Nitrogen months, fools that we were! What had content over the 'raw' waste, making i t

startedas a 6 month project in our final an excellent fertilizer. The CH41C02

year at Poly ended up 18 months later mixture (Biogas) is useable and burns

as a working digester on the farm at like North Sea Gas (which is nearly 100%

Lufton Manor Rural Training Unit for Methane). This is how we set about doing

mentally handicapped kids (run by the rational Societv for Mentallv Handicao- The Svstpm led Children who gave us a lot o f support ind encouragement). For the last year work was supported by all sorts of part- :ime jobs. The first cup of tea brewed Tom our own 'home produced' gas tast- !d great! ~ ~ ~ ~ $ ; ~ ~ . $

.!%&\. ,- %.., *

-, Firstly this digester was developed

specifically as a pilot plant for a larger farm scale digester for use with a 20 sov8 pig unit. Any of you hoping to digest sr er quantities of waste will find i t very difficult to produce a nett surplus of energy The digester vessel

&^SsffeS or provide such tiny and irregular quantities the Principle of gas that i t will not be worthwhile. requires more energy keeping i t warm than

Just a brief outline of Anaerobic Digesters can be extremely sophisticat- it produces in Methane.

Methane Digestion for those o f you who ed with sort o f 'spin dryers' for the spent 'Mixed' because:-

ire not familiar with the principle:- slurry which separate the liquid and 0 to get a high rate o f digestion the

Basically what happens is a load o f bacter- return the solids to the digester, or very bacteria must be mixed thoroughly to

ia are fed the right kind of food, in the simple in the case of the Gobar gas plants make sure any new slurry is rapidly ight kind o f atmosphere, in return for used extensively in India, China and other inoculated with bacteria; heir by-product: Methane Gas. warm developing countries. Our system ' 0 to stop temperature stratification inside

The Bacteria are the same as those is somewhere between the two and is design- the digester; ound in the rumen o f a cow - this is the .tomach that breaks down the grass and )ther cellulose type material that we The Digester System. :an't digest. So the idea i s to mi :onditions in the digester:- Fee )acteria a roughly balanced diet .ase Pig Waste (clean pig shit with the ninimum o f bedding material) which :ontains fats, proteins and starches and :eep them in an atmosphere totally with- )ut air (that's the Anaerobic bit). The lacteria flourish under these ideal con- litions giving of f roughly 70% Methane CH ) and 30% carbon dioxide (CO-)). h e bugs use up the food, so to prevent hem souring their environment the upply o f waste must be replenished and ----- he spent effluent removed.

This is where the problems begin, a ystem must be developed which:-

keeps the digester evenly warm; . enables the loading and removal IUCKET flND GflS L I F T PUVP

small amount o f pig slurry wi blocking up; ------ DIGESTER VESSEL

(ehou" c u t away) . collects and stores the gas for later use; ed for operation in our temperate clima+* . . .?.P stop the dreaded scumming up on the

, requires as l i t t le attention as possible; We opted for a 'High Rate Mixed Con- y t m : ; . $ f a ~ e of the slurry. tinuous Process!' -^~onf/'nuous' because the process is more

agitates the slurry to prevent scum- 'High Rate' because work by various predictable i f conditions are kept stable - ming up and promote bacteria researchers (see refs) has shown that if the i f no new slurry is fed in the digester quick- inoculation. system is to be energy efficient, that is ly starts to 'sour'. If left long enough i t will The results are worth i t though. The produce more energy than i t uses in keep- kill itself. Anyway for farm use a constant

arinpOt,fsJdea'far;smobtti +.,,

,.Jbe,tiBÃ aqharge of slurry i s kept in hodifester isknown as the retention time. hr digester tank had acapaiity o f80

gallons, ,we settled ona 10 dayretention t i&~~as q . d . sWn&ryint. !h we ioaded t w i t h 8 g a l l w p e t , y to giveus y r &diyretenti~n (b gallonsa day of spent. - l u ~ w ~ . . . . $wefore discharged).

. . Die PflotPlant , 1

.,:Storing,* using;(tie; . . . .;;,\.,. :> !.,.. . . . . . g*^',; -^ ' . ,

when, tfie gaswas getteratadit- ':.,.. through themeters and o h t ~ o . u r q ;.. , b ider losing its (iondpbatlbd Mate v a il simple U-type kater-ttap! The gas holder

}was i mini cop$ o f a town gasometer, i t took 3 attempts togetthe design uht.. We tried to cuttop many cornersat first ,

and thefloatingtank 'crabbed' badly and , .would jam on ifs way up o$doWl. .-

The whole system Wotessurised ., . . . . to 6" water gauge by a suit- - , , :

able weight onto the TIM njppb af g ~ ~ c o r i l d ~ b e ~ ~ a w n :

bn for recirculation, fi~rtgThe M l e r .,

an4 use ona nearby gas cooker.

I ,~s".,~.,",#u#m... " 3

.7Wi:$**Jt WJreltXi wy*;i%i loade into the gester and the piftalrrfng40gallonsMie made up , ,.

. . . . . . . . withwwry pigwaste. : "

O f course we w,re not producing :' any. gas yet, so initially the Natural ''

Gas boiler was,fired.using butane (at ' . '> this point heating engineers put their ' . , heads into their hands, but honestit-:.- workedquite well after a little plq@: ing ar und, although we doubt itwas '

that efficient). The d' $ter &as k i t e d up,and ' , , "

from a 6% ifart & hieved 95Â¡ ","

in 3Jh&r". W& bad a & hddeefull of gas (22 cu, ft) i n& hows by which. .,

.-.-... .......... time we were jumping around wi th , m.im. b o w channels, ail the gritto ,. . glee as the digester bubbled, squeaked, . ., 1 ' Ã‡ lÃˆÃ <Ã‡Ã l>ltÃ§.Ã the inlet p i n s and murmured automatically taking

' . ' ~ . s i n ~ , ~ , m i d d e . . The system was hitomatic except '\ , on eerie sense of life. We made our, . pipe. , k was 2" bore, m a i n t y for slurry loadir(g.' , ' ' . . -.' , . , first cupof'tea brewed $i* Biogas

. .

w<;pff.we managid to get hold Of the Control Wasby time switches foi the ' ' on* old'katural. gai stove. It only free.,(theyare astrot)pmically expen- ' gas recir6ulation (1 5,minutes every 2 necessary to slightly restrict theair j

hours) and bythermostat for the' . . . , . gasmixture porttoget correct c o p boiler.. In practice the heat loss was bustion. Incidehtally thegas smellsof so small over a'tw+hour period that, : rotten eggsdue to trtrace Hydrbge" ;Â¥Â the boiler was only activated for the . Sulphide.. ' . ' , diw 15 minutes as thew rwircula-. . . As thedigester was using a Â£

,cylinderof butane every 5 days, we had fo mom swiftly to convert the ; 'boiler overto Biogas. ,This is wherepur problems began in earnest. -L 1 , * ' . . . , - ,

Theslow death , . . t

, . . .

The scouring a6 ion o f the slurry p*,;:';~':, i n g up thecentre k & t the surface relatively

-: free o f crud. The gas was recirculated using a small twin.cylinderaehngine compressor (scrap) driven by a washing machine motor (113 h.p.) .The Only ,'

i electrical' connection to the digester I,,, w e thermostat. The wholed i t waqthen lagged with .

.'

about 1 foot of scrap polystrene .foam from a local packing company. Heatloss

. .was therefore kept to a minimum, on "

i rough cWw were losing3OF per 2 tioh. This alsosolved the p,roblekof ' , h&rswtth.ewytMpg switched off- , localised hot spots inside the digester

, (6pF outsi,de.temperature). , ..

as the heat, was only applied wmbjn-, ,. . ed with, the stirring action. , . . . , . ,

, . , , ,

: ... ' Loding \. t . . , ,

, . s$u%,Up ,, W&initially achieved a 2" .:! bore 'rnon6' type slurry pump The. bacteria vifhich do all the .. ~

which d f w slurry up froman . dirty work in thedigester (Methane- . . . ' old galvanised water tank buried in, bacterium ~ormicicum if you must

the ground. The slurry profed to@ , - know!) are present in very mal l , much for this small diameter-pump and quantities in pig wqtes, but for we hadto go pver to gravity loading ' efficientstart up it is best to~nncku-

Despite good advice from the ' 2, i boiler manufa@ it proved diffi- r cult t o h n the hi er on B i i . The digester begin cooling downslowly ,,r as we frantically begandrilling out" pilot jep in the b?iir$tarKittiati, ' . ','..' 0.016"). Weweis also aving d i f r i l t y , lqding &I unloading the d i r due @our 2','pipe,york -:we di n'tlisten when peoplesaiduse 6". So unforpn.. awly biforeiany meaningful result ' - could be .taken andanalysed our

' j digester diedon Us f h t r only 3 weeks r-ing The Biogas-became to8 much Wytoenabl i us to continue with .',.', ..

! the conversionj' the loading became impossible and it Went cotd on us!,To , .

capit all we were trying to attend'G8 it from 5 miles away and we knew ye

Â¥Hi complete Bitt protow ' I . . . . ,,." . would ha& to p o w it soon. ~ :

$0 wehad.~iochoice but to let it, : die. We had.too many'problems to , solve with thesystem active. Better luck next time1 : ! - :

The Lessons - cheaper - our Â£30 + newish stain- - tion by th~ megaxiants. ' tes~ steel slurry pump cost Â£ in an AT to the C.E.G.B. is Severn barrages, We learnt a lot about shoestring AT, auction! 1 Mw windmills across the;

produced our first Biogas and obtained mo Â¥wil digesters sott ish Highlands, electric heat enough operational experience to

Throughout the text runs, the pumps and, according to Tony Benn, e n US to f i n the e x P o p

assumption that di sters are a good when energy secretary, nuclear power digester vessel. Wf can still use the heat appropriate,alternhe technology. is aq A.T. to be lumped together with exchanger/control gear etc., for the next

aeady is going to be $1 of the above! Heavens maybe AT- stage. Our lessons are worth passing ,

adopted but by whom? Que to the , 1s not the PI= to st our fingers in onto other methane egperimenters and

fanwtic -omy of ae with digep AT. enthusiasts in general:- the cracks of society?

ters.it i s going to be the big guns who Nevertheless we are optimistic When the books say straight 6" dia- adopt it first. and quite happy to continue 4th meter pipe runs they mean it; Livestock production falls roughly the development of soft energy tech-

ent about making the right decision when using scrap components, gaining ,tÂ¡.~tleast-i per gallon at today s a 'feel' for when it is worth re-using d u e -like any energy sourWBiogas , the moment,the dl something or buying new. is incompetition in a ruthless market aslee , awaiting the next stage of Technical help -local technical place. The other category of farmers

~ devekment wki a new i n j d p n of college? are very obliging. Go shight ;fie the intensivesquad - the battery enthusiasm. We have now moved onto to thetechhiclans, especially in the chickens sweatbox piggeries, deep litter , thina,tf,at keep us both busy. holidays. If you approach them with ducks of rile world. As m a t produc-

tion becomes more intensive it moves Neither of ks have thatmuch timeito

agood enough story, you will more devote to the development, but we than likely get some Wo from them away from its traditional rural farm b

would very much like to build the (6.8. use of machine fools). Local surrounding and into the fringe subur- Mark 11. It will cost about Â£20 and firms who make something you need ban arras where the Smell problem of

10,000 chickens or 500 pigs $hitting 1 month's solid work for at least

1 for a project may help if you go to two people. Is'anybody interested the technical department and plead doesn't go down too with G T's in helping? ~6 write to us at the your case well (tried with success - on the patio werloo.king the golf course. ~ m b ~ o w , you never know;one a local firm let us use their machine The deodorbingeffect of digestion will day mw -,into manufas- , shops in the lunch hour). Technical give it an advantage. As the price of oil '

m! (cwp of we can offer Â¥experts in the large firms that makc I rises and because of the economy of a farm to site it on, waste to fuel it; equipment you might be using are stale, it is these people who will adopt b on hand daily to rMn more than willingto offer technical digesters first.

What's this? An afternative radical it,and laboratdry and engineering advice over the 'phone. They are facilities: interested in anything that breaks the technology being used to help Pay for

intensive meat production - justifying Bill Evans and Dick Stow

routine. Finally people working i-tech farming? Thi~raises all sorts of 4 Cromwell Avenue

related areas are usually more th \ Highgate, London N.6. willing to share their experience teresting questionsabout the politics , -:-

the application of technology. We r 4

with you. wereall rushing around afew years T h p 3 books together give a balanced

Scrappers/rag and bone merchants igo advqati the adoption of view of D IY and Farm scale digesters. . are great for getting larger objects . this AT an& AT which we hop-

Mawell Digester P.J. Methane: Planning a

like tanks and respond well.to a ed would enable a more decentralis- Â£2.5 Prism Press 1976 friendly, enthusiastic face. led, democratic and convivial society. hobson, P.N. and Robertson A.M.

7 5 1974 D.A. Knox Publ..

.! . . :;Ã‡Ã‡.a @Ws fd*ti * As a spocb? e a t , when

. , : in&~&in &nci&, r: . , ~ - '.,'~!*

. . , urinecontains'a lotof available nKrc&#d . % .which the bacteria will readily use. .. ' y ' ' Thereare inanybooks andpamphlet:

. "cw , .., ~ . , . , , <: ' .

, -, , on thersubject of wmpost and heap, .'.

. . . . . . . . - . ^ building. Much ofwhat appears ;&theÂ . ' . . ~ . , .,; . . . . . .

, ,~, , . . . . 1 ' , b i g glossy gardening books fails to get::..

.. ' '.^ , ' .. . . , . . . , . . , , .,.". . ~' . . . ~. . ,

1 h e r me why and. h0w:b.f com,postlnij,'an . , . . . al l too.often onJy'a.p+ingccferehce is .~

.!Ã Kihg preaches compost ad gi@ &usekmpi~ 'aH HQ$& . , . . ' , , : ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ $ ~ $ ~ .. , .

... , ~ , , . 3 , ,

iarth'tChildren: - . : . . $ ; . . . . . , ,. . , , , ~. . , . ,

. , . misguided or just plain wrong (do gyden m t e is gtowi& awareness that . : , ')ing authors ktqally know whqt?&i- .;

d e r n agricultural practices, particular- 'post heap looks like?).' H6wever;fhe. ' I the *(or overuse) of chemical fefii- , . ,'.following bookshaves&xx+ thetestof mi might be -ng the soil.It seems - m y Awn exper- over the past even My trulfthe lackof wt&f : :'fca~hs. Oxnposting, Wan i ta ty ' . : : ring (K@~rwd'to the I is an important : -Disposal a~d:Reclatnatianof O r w c ' ictor i n the apparent general declineof ... . ,zWastes; byHarold B. Go-, published, iil structure and health. People are : ' ;. . , b y theworld Health,Organii+ti'pn. . , -..

uestioning the efficacy. of chemical ferti- fertility WithoutFertilisers by p&i "zers and somedoubt their long-term - ' 0.,Hills,published . bytheHenry DhMe-

. , . . , . . effectiveness now that the layof dimin- , . .', ..!

" h i n g r e t w i s manifesting itself :in'. weat harvests. In my own mind the , , ; tumfcritsw iimple -short teen) -,; : naw@I gain$. hod husbandry. Do'- ' '

o ~ , ~ Ã § ^ sofl'as a sterile medium. . , , s

Â¥hiohyo dope with all the appropriate hefnidfefllisefs-and poisonsor do you *'the dl rii l c t v e p n s ~ a s Ã § +,! !.a self-sustaining l i v i d hi&..& allo& ourexlucncf? , , ' , '

Wecan at Ifqt apply thepriec" ,& f goodl~usbandry t o our oW!garderts; , ~ $ .

ndallotidents. ,$h&in,@Ur Own sin@\.. .. ., s v o l u t i o n d ~ % ~ ~ turn ytbacks on tfw. hehicd &jmpanies.pe &st, W ' . ; ' , illers, the .host elti tiveand benign, are ur bands. Use t&(nin.tpnjunction with .

~ ,

compost heap and,~u:~illgain.in&pcn- . . ,

ence fr* the chemical merchantsand nprov~the. heaf* o f your garden. ~

:

.,.. . . ' Â . f : .. ,^: 7 ; . :., ~, ., :.. ,

, . .~~

)f the . . .~. . . , ' ,

Having just paid yourrates and watch- d the dustman carry off your weeds, do ou then trip down p Woolys'basement nd pay again for more compost? It's ?as- Euthen fl

help with ventilation. ,.~ ,, :rto wake your own and you can pat . .

ourself on theback for not contributing ur'ther to the destruction ofthe Somerset . ,

retlands from where much 'English' Peat posers in their habitat, day Research Association. Common i stolen. ,' . '

In my owngarden the compost bins , . . Sense Compost Making by Mrs. M.E.

Bruce, published 4yFab1 i e the second most important thing - . # . Of b . h , heaps and books . . " . ,

. . . .~.. he first being the soil itself. If you carry When you are building the compost 1ff.the weeds and dead vegetation so bins and/or the heaps inside them, think. (?f the "taking ,. ~' ' ' ' ' ~ ~ . '

lenying the hungrysoil its role within about the natural cycles and the processes . :A quick "how to do it'for those&, he natural cycles as the chemical re- going on under your feet. Build up in Â -. lazy to visit the library. Save for the '. - ;ycler, you must provide alternative '

your mind a qualitative appreciation of. , , heap all%arden waste. Chop up and .,,: ,:.(

helter where mother nature's chemists , the natu$alforces you ate attempting . bruise thick stems and woody bits. .j:'.,+." an work. If you keep on taking, and . to harness: . . Kitchen vegetable waste. Animal manure nake noattempt to replenish the basic v, You add the muscle power when ' , :..;:. and urine. Almost any organic materia! ,.

hemical feedstocks bound UP i n the. ,, 3: building and turning the heaps but i t ' s .:: can be put in, but avoidmore than the. oil, after a few seasons you ain'tgonna the bacteria that getthe important job: :: . odd sprinkle of paper and sawdust which ie growing anything anymore, even done. Give nature's little dustbin men a : , takes too long to break down and may reeds. Nitrogen, carbon and oxygen are helping hand: A roof over their headsto actually rob the heap of nitrogen. Build- ixed fromthe atmosphere by bacteria , keepthe cold rain out, warmth by ing the heap is best done, if possible, all nd plants, organic molecules are built a . , insulating the bin, oxygen for their at one go. In practice the empty bin of. P dyio&growth processes and used in . respiration by turning the heap over, a t h e pair is used tostore aicumulating ; ipii Xiconsumers to build their own ' basic balan~ddiet^f vegetable material, matehal. Diseased plants and uscless bdies,.finally deathfnd decomposition apd 4 l i t t le water now and then to soften . timbershould be burnt and the ashes

Undercuirents 3

the finished compost under cover if n6t used immediatelv. then refill it using all the-new stuff andany odd bits f r k t h e u t h e a p that need another do? ofthe. treatment Stir it all together to get a hoiilogeneous mixture of wet/dryil wdpdyrsoft, s%arse/fine. Now and then add a spade full of soil,%hiih will contain all the bacteria needed. to start the h a p , and water i f itfeelqdry. There. is '- no needto use thoseget-rich-quick +post makers that seem so attractive

the supermarket $helves.' Turn, mix and water,if necessary,

on the 3rd, 5th and 11th day after building. All that turning may. seem like hard work, but when performed as .' ,active rtiedjtationor as a mot ion- i t

becomes li ht exercise. Put on some insula f ion and lower the lid. I t will take abouttwo months for the compost, to ipaqre inthe.sum?i+r, and all winter f o r an a~tumn~hiadeheap.. .. . . .-: .. , , .

... . , :... . ~ . . - . . .. . . ' . ~ . ~

. , : . . . ~. . . .

Of.theusing,:* . . . . . ~ Dig it in atany tithe, i t should not

make youfcairots fork or develop hairy roots as freshmanure would. Mulch around established plants for. weed control and moisture retention, mulch^ open groiind .for'n,odigging' gardens. .. : Natural wmpost provides nutrients, . holds wa& (:gxing?tike) inthesoil, ehcourages worm activity and hence aeration, improvesthe mechanical T structureof the soil, andaddsm the genmlreseryjirof organic matter.

\ ' Â ~ . ~ . . . . ~ & r ~ i i

I \

Chris Hall ha* noticed that some environmentalists aren't ecological and are compr6misin~ with existing life-style*. He wants nothing lesi than full-

\ ' - ,

bloodedn?) ecology.:. , ' - A*. !

: ~ i v i ~ ~ a ~ b in.&t inthe *iron- , generated. Using i sensible amount of ''

ment amongmost pxopte,was,minimal. . ' : energy wouidmeanquite.:a radical They had to ~ . p ~ e p e t p t ~ . , m takean ,., '1. change in lifestyle, whicffthe majority 'i . .

interest Local pressoften repott@pents do not want As it is , the~ is a danger ~,

with thinly-vetltd amu&t. Nqw of solar p'anelsbecomhg anovelty to ' , people regularly come forward with , show off, a demonstration of 'concern,, , ; .th~ughtfulsuggest'~>qd Â In other words, just another gimmick , ed discusion. Even +idly organ* - for thdwnsumeristsociety. . ~

events can receive favourablec@erage. Insulation at leastsaves energy, but Owlyethere hw bqp chÃˆngefar..<he , all the emphasis ison the money to be

. :. better. ; , , . ' - i saved. Where does that money go? Back' : Ho?ver,,(Here may haye Been an 'into consumerism. Tlfe Government

environmental revolution, butw . knew what i t was doing by introducing , ,

hasn't hew an emlog id &.~lth&gh home insulation grants: it was giving me former is a welconje step i n the right people more money to spend. Meanwhile, direction, it is the latter which the their homeswould be just as overheated,. world needs., . ?i: . and the way of'life is maintained. . . .

, m e only has to observe theattitude Indeed, insulated homes will acquire . , ; among many people who join pressure . , , higher market values. . ,

groups, to see what is missing. It Is all Healthy food chains '. , . : . ,

too wmmontopeet someup fanatical- -, Fy opposed to nuclear power,. but not It is thesaw story withfood. Many really cmcerned &bout wasting resouri;- ,

w e e that our diet has,[email protected] but : ' ,

qs,'or a keen cyclist demanding that '. , ' ;the main result has been thatbusiness , . .

cars [email protected] oblivion but who'd in health supplements .it.booming. There' lwnbj !eep over the demise of the is atendency for people tÃ .%an$:t < . ...,

whale. ' . . take pillsfor s o m e t h i n g ; . , a ~ $ ~ ~ k l l - ~m , '

. o n theother hand, ecological a&are-, ,, . k merely becoming displaced toward. , . , , :ness tells us thatall~of these are differing, vitamin supplements, allowing the health. aspects of one larger problem, and that . ~ O P chains Ã beCome abundantly . .

healthy,- financially. the maby other problems of pollution, Equally utkewlogical is theneed to ' ::

' import maqy wholefoods, especially ' , @ere these ire the product of Third World eiplQitat[&.The 'mere mention.

,., , . , . of vegetarianism is a good way to lose potential supporters. Thfeatening. eco-systems A menti* must bertia$e.of:thegod

&)taps moreieridus is thenatye of of consuperism. 1 have Witnessed arr . the envircyvieptal campaigningwhich environmental meeting whichbecame ' isgaining the most support: the type

' ' . a heatedargumehtbecause ymeone' which threatenithe, syitem least. Take ~ ' daredto suggestoppositionto local .. . . . . ,

'waste recycling: it is onlya short term road schenie. . .. ..

solution;itsat~action isthat it allows Volumes have been Mitten and spoken the same "extravagant me of resour& on theinsanity of cars. It i s easy to find for a little longer. It rather people whocomplain abouttraffic funks thanchinges the materialistic lifestyle. and noise. Most o f @em also contribute And this is what most peoplewant. to it Cyclinghas had:* lot of promotion

Thereis a'slmilar problem with as an alternative, butthereal question,. ,

alternative energy; Tf(ie,the wind and . tha to f mobility,is generally ignored. the sun are tobe preferred.tBut.they Every town and villagewants its by- have aslim chance of meeting dur pass, every bend has tobe straightened presentenergy t$nsurnption, and if they . {p let us drive faster) every motorway, J

d i d a vast quantity of raw miaerials , lengthened.. Thelatest episode in the ' .

would be needed to produce the , alle d oil crisis hasn't slowed the trend, ... nwesay solar iallectdr~~and wind- . ' Yet% the time many of these roads .., ,

a new approach to environmental :

. which attricts interest.,

try to make the engine cleaner and quieter. Weseethe same happening withnuclear power. The sensible , solution i s toforget it before we become too heavily committed. The desirable solution to those in power i s to carry on taking risks until,(they Â hope) all the problems are solved. Smoking kills thousands, but we don't stop smoking; we try to make a 'safe' '

cigarette. As mentioned earlier, we recycle but forgetto question- use.

The examples arc numerous. Chr ia Half

b cop "The Diceman M W d from e Woman's liwitute Jumble Sate changes . your life. Set * the W ~ n t sqwres as your options. Throw dice.

I Abortion is an awkward subject, being on the boundary o f society's just i f iable interference with individual l iberty. It should only be necessary in rare, clearly def ined medical conditions; but such is not t he case. Tam Dougan explains some of t he implicat ions of t he latest move to restr ict it, which is due to have i t s third reading on 8th February 1980.

women seeking abortions are blonde, healthy, with cars. So declares H. McClaren, father o f seven,

presbytarian and an active campaigner for SPUC - the Society for the Protection o f the Unborn Child. SPUC and LIFE are active (predominantly religious) cam. paigns which have implemented and backed the present abortion reform bill, using John Corrie, Conservative MP for Aberdeenshire as their spokesman.

At present the 1967 Abortion Bill allows abortion below 28 weeks to be legal and safe i f continuing the pregnancy would be mentally or physically detri-

Act by: grounds of the "new" bill an restricting the grounds abortion would not be available. abortion . , Widening the conscience clause It will be almost impossible to This would allow doctors and net a doctorto do an abortion nurses to object to performing inless it can'& proved that ~'

abortions for any reason at all, . . 1) the woman's life is in grave and not only for religious or

danger. . - ethical grounds. This would . , 2) There is a.$&tantial risk of-,.; allow Area Health Authorities to

serious dangd??to-the wxr+t%'s.. .' use "unsympathetic staff" as an physical or mental health, or to excuse for providing inadequate

facilities. Destroying the abortion charities

A The bill says that there should be no financial relationship betweer

mental to the woman involved or i f the inics and referal agencies, and foetus is believed to have a high risk of t even pregnancy testing deformity. This means that most fairly ntres should be licensed and liberal-minded doctors would recommend n by a qualified doctor 01

an early abortion i f the woman wanted rse. This would make the one. as statisticallv an abortion is safer than continuing pregnancy to full term.

The 1967 Abortion Act was a con- cession to the liberal 60's, granted because more than 3,000 women a year were being admitted to hospitals with septic wombs resulting from the un-

' '

hygenic conditions of backstreet abortionists.

In 1971 the Government set up the Lane Committee to look into the work- ,

ings o f the 1967 Act. The committee sat for three years and published a three volume report in April, 1974. Their findings were that the Act had relieved 1.1 vast amount o f individual suffering, and focussed attention on the need for widespread contraceptive advice and facilities. They criticised the NHS for not having adequate facilities to meet the demand for legal abortions, which often forced women to pay private clinics for their abortions. Although in the private sector some doctors had made small fortunes, there were enough charity-stiitir clinics like BPAS to make abuses of the that o f her children. Act relatively small. The committee Reducing the upper time limit to recommended that the Act should not be 20 weeks changed in any restrictive way. This A 20 week limit will mean that, report was never discussed or acted in practice, no abortion will be upon by Parliament, and is not included done after the 16th week of in the wrms of reference for the Select pregnancy, as i t is difficult to 0 mniittee on Abortion, set up after tell the exact stage of pregnancy. ames White's Abortion (Amendment) There will be limited excep- Bill of 1975. White's bill, which was tions to this, as some tests for similar in content to the Corrie bill, never abnormalities are not conclusive received its third reading due to lack of until 20 weeks. However, in a Parliamentary time. case such as German Measles,

Corrie's bill (which will certainly get there is no conclusive test, only sufficient time), will change the 1967 a 60-40 statistical risk so on the

charities unable to continue. At the moment, about 25% of abortions are done through the clinics.

This i s an approximate guide to the Corr Bill. Clauses may be added or changed b' the Committee, which has a higher percentage of anti-abortionists than any other abortion committee has had in the past.

One o f the most important effects mi be that i f a doctor recommends an abortion, and i t is subsequently proved (with the benefit of hindsight) that the woman's life was not in "grave" danger i she had continued with the pregnancy, t will be liable to prosecution and could face a maximum penalty bf life imprisor ment. This means that doctors will be unlikely to recommend abortion in any circumstances.

Methods o f abor t ion

Up to 14 weeks, abortions are generally done by the suction method. The cervix is dilated and the contents of the womb are sucked out, under either a general or a local anaesthetic. This can b done using day-care facilities and is statistically safer than allowing the pregnancy to continue to term.

After 14 weeks, the general method used is to inject prostaglandin (possibly with urea) into the amniotic fluid surrounding the foetus. This stimulates uterine contractions and so brings about spontaneous abortion. The process takes about ten hours and is comparable to childbirth in discomfort (usually an epidural injection into the spine is given

Malthusian population theories are out of fashion, and family planning won't save the world. But if s still a good idea, argues Debby Hyams.

.. , , . , ,.. . ,,'. *block the pain). , Rarety, a hysterotomy might be lerformed. This operation is like a 'aesarian section, and the scar substan- ially weakens the uterus, which could ive rise to problems in future pregnancies.

Obviously, the earlier an abortion is lerformed, the safer andless traumatic i t i for the womanconcqrned. What this h i l l would do,.if passed, would be to ~riously restrict a woman's control over er own body. She would face, if she hides sMe cannot raise the child herself, he choice of a dangerous backstreet bortion or continuingthe pregnancy and aving the child adopted (assuming other imily commitments allow her to give up er job).

There is, we are told, a waiting list of iildless couples who would love to adopt i d care for a new-born baby andraise i t i their own. Itwould seem, though, that iry feware prepared to either foster or iopt any of the 94,200 (1975 figures) in ire in the UK. These children are some- mesmentally or physically handicapped, F mixed parentage or difficult and sturbed - the very ones that would. ,' ,.

inefit from SPUC's "sanctityOf life'' ' .>,

>peal. ,,,;.,~ ,<~".. " , . , : ' > ' ' . . 2

. > > ..*. u : : ~ , ..: ~ .,. , . ..

, woman's right to . choose. . . .,

Women have suffered long from a .~ ale-dominated society,'and in our .'

esent political climate i t appears that ',

t will soon have to suffer even more. ith cuts in public spending, the first ople to feel it will be working women . ., ith children, single parents and those ost dependent on the welfare state. . ' . . Jrsery places will be cut back, hospital -: cilities axed, longerwaiting lists for ferrals and operati0ns:Education cuts . ~ '

tan no or limited school meals, ove'r- owded classes etc. Women's growing sedom b f opportunity has ground to a If and we find Ourselves in a position w e we haveto fight to defend the [hts we have now. The Corrie bill will hit hardest at the .:

irking classes, therefore abbrtion i s not it a women's issue but also $trade lion issue. Unions should fight for this , ;ht just as they fight against wemploy- Mnt or racial discrimination. Above all, is fight is against allowing a minority dictate their moral or religious views on

I .. . ~bortion~am~aign -

ue committed to fighting for a woman s right to choose. NAC was formed in 1975 to , ligh

t the Jarnes White bill: They are at 3 4, Gray's Inn Rd., London WC1. I (See the news pages for reports on the TUC demonstration at Hyde Park). You can helpby:

pftsslns resolutions againstthe bill at your Tiade Union, student's Union, Labour Pity, Trades Council, etc.

Writing to your MP. SPUC are prolific letter writers, and.8 your MP if pro-abortion, He (sic) will be grateful to receive support to counteract the many received from anti- abortion groups.

Joiniw the National Abortion Campaign. Giving money to f i t the Conie bill.

TomDougan ~ ,

There i s a simple train of thought which goes - one child is nice, several children are even nicer, large numbers of children are very, very nice. Newspapers talk about the birthrate 'improving'; would- be-grannies long to start knitting. Unfortunately the truth for many millions of people around the world is different - childbearing rea1ly.i~ one area where you can have too much of a good thing. For the majority of the world's women children are a distinctly mixed blessing - a fact testified to by the fact that 1 in 4 of all pregnancies ends in abortion. Nor is childhood itself the carefree, innocent time that we might wish for children. For more than ' half the world's population, childhood is a time characterised by hunger, poverty, sickness and hard work - and the number is growing.

By the time a child born this year celebrates its 21st birthday there will be 3 people for every 2 alive today - an additional 2,000 million children and young people to add to the 4,000+ million which make up the present world population. These are not wildguesses - the next generation of parents is already born and i s so much larger than the last that there is virtually no way the population can fail to grow. In Latin America, for example, where more than 4 out of

,

every 10 people are under the age of 15, the population will almost have doubled by the war 2000, and is likely to treble during their lifetime*. In countries where most people live in a state of desperate poverty this may be disastrous, particularly as more and more people drift towards the sprawling shantytowns and slums of the cities, seeking the work that the countryside can no longer offer them.

is already visible - overcrowding, alienation, social breakdown, pollution, povert a catalogue of misery which the 'growth' advocates seem to disregard. In the UK the same voices proclaim 'necessary unemployment' and 'more micro chips'; 'more babies for Britain' and 'stop immi- gration'. Such a manifesto ignores social

: need (perhaps predictably) butalso ignoi es the fact that unemployment and . '

inflation, far from being peculiar to ..

Britain,. reflect a world in which increasing numbers of people are chasing ' ,

decreasing resources. Overcropping, over- fishinr desertifiwtion - all consequenc- In unu of poverty, i t i s the children of 1- f i rn i l i ts whowffer mmL A study of mil- nouridied children found (hat 61% of the severely mdnouridied children studied were fourth OI IuterthadiCT. I t h u been ctlcuiat- &&at without any improvements in income. medical cueoi food supply., a 3-child family

Attitudes and f A m m

EOucmomI Status no. of Chifdrmi , of Family Planning

Illitwu 6.4 . BOX ~ . ~ . <

Rim"" w h d so 1BX . ~~~ ~, ~ . - ~- , . ~ .

Heavy population Swondiry Â¥choo 4.0': . .- 0.6% uniwwsty 2.7 , ,< 0%' .

I t is of course true that a fairer distribu- (source: wortdwtch h p i r n0.161 . . ..: tion of resources could solve many of the es of bverpopulation -are taking their problems of poverty and hunger that exist in. the world, but the resources themselves are not infinite. Food production could be increased tomorrow to cope with a growing population - but the energy in- put would be vast, and future prospects for energy supplies on this scale are at best uncertain. This i s why heavy population density in the industrialised countries is at least as alarming as that in the third world. A child born in britain might use up to 40 times the resources used by a Bangladeshi child -and with expectations of higher living standards rising around the world it is vital to attack on two fronts - to limit the growth of population and to stop competitive economic 'growth' policies.

The.evidence of failure on these fronts

toll. In the words of Lester Brown, Presi- dent of the Worldwatch Institute in Washington, 'We are consuming the. ' .

biological capital along, with the .. interest'. Moreover, a rapidly growing popula-

tion makes i t difficult to implement new social and economic systems - per-:. haps the best hopefor our children. ,.

Hence the emphasis on family planning in alcountry like China,.where population limitation has gone hand-in-hand ., with social and economicdevelopment. While it is truethat a drop in the birth

, rate often follows a rise in living standard - in countries which are reaching crisis ,.

point it i s imperative that the two things happen simultaneously, otherwise half the devclopment effort may be wasted

Undercurrents 37

Family planning permission The two aspects - family iflanning ,

and.social/ec~~omk Wopoient-are - -

(or should be) the two sides rf the belop- ment coin. Brian Abel-Smith has written:

'People who expect their children to survive have smaller fantilies and

. smaller families aremore likely to , survive. The acceptance of family

planning indicates a more equal status, of women. A more equal status of women cancontribute t o b n ~ m i c ~

family development,and economic develop- Adults make kids. ill - literally. John Dennis of the Unit for the Study ment which results jn more women of Health Policy examines environmental threats to kids' health. being employed outside the house Those with the Repo* society, so predictably, a wide range of m y contribute both to the $taus d a the fume h4* *wbs for and to the acceptance of family children (1) will recognlse the above

indicators of health show pronounced planning. And so on.'* inequalities.' It is this variation between

adaptation of its title. While members Unfortunately we are s t i l l same way from yf iÃ£ primafily

classes which leads some to suggest that this pro essivt cycle. In the third world, ed with the h d h sewkÃ§ necessary

many important health problems of

ahout-1% babies are born every 30 childhood are related to the environment to ensure that children grow up 'fit

seconds, and 10 of these will be 'dead and are therefore susceptible to modera" for the future' my Own concern in this tiom I sh.Ã deal with four specific areas beforetheir first birthday. In sotre coun- brief -iew is with those *inns

~ ' k t h e figure 1s twice as high- krents hi& in p m &ermine why, when and before going on to a more general case.

who ex(>ect their children t o die have . how come into contact with I large families as a safeguard -and in- accident and illness services. What Anti-natal? advertelltly increase the incidence of factors are associated with illness or Firstly, there are the problems of infantand toddler mortality. Children injuw in ,-hiidre,,? born ton dose together have a poor

development prior to birth, and of birth First, i t is necessary to get some itself. huch of the improvement in life

start in life/- and also the chant- overall idea of the health problems es of survival for their older brothers

expectancy s'nce 1850 has been due to children face. Data about deaths are the rapiddecline In infant mortality

and sisters, may hawta maned the most solid information we have before they are ready. Kwashiorkor *

1 rates. While careful evaluations of the

the deadly protein deficiency disease and provide some surprises. Of roughly - role of modern scientific medicine in 11,500 deaths under 1 year and 5,500 ,

common among third world children - 1 and 15 in ~ ~ ~ l ~ d literally means the illness of the one and Wales in 1973, the major causes displaced from the breast to make way accounted for the fotlowing percentage for a new baby. Child spacing can give of deaths. children a better chance of survival, as well as, freedom for their mothers from under 1 1-15 ~ - .. ~ ~ - ~ - . .~ .~ ~

,a^tatfrof rtnstaiStpregnarey. -

alongside, the child spacing programmes must be assurances of bet& health, and of reasonable alternatives to child- bearinu for women whose procress is blockedby lack of education &d Sptus., . ~

:. Familyplanning canncrt.tofve the ' world's problems, nor can it guarantee a better future for our children. What it

do i s to provide the opportunity for ..other formsof aid to become effective,, . toprovide the beginnings of liberation .:forwomen, and to give children at least . thechance of a reasonablestart in life. , .~ .. , . . Debby H Y ~ S

D*bby Hyam it Information Officer for Population Concern, a charity sponsored by tha FPA to raise funds for voluntary familv planning programme! around the world.

. Thair iptcial proiffits for International Year of $he Child include a Child Need SUN& in Pakistan. If you can help, or would like more information, contact Po~ulfltion Concern at 27/36 Mortinrr Strut, London WIN 7RJ 101-637 95821.

. . . , . *!-ti-

. . < . ,>, .

World Population Report ; . 2&2 W& PI& for people . free

Population Today . . Â£3.2 . (â‚¬ McQfw.pub~iye. % . & W@rd 19791. ' . .:. . ,' .

The ~ t c t i w in the ~irtfirtta: , 5 5 p . towrdi a better quality of,

lifÃ tB. Benjamin. Pub: Birth Control Ttwt 19781.

I - - -

% % Accidents 2.9 26.2 Congenital abnorrnal-

ities 22.4 9.9 Respiratory disease -14.2 10.6 Malignant disease 0.5 14.3

(From: Jackson2)

Under one year of age almost a quarter, of deaths are due to congenital abnormalities. Here, things like spina bifida, heart problems and hydrocephalus (water on the brain) exact the greatest toll. Between one and fifteen years. accidents are clearly the most important problem - motor vehicle traffic accidents accounting for almost a third o f these deaths. Such a grim picture is worsened by the introduction of social class.

Statistics from the Office of Popula- tion Censuses and Surveys' (OPCS) show steep class gradients. For example, the infant mortality rate (per 1,000 live births) ranges from 10 for females in Social Class 1 to 35 for males in Social Class V. Such differences are often ascribed to parental fecklessness but they persist even for congenital abnormal- . . ities.

As Morris4 comments 'Wealth and income, housing and environment, education and social skills, status and esteem, these major resources and conditions of health are unequally divided in our

this improvement have demonstrated t h e imoortance of environmental factors (sa ~ iKeown6) there is no doubt that

'

obstretrics has also contributed. How- ever this does not mean that to further improve childbirth we should turn primarily to obstetrics. In the first place, decreasing infant mortality rates sometimes means an increasing number of essentially unhealthy and severely handicapped babies surviving. In the second place, there are worries that we may become obsessed by the physical well-being of the baby and mother at the expense of their psychological well- being. There i s rightly a concern with early bonding between mother (parents) and her child - a concern which is com- patible with some of the technological 'boxes of tricks' thought to be necessary on physical grounds. Some have suggest- ed (Smithells6) that we might move towards thelFrench system of linking maternity benefits to attendance of ante-natal clinics. However, such a move might well simply further penalise die socially disadvantaged and least he Ithy

on making ante-natal clinics much i and we should probably concentra e

more convenient and more friendly places to attend. More serious attention to the physical and social environment before, during and After birth would doubtless bring benefits.

Play Dead Secondly, there i s the problem .of , , '

play. This extends beyond the refatively! well-known difficulties of families in. ,,

high rise flats to the issue of nursery

Undercu m

lor Education - So what?

Stephen Sterling argues that envianrnental education offers a unified approach that formal education ignores at our peril.

So What? Well, environmental education is different. Environmental education is essential. Unfortunately, i t is also widely neglected partly because these two asser-

t ions are either not accepted or not sufficiently understood. The implications of EE are wide-ranging and fundamental to education and society. A brief article can only outline the 'difference and essentialism' of EE and this is approached through comparison with the bases of 'traditional' education.

In my view, i t i s not just to do with looking at trees or studying pollution or even conservation. Instead, from an ethical base, EE re-examines our cultural norms and poses radical questions relating to die function of education.

But, first a little history. The term 'Environmental education' was first coin- ed in 1965 at a conference concerned with 'The Countryside in 1970'. Born of circumstance, the far-reaching implications of the term, lent weight by the environmental consciousness of the late '60s and early '70s. were soon realised. The sudden appearance of this new and relevant concept sparked off a series of national and international conferences during the '70s which have generated much discussion on the whole theme. The best known and most widely accepted definition is that passed by an IUCN conference on EE in 1970: 'EE i s the process of recognising values and clarifying concepts in order to develop skills and attitudes necessary to understand and appreciate the inter- relatedness among man, his culture and biophysical surroundings. EE also entails practice in decision-making and self- formulation of a code of behaviour about issues concerning environmental quality.'

Guidelines such wide-ranging concepts are a cause

of frustration amongst converts and an excuse for inaction amongst sceptics despite everyday indications of the urgency of the task. Nearly a decade - - and many words - later EE still eludes a specific definition which i s incapable of misinter- pretation. But this is because the concept of EE is ultimately concerned with a fundamental level in our culture - the abstract sphere of perception, attitudes and values which guide our actions in 'elation to the environment and to each sther. However, despite its intangibility.

a grasp of the essence of EE - based upon concern for man and environment - points to a number of largely agreed principles which together form coherent and purposeful guidelines for those involved in EE. Translation of these general guidelines into specific concepts - from the abstract to the concrete - is of course open to differing interpretation according to circumstance, and this is to be expected. What matters is that enough educationalists understand the significance of EE.

The principles or characteristics, which can be traced through the major national and international documents on EE over the last ten years, also indicate what EE is not. Environmental Education is not a new subject, i t is not another fringe demand on a crowded curriculum, and i t is not synonymous with environmental studies, rural studies or environmental science. Instead, EE is an approach which cuts across traditional attitudes to knowledge and education.

Desirable or Sane? Before looking further at the EE

approach, let's examine these traditional attitudes. Firstly, consider an admittedly simple statement - that knowledge is basically that which has been abstracted from the total environment : and which has, in

some way, been tested by experience ir the widest sense. The 'total environmer can be described as being made up of two intermeshed natural and man-mad< worlds - the biosphere and technosphe Human brains cope by ordering and classifying incoming information and this is reflected in our approach to knowledge. Thus a problem may be I cd at economically, politically, socio logically, religious'ly, or scientifically mathematically, geographically, histori~ ly, artistically and so on. The danger, o course, is that - like the five blind men who failed to agree on the shape of ai elephant by touching different parts. the true specialist is likely to perceive an aspect of the problem but unlikely t appreciate its relation to the whole, or worse, deny the existence of the whole. Thus, the intellectual divorce of the biosphere and technosphere leads to in- appropriate action in the real world of complex relationships. Moreover, the paradoxical situation often exists (parti cularly in r roblems of human ecology), where a mass of analytical detail can obscure a farger perspective. Another dimension of this attitude to knowledgi i s the elevation of objectivity to the status of final arbiter instead of being useful tool t ? be guided by ethics and intuition. But what is objectivity? A perfectly logical conclusion may be neither desirable nor very sane i f the premises upon which the discussion was built were suspect. Furthermore, the facts selected to support the discussion may presuppose value judgements. For example, decision or teaching on the site of the third London airport is likely to begin from presuppo sition that a third London airport is desirable. I f we wish to nurture creative and critical minds, the value base of 'beginning points' in discussion, decisioi or in teaching must be recognised and examined. Creating behaviour

Environmental education is given . -am '-

t iawnfrthe Wst instance by its objec- Some differing characteristics o f approach ivesand approach, whereas traditional IiscipheG are primarily defined by the lature of their content. The goals o f $3 as stated by the UNESCO Inter- [overnmental Conference on Environ- rental Education (Tbilisi 1977) will be nstructive here. They are

a) t o foster clear awareness of, and oncern about, economic, social, tolitical and ecological interdependence rt urban and rural areas;

b] to provide every person with ipportunities t o acquire the knowledge, alues, attitudes, commitment and kills needed'to protect and improve he environment; ' 0 ) t o create new patterns o f behaviour if individuals, groups and society as a AoIe towards the environment. , The contrast in approach between ame o f the characteristics o f EE and raditional education are summarised elow. This is a model - I do not sug- est that all formal education conforms 3 ffie pattern on the right.

hvironmental education is essential Why? Stated simply, because all

ridence'suggests that threats t o the qual- y ' o f [if; - as a result o f our mode of vipg - are increasing. Description o f ie'causes and symptoms o f the environ- wntal crisis is not necessary here, but rejection o f trends indicates that human fe itself is threatened. Environmental ducation seeks t o provide an education- I'base that encourages and allows the idividual to live a fulfilling life with ~iriikrium disruption to the ecosystem $at supports that individual. Clearly, i is is a continuing 'ends' based philo- iphy that contrasts with the 'means' rientated short-sighted pragmatism so fpn witnessed in contemporary x ie ty and largely responsible - un- fittingly or no - f o r environmental egradation, The latter short term 'real- ,m' ignores the reality o f the ecologi- al context which underlies all activity.

So, if EE is essential, How should it e implemented? It follows that an pproach largely concerned with ethics annot be taught unless the.teacher

Environmental Education ' Traditional Education

Perspective

1. Holistic Specialised. Primary concern with wholes and The form o f understandin held in most patterns before detail because all esteem is vertical depth. Under- processes interact. Understanding standing based on analysis. Uni- based on synthesis and systems disciplinary. approach, therefore multidisciplinary/ ,

, . interdisciplinary. Perception o f overview encouraged, ' Interrelationships often not recognic especially within the ecological Subject boundaries defended. 'Rele- context (as the ultimate support and vany judged by limited criteria. No,,- constraint o f man's activities) from critical acceptance o f socio-economic individual to global level. trends and 'conventional w!sdom'.

a&Â¥? Much 'pure' theory unrelated to com- plexity of real world qnciallv or environmentally.

2. Paradoxically, the 'stand back' Stemming from 1 above, prevalent idea perspective in 1 above allows and that a) man is independent o f life encourages participation and self support systems and finiteness o f determination. Strennhened bv out- resources /even i f intellectuallv the - of school work. opposite is known) and b) individual is

3. Recognition that interdependence Values often regarded as unnecessary between man and environment (and complication to 'value free' fact man's power to disrupt natural pro- learning. Perhaps relegated to moral cesses) necessitates informed respon- education. sibility and that many responsible decisions involve ethical dimension. Recognition o f links between the ethical, aesthetic and the behavioural.

Environmental education i s ultimately concerned with the step between 'Action' and 'Environment' and therefore also each essential preceding link. I would maintain that many teachers believe that their job stops at stage 1 b, and the students are then free to some-' how form their attitudes from the 'value free' or 'balanced' material that has been given them. Teachers are often unaware that choice o f material ,

I familiar (and agrees) withthe basic presupposes a value judgement (stage hilosophy o f that approach*. Thus, la) - for example, traditional ~stification for teaching a body o f economics as taught i s based on a laterial in many cases should go beyond series o f largely unquestioned assump- imple answers such as 'because it's on tions. By contrast, environmental i e syllabus' or 'because society needs educationalists should openly and

i engineers'. 'Accidental' EE (i.e. honestly set out to nurture critical outforethought by the teacher,) is concern in their students for the

ossible but not probable. Consider this environmentand quality o f life, based imple model: on sound knowledge o f environmental

TeachingILearning . Directive fieldwork - l a 4 ~eachir 's approach

thinking, which in the post war period ~ ' ~ x has been dominated by the impetus o f ' '- science, technology and economics. ' Ironically, these phenomena are but tools or techniques which per se have 'Â¥f "7 nothing to tell us about the desirable z,.; extent or mode o f using them. In the , last resort, the question rests on whether the education system should follow unquestioningly society's *

dominant ethos, no matter where it may lead, or whether it should help

;% shape that ethos, based on humanistic .,:, values which are, in turn, based upon

,>

the importance o f the relations between ', ourselves and between man and his

z*

environment. That's how EE i s different, 5

The children o f today are tomorrow's decision makers. That's why EE is

' ~f Nature and Natural Resources.

&This aim is the opposite of indoctrination which seeks to limit and stifle awareness of thinking.

3 EE does not seek to replace traditional patterns of education but to give it a new,

. . . ~ * , . , ' , ~ . . , <. . . .

of tfme ofupcoming 'surpass& .. ;.. %?ippectionk mere was psik ": ;, monv stating that workers used uranium

The case of Karen 'Silkwood and the faulty fuel rods . . . in. which Jim Garrison and Cla'ir Ryle tell how the waa kilted after discovering fault* in nuclear reactors. The evidence for which disappears . . .

When Karen Silkwood was run of f the road and killed on Nov. 13,1974, she was carrying documentation that she said would prove conclusively that the Kerr-Mc Gee (KM) Nuclear Corporation was guilty not only of gross violations of worker health and safety standards but of quality control regulations as well. She worked at the KM plutonium facility i n Okla- homa.% a lab technician; she was also a union representative with a special responsibility for the area o f worker health and safety.' As a union representative for this area, she had interviewed all the KM workers who had ever reported management violation* of the health and n rules; she had memorized'the Atom fety c Energy Commission (AEC) regulations promulgated to safeguard the health o f the workers; and she had conducted her own health and safety inspections of the plant during her free time, compiling a list of over forty serious violations. Her concerns were primarily because of the (act that workers were put on the plutonium production linq without ipy training in many cases; because of radioactive spills that were so large that dozens of workers were getting irradiated at a time; und W s e the KM management, in order to meet production quotas, order- ed the workers to stand in the contam- inated areas and continue w01Wng while dean-up crews attempted to clean up the men around them.

Magic Marker ' The most serious violation Karen

discovered, however, involved the fact that KM officials were knowingly 'doctoring' with magic marker, the safety inspection X-rays which, by AEC regulations, had to be taken of each plutonium fuel rod to insure that it was not leaking radiation through faulty welding. The AEC demanded perfectly welded fuel rods because, if defective, they could cause a serious accident in the plutonium fired liquid metal fast breeder reactor they were designed for. On Nov. 1 just 12 days before she was killed, Karen finally secured copies of two separate 'magic-marker doctored' fuel rod safety inspection X-rays, doctored by one Scott Dotter, the special laboratory technician who the KM management had specifically assigned to conduct the final safety inspection X-raying of the fuel rods. Silkwood discovered that not only was he doctoring up the X-

rays indicating faulty welds but that the mere number of the fuel rods he 'cleared' each week was itself a direct violation of AEC regulations requiring that no one inspector be allowed to give the final clearance on over a certain percentage o f the fuel rods leaving the

" O n the night o f Nov. 13, S i lkhod was can-vine the above information to Steve~odka, a union official, and to Dave Burnham, an investigative reporter for the 'New ~orkTimes'. She never got to the meeting. As mentioned, she was hit in the rear, forced off the road, and killed. Her car was towed away, and the documents she had with her disappeared. -

. ",.-~.--

Callous Over four years later, in the Spring

of 1979, afederal court case bro against KM by Karen's parents has

'" are slated to be used in the plutonium,

proventhat what she was asserting con- 'past Flux Test Facility (FFTF) before cerning KM was in fact true. One of . the end of the year. Loading of the fuel , the witnesses, Dr. Karl Morgan, often referred to as the 'father of health physics' for his role in the setting of standards for radiation releases in nuclear facilities, testified that the KM plant where Karen had worked was the 'filthiest'nuclear facility he had ever seen in his thirty years in the industry besides the reprocessing plant in New York. He further stated that KM showed a 'callous' attitude towards the safety of its workers, pointing out that the KM training manuals made no mention of the fact that one could contact cancer from radiation exposure.

orm me} plant workers stated under oath that their traininghad been so deficient that teenage workers, not even aware that plutonium was toxic, often played at who could get 'the hottest the fastest'. Workers said that plutonium spills were often painted over instead of cleaned UD if they keot

pins is expected to start in November, 1979. and the reactor is scheduled.to 'uo critical' in the StJfin~ or Summer . - of 1980.

Ownedby the Westinghouse Hanfo3- Company, the FFTF is located near . ' '

Richland. Washineton. andis considered the current centrepiece of the long and so far unsuccessful campaign by the government and the nuclear industry' to commercialise the liquid metal fast breeder reactor (LM f BR).

Dream cycle LMFBR's are the nuclear industry's

dream of the future and the answer to the industry's most-critical question: ,

where to getenough fuel to keep their , plutonium economy running. Nuclear , power plants are now fueled with uranium but less thanone percent o f . natural uranium is the fissionable iso- tope U-235 which the reactors need to operate. When uranium is mined, therefore, it must go through an ex-

for paper we&hts, threw i t around the rooms at each other, and even took uranium home to veto the children to take to school ? or 'show and tell'. One of the four plant supervisors, Jim Smith, branded the KM Nuclear Facility 'pig- pen', testifying that security was so lax, workers could have thrown plutonium over the back fence or simply taken it ,

past the guards by telling them it was . to be thrown out as waste. I

As to the question of the faulty fuel rods, workers testified that there were . defects in both the stainless steel tubes that form the outside of the rods and in the fuel pellets put into the stainless steel tube$:One worker, Ron Hammock, testified that 'even though we rejected them, we would go ahead and ship them because we were too far behind i n production.'>He said workers under . orders from their KM supervisors would simply sand down the welds which seemed defective, which weaken- ed them even farther.

Guilty After hearing these facts, the six per-

son jury found KM guilty and decided to award (10 million in punitive d a m !

to deter KMfrom continuing negligent corporate practices that endanger the lives of employees. The jury also awarded $550,000 for personal injury damag- es, making KM responsible for the , plutonium planted in Silkwood's apart- ment a week before her death and for the internal bodily contamination he suffered as a result.

The Silkwood victory is s f i l l riot corn-- plete, however, for the faulty fuel rods ,

she died trvine to reveal the facts about

happen'ing in the 5& place often \ tremely capital and energy intensive enough, workers left the plant contamina- process to 'enrich' it to the desired p d , , % d p l ~ t supervisors . ~ wrewarrteij, . ,.. icvel . of%-235 . - generallybetween3 .. .

. . . . , ,. .,. Z " - and 4%?The inherent inefficiencv of ' troohic. for a Lult) fuel rod ban cause fGAf^ investiffator finaflv stated the this process, however, coupled 4th skyrocketing prices for both the uranium itself and the energy used to thine, mill, enrich, fabricate, and transport it, is threatening the entire industry with economic bankruptcy.

' The answer given to this problem is not the obvious one: that the nuclear fuel cycle be shut down and recycled into alternative energy schemes. Rather, government and the nuclear industry assert that what must be done is to build huge breedet reactorswhich will produce or 'breed' new plutonium fuel even as it burhs the fuel in its core. This is accomplish- ed when atoms of abundant but otherwise useless Uranium-238 absorb neutrons which are produced in the fissioning of the plutonium. The breeder thus turns into fuel part of the 99% of the natural uranium which ordinary reactors do not use.

Failure point various designs have e n proposed

-fo^bfeedws,^^^rt theniwmhiclrh* been selected for development is the LMFBR - so called because it uses" liquid sodium rnetolas a coolant, and because it relies on fast moving . . w o n s for breeding. 1.'

, The Westinghouse FFTFhas been.,' designed as a testing facility for future breeders: It is not designed to generate electricity; instead, the 400 megawatts

'of power it generates - an enormous .3an)ount'for a 'test' facility - will be dumped into the desertair o f eastern Washington. Nor will.the F f i F breed a* plutonium, asthis is unnecessary for its experimental purqoses. In tvery other way, however, it will operate exactly like a LMFBR. . ..

I h e Department of Energy, who : , contracted the Westinghouje Corpora- tion for the facility, plans to push some, fuel rods to their failure point: ~. , It also plans to place in test position?,,;,:, fuel tbat i s known to be defective. .,:, Aidoug1' the 'experts' insist that there tt no danger i,n this, they base these, ,

assertions on 'mathematical modelling* and computer predictions. They expect the FFTF to "verify'these predictions. But what if their predictionsare wrong? If they are, the people living ,

near the facility will be the realexperi- mental guinea pigs. , / ' .

. . . ..-. ~r~ 7 , ~ ~

a disturbance in ,the flow of the sodium .4, , obviousby recommending that e.& coolant. If .this itdone, then thtl.Iiquid : . and every fuel rodbe. checked. The : sodium mi t not reach a portion o f s ^ Department of Energy, however, has the fuel i n mean tocool. This block- resisted this recommendation 2nd bas

refused to even let an indepcdnent - ,

age can lead to what the "experts', ' euphemistically call a 'core disruptive ' accident*. In plain English this means a nuclear explosion. Unlike nonnal

. reactors which, if there is a meltdown release larger amounts of radioactivity in the fprm of a cloud, breeders, because they work o f f plutoni go supercritical and eiplode lip cdn ' nuclear bombs.

As earlv as lanuarv &f 1975. the westinghouse ~ o r p . receiving the KM fuel rbds stated that 57 of one particular shipment were not 'free of all visible oxide, scale, splits, laps, cracks, seams, inclufions and other defects.' Thirty-eight of these were eventually accepted by the Department of Energy, however, because i t 'determin- ed that the defects were minor', according to Leroi Rice, a quality control official at the project. A May 1975 report from Westihghouse indicates that a quality assurance supervisor was using scotch brite on fuel pins

as having clad inclusions. ugh the inspector was toldthat pins would not be shipped, they shipped the following month. - - -

' Appeasement KM engaged in a production speed-

up' around June 1974, as well which according to worker testimony in the Silkwood trial led to a situation when even inspection of the fuel rods ceased. When the speed-up was announced, thev no Ionizer examined all the sidesif the fuel rods, only the

, fide visible to themA later report by . . 'the Energy Research Devplopynt

. , . Aeencv ERDAl confirmedthis : , ~ - ., , - - ~, , although~Greplied eat, . ' tions didnot requi'ka , ,

examination.The workers - ted out thatvisual examination t reveal defects on hidden , . To appease the public and

eir regulatory responsibilities, ERDA did eventually evaluate some fuel rods from one particular lot and had two of the rods examined through cross sectioning. ERDA's findings were that therods examined were acceptable. A report by Batteile laboratories in Hanford three months later, however,

investigative, panel undertake a study of the fuel rods:The official reasonfor this refusal is, that any such study wouli be 'prohibitively expensive*. When the plant was proposed in the late 1960!s,. it was expected to cost $87.5 million: Now that construction is complete, ,<'

costs haverisen to over 2647 million. Inserting the fuel rods and firing up the reactor will bring total costs to over $1 thousand million. Wtth the livesof people all over the northwest part of the United States at stake, we must ask the Department of Energy) whether this i s the time to start cutting costs.

Time is short. The fuel rods are scheduled to be fixed into the core this month but they have not yet actually started to do. this. Local ant/-nuclear organisefi around Richland, Washingtot have asked for national aqd internation- atsupport. They have asked thatletters be sent t&certiin key senatorswho have expressed interest in holding hearings.on the matter, If hearings are held, the'fcurrent schedule of fuel rod inser- tion +ill be postponed indefinitely. The two Senators are Sen. Hart and Sen. WtfieldT Anylet& sent t o Sen. Hart should ask specifically that he call for in-depth hearings on the FFTF through reviewing the material. The letter to Hatfield should encourage him to continue the inquiries into the Nuclear Remlatow Commission '

recommendations to the Department of Energy on the safety issue concerning the FFTF. HeAad stated that if he i s not satisfied with the Depart- ment of Energy's respoqst he will ask the GAO to hold hearings. At this time the GAO appears to be the only branch of the US government that is

Supercritical asserted that one of the fuel rods ERDA hacLexamined contained a laree defect

7 .

Nor.is this all. The 9,000 fuel rods that had not been detected inprevious /&at the KM plutonium plant produced* . examinations. ire to be used as the 'driver' fuel which - - .. - ~ ~~ . . -~ ~~. ~

willpower the reactor. Faulty fuel ;. , here are acknowledged even by Protest npw! [ hgovernment to be potentially catas-' A Government Accounting Office '

capable of holdingobje 1

.- Washington, D.C. 2051 0

Senator Hatfield 1401 Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington D.C. 20510

LOCAL CONTACT PERSON: Creg Darby Hanfor4 Conversion Project P.O. Box 524 Pasco, WA, 9930

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Claire Ryle, Jim Garrison RADIATION & HEALTH INFORMA-

TION SERVICE, 9 Marion Close Cambridge CB3 OHN 0223-350917. .

Undercurrents 37

V tSrt<^l^i

Feeling mental ill-ish? Worried about your nasty habits? Stand on your own feet and cure yourself says Kieron O'Connor.

Behavioural psychology has a considerable contribution to make towards self sufficiency and alternative autonomous life styles. Many people reject behaviour- ism on ideological grounds. A little misinformed prejudice goes a long way, and so a lot of useful discoveries are being missed by a large number of people. Most behavioural techniques are geared towards self help and self instruction by people themselves and away from reliance on centralised professional institutions, and these techniques can be valuable in helping recognise, influence and extend psychological and physiological capabilities. Practically, the principles of behavioural self help are simpler and more effective than other, dore formal, psychotherapies. But, just as important, behavioural principles work with the current conscious wishes of an individual and so advance the self determination of personal experience.

Philosophy The principles of behaviour therapy differ from those of the other psychotherapies (Freudian, Adlerian, Rogerian, gestalt, primal, transactional, humanist, psycho- synthetic etc. ad infiniturn) because the 'models of man' with which they work are derived in different ways. Behaviour- ists, as the name implies, employ systematic observation o f human behaviour as i t is conducted in the world, and from this method have built up a taxonomy of environmental cues, contexts and contingencies that accompany both the maintenance and acquisition o f different behaviour patterns. The behavioural model is thus situational. When we do or feel something i t i s in response to our immediate psychological environment. We all act differently in different environments and i t is from the specific cues we perceive from moment to moment that we decide on our actions. So i t seems reaponable to propose that a course of action should be understood in the context in which i t takes place.

Other psychotherapies, however, reject the value o f current environment in contributing to an understanding o f current experience, and instead seem to derive their working principles variously from three sources: personal charismatic anecdotes, broad dogmatic assumptions, and divine inspiration. I t is not surprising that models plucked out of thin air should attribute an invisible rather than a visible genesis to human behaviour. Thus the Freudians see the motives behind behaviour firmlv locked awav in the

unconscious, and controlled by a mediaeval mystery play of good and bad instincts scurrying between different levels of the inner psyche. The more 'humanist' oriented psychotherapies simply refer to vague abstractions of the inner self which we must seek and work towards, though invisible to the naked I.

Rape There could be reasons more sinister

than conceptual conviction, as to why psychotherapists prefer to talk about the beyond and behind o f experience in the world. I f the therapist i s the only one who can interpret your behaviour correctly this decreases your own independence o f thought and action and increases the therapist's mystique of authority. Also i f therapeutic efficacy cannot be referred to any tangible effect, there is no measure o f its benefit, except the therapist's own criterion of your 'betterness', which i s a product of his experience rather than yours. The psychotherapy rip of f is most evident in psychoanalysis where a dogmatic cloak is thrown over subjective experience and individual differences in experience reduced to a few uniform complexes. Whatever the person complains of, that, by definition, i s not the problem. The problem lies at some deeper level with the real or unconscious self, and people are actively encouraged to distrust and alienate themselves from their current feelings. 1 find this ominous as it involves moral judgements about what are and are not 'true' feelings, and for such therapies I would suggest inserting a gap between the 'e' and 'r' o f the therapist, to give a more accurate description of therapy. I t is no coincidence that most psychotherapists are medically trained and indoctrinated with the usual medical 'me- doctor you-patient, 1 know best, you know least even about your own mind' megalomania. (See Brown's Radical Psychology.) Psychotherapists, o f course, accuse behaviourists o f being narrow and superficial in not going beyond the world in an experimentally based enquiry into behaviour. The answer is that behaviourists do not wish to go beyond the world since that is where the action is and where i t should be acted upon. Man is the product o f his own and other's enterprises rather than external force, and we do not walk around driven willy-nilly by untam- ed inner forces surging up like green pus from a mediaeval cess pit in some undefined corner of the mind. Behaviour- ism rejects notions o f the unconscious, or

the inner man, or the self you really (really) are, as these detract from analys- ing the specific effect of social context. 'Existence precedes essence', 'all consciousness is conciousness o f something', and 'all action is reaction' are three philosophical cliches (Sartre, Husserl, Nietsche) which abbreviate behaviourist philosophy quite well.

In Practice So: i f a guy says he i s screwed up because he cannot find a girlfriend, or cannot go out on his own, or cannot stop smoking, though he wants to do all these things, the behaviour therapist looks for something about his present patterns o f sexual, social and smoking behaviour that precludes him finding a girlfriend, going out on his own, or stopping smoking. Launching into 200 hours of verbal psychotherapy will not explain why' present behaviour patterns are maintained. It is more effective to go over the mundane intricacies o f coping in appropriate settings and practising alternative ways o f handling the situation. This will involve working through specific targets, either in the imagination or the street, so that the vicious circle o f blind, engulfing panic is faced and replaced with a broader repe rtroire o f experience.

The effectiveness of such treatments is proven; even vehement anti-behaviourists admit they work well (e.g. Wheelis) and, as numerous studies have shown, they work well and better than verbal psychotherapy on criteria provided by the individual having the treatment, including ratings o f empathy and understanding (see Sloane).

An objection consistently raised to behavioural methods i s that by acting on the individual they deny freedom to change the situation (Rowan, UC 28). This view is surely based on an erroneous Newtonian definition o f situations. They are not static entities separated in time and space from the individual, they are dynamically defined by their means o f social production (i.e. people). Altering the strategies employed in a social setting alters the nature o f the social setting itself.

Walls - I scream Take the case ot some one who is

unable t o make any form o f social contact, or who dares not venture past the front porch from an acute fear o f open spaces. In both these cases the person's behaviour, embedded as i t is in a restrictive social nexus o f signals, dictates their environment, they have no choice but to go home alone or spend their time within four walls. Only when such phobias are overcome is a person free to choose and change their environment.

Part o f discovering alternatives i s recognising the limits o f the present environment on behaviour. To admit that my behaviour is largely dependent on the circumstances is neither to impose a

Undercurrents 37

- until a friend offers advice -

type of controlled exposure to

Soon John is enjoying an active

ausality about which comes first -me, or the circumstances - nor to restrict in my way my free will to change those :ircumstances, provided I have the skills ind capability. Behaviour therapy offers he skills. The problem comes when reople use circumstances to deny freedom :o others, by, for instance, manipulating Â¥eward and punishment in the interests r f one group to influence the behaviour r f others. Whether this is performed in the lame of science, religion or the politburo t is always in the interests of power, and l o t of the person.

Unfortunately such power relation- , hips are very much in evidence in psychiatric institutions, which is why it is NO important to move to a community pasis for treatment. One of the most powerful behavioural challenges in recent /ears has been to the prevailing medical iystem o f 'diagnosing mental illness'. according to this system a specific action xcomes magically transformed into a itate or class of existence. People are not ieen as Acting psychotic or feeling depress- ;d in a particular setting, but become lepressives or h v e schizophrenia for ;ver and ever, amen. As a behaviourist I want to know the specific situation, the

ubsequent labelling as

treating all behaviour as an operant'of the jetting in which it arises i s a very optimistic ipproach to life, jince it implies that iverything is changeable. People are not objectsat the mercy o f past history but ;apable at any moment of an expanding .ange of future behaviour. This descrip- .ion of behaviour does not only include p s s movement, which we can easily observe, but also the fine physiological Â¥eaction which make up any response. rhough we are mostly unaware o f it, the Ãˆd is a sensitive monitor, of the situ- ions in which we are involved. We think ind feel with our muscles our heart, our 'yes, and our sweat glands as well as our >rains. Identifying and distinguishing the body's idiosyncratic responses i s mportant to integrate them into our iubjective consideration of our own xhaviour, and achieves a 'somatic solid- i r i ty ' between thought and action.

To show how involved bodily reactions r e in our psychological states, try tensing lour muscles, screwing up your face. and jenching your teeth and you will soon eel in the mood for worrying. Alternative- y try smiling, relaxing your muscles, and reathing slowly when you are worried ind you will eventually feel less so. This lappens because you have effectively ;rested the environment that is associated with a certain mood response, by adopting he appropriate physiological responses.

It is interesting that for such modification to be successful the physiological ~hange must be related to a very specific, stimulus; for example, modifying blood pressure in response to a stress. One of the

problems with attempts at alpha brain wave feedback is that no one knows where alpha originates, or what its function is, so that i t is difficult to be precise about what conditions control it. People who have tried to raise or lower alpha abundance independently of situational demand have been largely unsuccessful; showing again our dependence on environmental factors.

Bio behavioural techniq es have demonstrated that many somatic activities previously thought to be automatic reflexes can be brought under stimulus control and modified to advantage.

Altering facial expression, tension level, or heart rate pattern in a situation is altering the way that situation is approached and so also altering its meaning. Sophisticated gadgetry is not always necessary to achieve this. The dowser's rod is a simple device that amplifies muscular activity under certain conditions and dowsers, after they have identified and learnt the 'feel' of the reaction, are often able to dispense with the rod and rely on other cues.

Heavy breathing Breathing patterns are also easily

monitored. When we attend to anything we usually hold our breath or breathe in a very shallow way. Over a long period o f time this is not beneficial to either eye movements or concentration. Pay attention to your breathing habits whilst you are reading, try breathing more regularly and see the effect on your perceptual powers.

I am not here suggesting for a moment that physiological states determine feelings

and attitudes, any more than the muscles thatguide the dowser's rod and pendulum are the source of the reaction, rather than the brain activity that precedes it or the change in environment that :. -.nies it. Behaviour is both mental and physical activity represented in an integrated preparation to respond in a certain way.

It doesn't surprise me in the least that changing the way I stand or s i t alters my appreciation o f a drink, or that the type of music to which I listen affects my posture, or that the way I am breathing influences what I feel like drinking. It's the way we are made, but we can help i t

none the less.

Becoming Self-conscious Expanding the boundarie~~of behaviour is the first step in changing the environment, as it frees us from the habitual constraints of the environment. But first we must become conscious o f the way we habit- ually respond to a given state and situation. This is best achieved not by introspecting and guessing about our actions, since this merely produces cultural expectations about what we think we should be doing, but by careful self monitoring. The options to adopt alternative strategies which change response experience follow

f rom this.

Try It For Yourself Supposing that you have a habit which annoys you, such as smoking, stuttering blushing, or just saying "y' know" a lot conversation, and you would like to reduce the incidence of, and your dependence on, this habit. The first thing to do is to monitor the cues from the environment which precede the behavioural event in question. This is b1 done by systematically keeping a diary over a period o f a few days. It is also important t o note the intensity o f each occurrence. So, for example, if you are noting down when you smoke, you mig notice that your craving for a cigarette much higher when watching a f i lm than when you arcdiinking a cup o f coffee, vice versa. You may also notice that thc are times when you don't feel like a cigarette and when you wouldn't think smoking. Al l thi t should be noted dowr Monitoringmakes you more conscious the cues from the environment to whicl you are responding. Now, by cornparin] your different smoking rates, you can pinpoint the trigger signals responsible 1 the maintenance o f your habit, and y o i can try an restructurethe relevant cue in the situations, so that they don't hav the same effect on you. A good way o f doing this is to pay attention t o other new aspects of the situation that you hadn't noticed before.

Think o f a setting that you really drt to encounter, for example taking something to a shop to get your money back Now list aspects o f the setting that mak you not want to enter it. Your list migt include: being anxious at causing troub afraid o f being laughed at or causing a nuisance. Now list other more pleasant things that might happen: the manager might be pleased to get feedback, you might be respected for being assertive, ' might get a better deal on something el you buy, you might make friends with someone in the shop. Of course YOU don't know what is actually going to happen until you get into the situation but there is no reason why one possibil is any more certain than another. If yo1 try this you will find that you do not brainwash yourself into a new viewpoir rather you are able to grasp several perspectives on the same situation. Thi doesn't in any way stunt the intensity I your feelings about a particular outcon but prepares you to respond in differer ways should the eventualities arise.

If you define expectations about people and things in a very fixed way, then you define yourself in a very fixe( way; as any obsessional will tell you.

Books Kieron O'Coni Brown, R. Radical Psychology Fromm, E Art of Loving Meurleau-Ponty, M. The Structure of Behavi\ Sloane, R. Psychotherapy vews Behaviour

Therapy Wach tel, P Psychoanalysis and Behaviour

Therapy Wheelis, A How People Change

even a living creature" in its.othe%se unaccountable survival-maximising shi of chemicaland climatic equilibria.

Not without opposition from uneas readers and members of its editorial

. !

&rson/~limet, neod& Roszak, Gollancz, 3771Ãp Â£5.95 '

"WHATEVER BECAME OF THE ' .

cOUNTER&ULT'URE" has been& . . common rhetorical put-down for quite a while now. Where have all the flower;, gone,'indeed? So how shrill must the . ,

auhtion be for Ted Roszak. whose The

collective, Undercurrents has been drawn into this personal growth territory over the last few years in various articles pondering the root causes of friction or failure in otherwise competent co-ops and communes. And it i s this "personalist" exploration which Roszak sees as the major

Mailing o f a ~ounter-Cultu& first an&ar^d in 1969 and for whom the ~ o s t - -ternbegan with regular phone calls from the news weeklies, starting just three months after publication! A decade later, Rpszak's own perceptive and surprising answer is the starting point of his fine sequel.

expression of countercultural values, now . widely diffused Into themainstearti, with

their spreading American presence . '

confirmed by the socio-pollsters. In Britain too there exists that substrate of positive protest "against the human under- ~ ~.

development that has for so long :. . . .

characterised urban-industrial society .:.':".:' A yearning for growth, for authenticity, for largenessof experience which finds . "'

itself thwarted by the cultural orthodoxies that have shaped us all into'this diminished.

. and nervously compulsive being called. . modern 'man."

With arealitythat shihes through the ' '

irtevitable psychbbabble and (.piritual ! huckstersof the growth marketplace, the spreading personalist ethos is,for Roszak

"charged with all the moral power w a r ,: :

find in such high ideals of the past f,i .:.'.-:i ' astherights of man, the assertion OC,:.~::., ?

human equality, the belief in wordly: :.',, ;;.;; progress, the struggle for social ''. ,,. L ' .. i. justice. The secret o f thut power i s (j(e? '.': spontaneous convictionand wondet .'.? that self-discovery brings into the life

I recall my own mixed feelings when I was allotted that first book of his as a seminar. topic in late '71. "Reflections on the technocratic society and its youthful opposition" was the daunting subtitle; with 300 piges, footnotes, appendix and chapters like 'The Dialectics of LIber- ,.

ation" aqd "The Myth of Objective. separate fields , . ? . . .. .. ,,. ,, . Consciouiness'. I didn't fancy reading it! "This book erns itself y$ Me, Â ¥

Then, when deadlines finally forced me point at human psychbbw aria to flex its mine, 1 wlIember, the beautiful natural ecqlogy meet. ,purposeit, meaning and energy that the book convey- to suggest that the environmental, ed to me; echoing, amplifKing, sorting my an$uish of the Earth has entered our own half-voiced hopes and fears for . . lives as aradical transformation of technolow, and Purpose; and giving : human identity. The needs of the, them honourable ancestry too. Here was planet and the needs of the person areal contemporary historian at work, have begun to act upon the central ' seeing the Sixties whole, and knowing institutions of our society with a force the dissent as deeper, stronger, stranger , m is profoundly subversive, than its surface of anti-War demos, acid which carries within it the pr'omig of and campus politics. cultural renewal."

Maybe I!d never heard of alienation ' . so headed deep into the area of before, for what technocratic education person,4 gr~wth~chg-tge, and the search includes it? But I'ddrtainly experienced . for existentialmeaning, Elegantly and it. Roaak opemd my mind and turned , tentatively, ~oszak links this to Jaines my head, and I've never lookedback, or Lovelock's Gaia hypothesis of 1975, in the same, Since. Six months later I'd brought my first COW of Undercurrents at newly discovered Compendium, and successfully applied to drop out to anAT, research commune. No regrets!: , Iknow I'M not alone in having been

so influenced by The Making of a Counter- Culture; and, for me, Person/Planet i s just as imoortant and a better book. Much less

of every human sould it touches." Fully half t h e book i s spent examining ' '

ho* "creative disintegration" mightmake our crucial institutions - home, school, work and the city - truly supportive of this demanding labour of the spirit which" the counter-culture has loosed intoour society.

And to the cries of "bourgeois ' ,

individualism" and "selfish cop-out" from politicq who have read thisfar, Roszak has some profound answers. TI.., question is, have the politicos the choice to read them? ConsiderAT's buzzword, alienation; it has. both a social and a : cosmic level. And when the last expro- ~. priatq has been expropriated, that spiritual disconnectedness will still be with us. I f we, shying from the journey - of self-discovery, draw our boundaries short of the personalist adventure, then AT will prove to be no more than the

academic in tone, withoutfootnotes or appendices, i t i s superbly written withqts prose often close to poetry. A heartfelt, deevlv versonal work. it seems to me to stiupen and advance the cutting edge of AT quite some way - taking AT to be' that whole area of overlapping concerns reflected by, say, a season of Resurgence and Undercurrents.

On. the first page Roszak i~troduces his central connection between two normally

but their news value to wield,and the

Sili Con-trf -' most to gain from favourable public image -generally know least about the tactics.

Denis MacShane's Using the Media is a fine attempt to correct this fault In nearly 200 well-presented pages, MacShan

LIS Report, The New Technology, managerial control over blue and white explains how tfr system works (who own Counter Information Services, 40pp, 75p. collar jobs? Nothing of this appears in the what? who does wllitt in the media?), how ONE of the most comprehensive and Report. to use the system (writing press releases; considered pieces of work on the chip

TT holding news conferences), and most

and its incorporation into new systems in importantly, how to manipulate the the office, home, and industry. The system (detailed advice on interview- reoort (once aeain) tells vou what a micro- techniques; circumventing normal channel

to put a message across directly), and how - - - to avoid being manipulated by the b system (counteracting bullying reporters;

proce&r is, and what its main features are. But more importantly it attempts to look at a number of major applications and implications.

+ The use of the chip and related new technologies in the office, in the Post Office, in the Press, and in computing are

terms. The report however also examines HM Government's role in their marketing, and looks at how companies use these new technologies, especially the multi- nationals' increasing ability to shift

detailed in clear, and usually adversarial -

production, capital and jobs around the world.

All this Ts useful stuff, but the section on trade union responses not only reflects the unions' inadequate responses, but condones them. Perhaps it's expecting too much, but the good diagnoses of the employment implicationsof this new technology sadly lack any considered response. We still seem to be discussing numbers of job losses, alluding, in particular cases, to increasing management control over fobs, and wavering over Governments' 'go for broke' attitudes to investment in new technologies.

First, we do ourselves a great disservice b y accepting the concept of the new technology, when of course the chip i s simply a new concrete eqession of the fight against the declining rate of profit - if it wasn't the chip it would be something else. Secondly the chip is only a part of new technoligies, thirdly we haven't even begun to diagnose the nature of control engineering design.

This new expression of technological development in the service of capital seems to have come like a bolt from the blue -did we really believe that technology progresses along some smooth linear course? Technological development in the past has always taken the form ot step function changes, admittedly with intervening development curves. This is not to deny the extraordinary change in costs, flexibility of application etc. that accompanies the chip, but it i s crucial for our response to understand that the history of technological change did not commence a year to two back.

The Report condones the unions'call for a halt to new technological intro- ductions into the workplace, whilst we try to cobble together some sort o f response, but what is that response to be? Can we for instance guarantee a few million new jobs in the next decade to pick up the technologically-displaced casualties? What can we say about the rapid advance of

ins~ring~no editorial distortions).

. , The book is terse and comprehensive,

and offers recent, specific examples of < t,-- . , how techniques were used. The advice given is ~ u s e f u l to a national spokes- person o i a local shop steward.

MacShane goes into considerable detail on various interviewing techniques for newspaper, fadio, and television. While this may be very usefulfor those who are interviewed regularly, the DOS and Dont's areso numerous and contradic-

pet theories about this in what is after all a review, but the point remains valid I think. But to even begin to analyse what's to be done we need to know what's being done, and this Report deserves acclaim on that count. Mike George

Grab the I Mike

Using the Media, Denis MacShane, Pluto Press, 218pp. Â£2.50

POLITICIANS AND ENTERTAINERS have long been aware that the news media must distort facts'and events, and therefore that special measures should be taken to ensure a propitious story emerges. Whether through make-up, lighting, tone of voice, timing, or white lies, presidents and pop stars, corporations and gwern- ment institutions increasingly employ experts whose sole task i s to formulate, present, publicise and maintain a favourable public image.

Because the mass media is controlled by powerful men. anxious to retain their

tory (Be alert! Relax!) as to boggle an inexperienced activist And how helpful i s advice on how to blow your nose dbrini a radio interview?

MacShane's experience as both a journalist and trade union president (NUJ enables him to talk authoritatively about media coverage of strikes and demonstra- tions. Possibly his most useful advice i s or how to establish links between trade unions and local NUJ chapels.

If there i s one major lack in this '

excellent guide, it is the exploration of the value of specific images. Perhaps it is inevitable in so general a book, but the , trade unionist who faithfully obeys the advice given would not be noticeably different, in either appearance or action, than the hardened politician or management P.R. person whom they are fighting against!

It seems to me that arertain amount of roughness - candidness, openness - is expected from the public towards trade union officers and political and social activists. I have read that community arts and charitable organisations generally stay away from glossy paper in brochures, though it costs the'same: it looks too , flash, as if their money is being spent on the wrong things.

Similarly, by polishing up their acts,. trade unionists and community activists may be destroying their most potent media image: absence of artifice. Modern advertising has fostered suspicion on anything or anyone too smooth.

MacShane's book should be included in any trade union or political activist's library. Although the jacket blurb offers it to community workers as well, I feel that another book is needed for.them, including similar information, but geared to the special problems of apolitical charities and community groups aiming for local support and publicity.

power, gwernme'nt and industry have an ally in their task. It is natural but ironic, that alternative and anti establishment organizations'- those who ha$ no power ' Jonah Isaac Salz

- r

Bommunity Technology by Karl Hess, Harper and Row, 107pp, Â£3.50 MYONE WHO describes Undercurrents is amBritish masterpiece", as Karl Hess does on page 83 of his new book Community Techndoay, can't be all bad.

Mind you, anyone who's worked as a ipeechwrlter for Barry Goldwater, pra ld Ford and Richard Nixon can't be l it good, either. And although Hess now fcscrlbes himself as "part of the left wing" of American politics, he seems to have become something of an enfant trriwe among radicals in the appropriate technology and community technology vycpents there. Even David Morrls his l ope r co-worker (and co-author, of ~/ghbourhoodPower, Beacon Press, 1975) his felt obliged to publish a iqrowful but scathing critique of Community Technolow in the May-June inye of Self Reliance*, the magazine of the Washington-based Institute for Local Self-Reliance where Morris now works.

A t this point, a little background information may be useful, especially for those Undercurrents readers (the hior i tv?) whose memories don't stretch $a& a s f a as UC 12 and Karl Hess's article on "Community Technology" in Mat 1975 issue.

In Copmunity Technology, Hess begins by qttaloguing the failures of large-scale institutions everywhere to respond to people's needs - a critique that will be familiar enough to anyone who has read *ll,ls Beautiful. But people in small chnmufiities, he says, can reclaim control of their own lives by devising and building new, human-scaled technological and political systems which can serve their needs much more humanely, efficiently and ecologically than existing large-scale, centralised, bureaucratic institutions can. Hess then describes the Adams-Morgan district of Washington DC', where he grew up and where he and some friends established, in the early 19705, an organisation called "Community Tech- nology Inc." which attempted to develop technologies to help the mainly- Impoverished residents of Adams- Morgan to meet their needs for food, energy, transport etc., in a way which would decrease their dependence on social welfare payments and increase their self-respect. But these experiments, as Hess admits, met with only limited success. Lccal residents seemed unable or unwilling to put much energy into making them successful.

Eventually, faced with harassment from vandals, neighborhood apathy and the threat of eviction, Hess and his wife Therese moved away to West Virginia. There, they continue to try to implement their ideals - with somewhat greater success, it seems. A vestige of Community Techn~logy Inc. still survives in the f . .

Community Soap Factory run by Hess* was simple: buy the houses from the former co-workers, Jeff Woodside and landlords: Esther Simgel (see UC 20), but community "The pool of money needed to buy involvement in the ~roiect s t i l l fails to our neighborhood would have been measure up to the Goup's early expect- relatively modest, the weekly equivalent ations. of a carton of cigarettes or a bottle of

whiskey from each member of the assembly. Of course, it would have mear

~. . . : But as Morris points out, the money

raised by such sacrifice would only be enough to buy a few houses a year - ani anyway, such an exercise ignores the batic issue of peoples' rights to own

- houses when, in most cases, they have been paying high rents for years to. profiteering absentee landlords. ,

At root, says Morris, Hess ignores the central issue of power and

institution building, giving us the, message that getting from here to there i s nothing more than convincing our neighbors to

' lend a hand." -

Morris agrees that "the strength of the Community Technology movement is that it can harness our vast scientific and engineering expertise in moving toward! small systems. Its strength lies in the way It encourages average citizens to begin transforming themselves and their communities into places of production."

stops. there," Morris warns, nerate into a cynical, ' '

ed voice, criticising those whodon't. ~

everything to raise, fish in the base- , "The group decided to experiment

with bacteriological toilets, when the . "we need to reach out, to build neighborhood saw no need for them. I t coalitions with labor unions, city govern. decided to.raise-trout which, if success- professional organisations, state fully raised, would have cost almost twice legislatures, machine tool shops. ~t is that of the fish or chicken purchased in ,hen the movement can link scientific stores inthat neighborhood. The group

, knowledge to political power, only wher decided tobuild asolar cooker, rather it can acknowledge the larger context o f . than storm windows or solar collectors, .(his revival of small-scale living, that it can even though the cookerwas really design- . haye a substantial, permanent impacton ed for non-industrial tropical nations. ourway of life." . . . The trout died before reaching dearly, Morris is right. . maturity. The solar cooker never ,

I, too, found a lot to criticise in : operated reliably (if at all). The bacteria- Community Technology. it is, all too

logical toilet operated so poorly that it obviously, a cobbled-together collection fell into disuse after afew months. This i s . of previously-published articles, many 01 not to say the projects could not tech- them from the Washington Post. I found nically have worked. But theory and it annoyingly imprecise in all sorts of practice are two different things." ways: strong on rhetoric (Hess stillwritf

Secondly, Morris takes Hess to task for like a speechwriter) but weak on facts failing to take enough account of the and substantiation. It has no index, no- fact that Adams-Morgan is part of a much nts page, no4hapter headings, and: wider economic and political context: nexcusably, no references or even Local residents, far from being apathe ing list. have fought long and repeated battles t 1 still have a soft spot forKarl over the years on issues they perceived He's obviously a fine "ideas-man" important. Community Technology In good,.practical technologist,' ,

says Morris, "never addressed itself to despite his apparent political naive te:. what the community perceived to be its primary concern: housing. Solar collectors, Godfrey ~ o ) trout farms, community gardens, even * Self-Rellanqe, $10.00 for 6 issuesa credit unions or self-managed businesses, yeat, from thelnstitute for LocalSelf- mean li tieuntil one controls the land." Reliance, 1717,18th Street, NW,

H e s s ~ l ~ ~ t ~ o f i to the hou~ing shortage W h i n g W CK 2 v , USA. . . ,, . .. , ~. ,. .; ~. . . ~ . ,

. , . . . . . .

- a - St:-.---- ~ification for ---

Rural Resettlement Handbook, 2nd Edition, August 1979. Rural Resettlement Group, c/o The Mapor House, Thelnetham, Diss, Norfolk. Â£1.8 + postage. WILL THE NEW CITY FOLK move in t o regenerate our villages? Will the parish council,plus potato blight and building inspectors stop this brave move towards theself-sufficient lifestyle for Mr & HÃ§r Resettler?

The Rural Resettlement Handbook looks at the drama o f life in villages, se n through the city dwellers' eyes. It is about thousands of people's dreams o f country cottages and a patch o f land, yet not itself researched or written by dreamers. The second edition o f this essentially practical reference book, published privately by the Rural Resettlement Group in August, has demonstrated the awareness o f i t s compilers t o readers' comments after their first edition a year or so ago. It is now much improved.

The compilers explain that they are concerned simply with information o f use to those moving into the countryside to live and work, but they recognise that "rural resettlement implies a commitment to changing the present structure o f society with its bias towards centralisation and urbanisation". Whether this political commitment exists amongmy many neighbours who have recently moved into Somerset I'm not sure -they all seem to be escaping city life rather than construct- ing a decentratised utopia. '

This is a book for the pioneers, perhaps, but not in the Wild West sense. Ways o f adapting t o village life and distilled experience o f those who have recently moved out o f the cities are major parts of the Handbook. The arrangement o f contents is thoughtful: Where are you going to move to? Choosing a house. Looking for land, and the question o f whether you hope to live by working that land. Education and training and the need to possess se era1 work skills are considered in turn. d e tourist and craft goods. industries (for the satisfaction o f all the would-be resettlers in the cities) are briefly assessed..Then for me the most interesting section; the tales o f success and o f failure, the shared experiences o f planning permissions, business partner- ships, smallholding and community living.

The final sections are o f most use to the rural resident, as a survival guide, although by necessity only covering a sample o f topics. The parish council is demystified, car sharing within the law is explained (yes, it used to be illegal to charge your friends for a ride) plus a very brief section on fuel, health and village organisations. The aspect o f the Handbook

which'examines earning a living is in the latest wave o f rural particularly improved since the first edition, as is the listing o f contacts who" ' * ' whether or not the existing populatio can provide advice and information. welcome the newcomers depends upon

It is sad that so many o f the people who you ask. The retired couple who moving out,of the urban areas will never arrived in the 1960's don't approve o f see this Handbook, will make so mahy o f younger people actually working in these

the same mistakes, suffer the same heart- -breaksps the individuals who have helped collectively t o write this book. 1 hope they enjoy some o f the same successes too, in that case. Somerset welcomes many hopeful smallholders, small businesses and city refugees each year, some of them very rapidly settling into the local scene as contributors to the quality o f social, artistic, and recently also political life. (There is strong support for the

quaint cottages, while the older establish ed local families may be jealous o f the newcomers' ability to buy property whi< their own children cannot afford. Having seen the contribution made by lively newcomers to many villages with ageing populations I welcome their arrival, and any help this Handbook may give them . . . but I'm a rural resettler myself!

Rhys Tayla

Spinning a yarn The Weaving, Spinning and Dyeing Book. inspire the readtr. Rachel Brown. Routledge Kegan Paul. Rachel Brown lives in New Mexico ar 1979. Â£5.5 (softback). Â£8.9 (hardback!. is obviously infhienced by Navajo Indiar THIS IS AN EXCELLENT BOOK for anyone wishing to understand and execute the dhole process o f fabric production from fibre to finished article. For each step of the process it describes different types o f equipment available, from a simple Drop Spindle to a sophisticated Treadle Loom.

In the weaving section each chapter is based on a type o f loom, including Hopi belt loom, Navajo loom and treadle loom, amongst several others. Chapters follow on finishing, spinning and dyeing (both natural and chemical) and also a pleasant, unpretentious section on design. An unusual and welcome addition is a chapter entitled 'Making a living at it' which, though perhaps a little optimistic, gives some useful ideas.

Throughout the book instructions are illustrated by beautifully clear and easy-to-follow line drawings, with a few pages o f colour photographs which must

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techniques. She gives instructions for a wide variety o f finished articles, many o which are based on Navajo tradition.

I would thoroughly recommend this book to both beginners and experienced weavers or spinners wishing t o widen their scope.

Celia Chaffer Radio Activeby the Cheetahs, Zoom Records, 1979.

' "I DON'T WANNA BE RADIO- , ACTIVE" go the lyrics to this anti- nuclear single, distributed by SCRAM

I (2a Ainslie Place, Edinburgh 3) and ARISTA records. Backed with 'The 04 One'and 'Minefield', this is all pretty predictable new wave oriented stuff, but it's good to see that bands are getting int the nuclear issue. Maybe Undercurrents should start a Nuke Hit Parade chart? I'd put NUCLEAR WASTE (see UC 34) by Fast Breeder and the Reactors (Virgin

I Records) top.

h v r Ellin

HltchÂ¥HItier' Manual - Britain - Vacation Work, 9 Park End St., Oxford. Â£1.75

A t which ~ o l n L the two mldes begin to converge. 1s It Belgium ithe planet Zra where cohabiting if under 21 and

Rwim and colourful non-sexist stories. The illustrations are a nice combination of fantasy, animation, and parody, with little reminders from real life -

Hitch-Hiker's Guide t o the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, Pan, 80p. . One o f these hitch-hiker's guides is

extremely useful for hitching with, full of helpful hints; the other is a good iaugh,to read on the journey, Which is which depends of course what planet you're from. If you happen to be, say, a. Betelgeuse national on your way between Kria and.. . somewhere else (you wouldn't want to be on Kria long anyway - the Azgoths of Kria apparently have the second worst poetry in all the Galaxy), knowledge of Slartibartfast the fjord enthusiast. Marvin the Paranoid Android and Colon LollUDnid'S dimroot of God would probably be a lot of use. On the other hand, someone from the speck of

unmarried is punishable by three years in )all? I s it Vogons or Danes who are "bad tempered and bureaucratic"? Perhaps all of them. Anyway, the British manual has a huge thumb on the back, for use as'a .sign when your real one Is tired. The Hitch-Hllwr's Guide to the Galaxy has on it the Immortal words - "Don't Partic". Which would be good advice to anyone reading this and not an initiate intq the secrets of the best radio comedy show for years. Much of what such ignorant people have just read wlll seem like gibberish. The story, then, begins wlth the demolition of the house of o m Earthman, Arthur Dent, to make way for a new road. This is shortly followed by the demolition of the entire earth to

mud called Britain perched on the make way for an interstellar bypass (the utterly insignificant blue m n la net notices were of course oosted on Aloha . ~

orbiting that small u&giided yellow sun . Centauri). Only Arthur Is savtid by hii-~ far out in the uncharted backwaters of friend Ford Prefect, who takes him on ~ :

the unfashionable end of the Western' various adventuresround the Galaxy, Sorial arm o f the Galaxy, wouldfind a mostly connected with the Galactic guide to hitching points on motorways President, Zaphod Beeblebrox. By now, and on the roads out of most British of course, the other part of my readership towns considerably more use. The seco d willhavegot bored, knowing all this "Hitch-Hlkr's Gut&.', gives you the f i i t dread)' (whid~, as Marvin the Paranoid lot o f knowledge, culled from a well- Android would say, just showsyou known radio ierles; the firstgives you the can't please everyone and isn't that second. Or the other wayround, depend- terribly depressing?)In fact, the book l n g on which dimension you (and this differs from the scripts in a number of reviewer) are in, ways; it leaves out the restaurant at the

Let's deal with the guide t i t h e end of the world, with which the author amazingly unimportant bit of ecosphere. , wasn't happy, and instead explains how Many human readers wlll be familiar with Big Z stole the ship wlth the Infinite -

the experience of trying to hitch out of Improbability.Dr1ve. Occasionally some the soulless shopping centre of some w d - paddingw shows, but otherwise the forsaken provincial watering-hole (36 book is at much fun as the radio, . .

pubs - all closed - and n&eatre or : , record, film, musical, theatre, chat- cinema), and putting up with the jeers - show etc. ever were or will be &(>ending o f passing van drivers for three and a half On which point in time you're looking at. hours, till the only non-xenophobe in the , I n fact, the two books demonstrate nicely entire area grudgingly stops laughing at the fact that the opposite ends of the

long enough to tell you you're on the 6a)ax~ are also the same point. So good, wrong road anyway. Some humans are , hitching -of whatever transport. And. stupid or st~bborn~enough to regard this . be kind to mice. ai all part of the fun. This bookis for the?ff^;"y- * . Steven Joseph cowards; the weak and sickly, those who $j;&$$i cin't take humiliation and thrbe hours In ' . ' ' -A

the rain. For you poor miserable wretches, this is ideal. The bulk of the book lists

tortoises (which are very slow animals) wear wrist-watches, pink elephants are festooned in bows and booties to make them more feminine, also Father Raftigan, patriarch o f the large family of rats. tells us how he has found his niche in the rat-race as Honorary President for the Society for the Contrt o f Rat Traos.

hitching points on motorways and out of towns. with notes on how to get there J- - - - - - - JII (public transport from town centres for Arthura&Clement/ne. Adela Turin and the really weedy) and star rating (the Nella Bosnia, 32pp. Â£2.95 more asterisks the quicker) on rough ' The Real Story o f the Bonobos who wore waiting time. An introduction discusses ' Spectacles. Adela Turin and Neila Bosnia, both basic questions about hitching - 32pp. Â£2.95 why bother in the first Place? - and the The Bmdtlmf Story. Adela Turin and more esoteric questions, discussed only Margheflta Saccaro, 32pp. Â£2.95 among the hardened hitching fraternity, Sug~plpk Rose. Adela Turin and Nella who are distinguishable by their pleading, Bosnia. 32pp. Â£2.95 downtrodden, poverty-stricken The Fire Wires o f Sllverbeard. Adela Turin, ippearance. These advanced questions Francesca Cantarelli and Nella Bosnia. include: should one carry a sign? Are wops, dagos, eyeties or frogs most likely

3 2 ~ ~ . Â£2.95

to stop? Can one, hitch boat and alr trips? ~ ~ , ~ f $ ~ ~ ~ R ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 2 ~ ~ ~ [yes). children, which aim to oresent amusine

The stories are parables, in which th< female charactersgraduaily learn that it Is much more fun if you make your owl decisions in life, without heeding what their loving (or not so loving) malestell them. I n most of the stories, the hus- bands and fathers are forced to give up theqld comfortable style of living with 1

the women doing all the work -attired in pretty but impractical clothes. They either accept their newly liberated and contented women-folk, or lump it. * '

Every story delights with its inventive- ness and humour, which with their gay illustratioqsand excellent format, make the series a welcome alternative to the ~

usual content o f children's stories. - Catheryn Lobbentx

.- ..-- Wood Heat by John Vivian (Rodale

Press Â£3.50) Woodstoves,~How to Make and Use Them by Ole Wik (Alaska

L rting the Grate J , <

North West Publishing Co. Â£3.75 available from Compendium Books, 234 Camdep High st., London NWI; wood- One point 1 mai needs,clearing k c k up, into and An ' open Britain fire o f any sort will send :- Burner's by jay and i s not mentioned'in any of these books, several times as much air up thechimaw Andrew B. Shapiro (Vermont Crossroads concerns the legality of burning wood in as a room needs for ventilation, drawing, Press ' 1. We also take a brief look at city areas. Woodsmoke does not actually cold air in through cracks round doors ar the only British book we have come appear t o be covered by the 1956 & '68 windows. This is why a closed stove is so. across on the subject, The Woodstove clean air acts, (not being a "black smoke") much more efficient at [eating a room. Book (Broad Ley_s.Publishing Co.) but there seems to be an ambiguity about The best answer is an underfloor draft, WHAT YOU GET out o f a particular book whether wood can be burnt freely. If in preferably bringing air direct from outsid depends largely on how relevant it is to doufo, check with your local authority. the house to a grill in the skirting board4 your situation, and not everyone is as Otherwise just do it and leave the the floor close to the fireplace. ideally situated as we are at Laurieston initiative up to them. Woodstoves are a fire hazard if not.., , Hall to make use o f wood as a fuel. We properly installed, and WoodHeat g ivy have immediate access to about 20 square John Vivian's Wood ~ e a l is a very solid very clear advice on how to do it safely, miles o f forest on our doorstep, from and impressive-looking book, but is well as well as on repairing an old chimney or which we collect as much dead wood as enough padded with illustrations (not all installing a new flue. There is virtually

- we want, and we live in a house with 50 o f them very useful or even necessary) nothing on building your own woo$lshvf rooms, including 5 kitchens, all o f which to make it a fairly easy read. A lo t o f it is although Ole Wik's book more fha~If iHs offer almost limitless opportunities to written for the total newcomer to the that gap. experiment with our heating, cooking and idea that a lump o f wood can keep you Woodstoves - How to Make and l& hotwater needs. So i f you live in a small warm. and so covers eround that should Them. bv d ie Wik (which I actually don' terraced house in Holfoway, your wood- be heating needs are going to differ from -

ours.. . sei In cities, a bit o f preliminary research

will always find you sources o f unwanted wood - f rom demolition sites. ~ack ine cases, pallets, tree lopping. w he main - problem is likely to be transport and storage. There would certainly be a problem of fuel shortage if everybody suddenly decided to heat their homes with wood, but in contemporary Britain that j 1st isn't going to happen, however

, you might feel about the desirability o f such an idea. However as Jay Shelton points out at the beginning of the Wood- burner's Encyclopedia, serious environ-

ental problems have h i t some p?rts o f world, noteably India and Central ica, due to the population's dema xceeding the firewoUd.supply, ing t o denudation o f all highly

opulated areas, with accompanying soil rosion and the use o f dung for fuel

her than as much needed fertilizer. elton's remarks about why the same

L - w I ry comprehensive in i light-hearted and first part o f the book is about wood and imely sort o f way, and gives a good woodstoves in general - not asspaciously erall oicture. but nersonallv I could do comwrehensive as lohn Vivian's book, but

ve situation wouldn't happen in America ho mostly apply to Britain as well:ifaried ov natural resources; suitability of the climate without sections onhow to decorate and certainly quite adequate. In the second

'

to tree growing; and "environmental spring clean a woodheated home, or part he writes about making stoves, startin] concern". Louise's wood-cooked Yorkshire pudding. from his own experience as a total amatful

Jay ~he l t on also writes about the Louise, by the way, features in text and There are photos and drawings o f over. ological advantages o f wood over fossil illustration as the wonderful l itt le woman thirty stoves, built by the author or els. Wood is simply a very conveniently about the home in a way that sets friends of his, out of the hundreds o f oil red form o f solar energy, and is renew- feminist teeth on edge, and makes me barrels left behind in Alaska after the oil e in ways that fossil fuels are not. The question Rodale press's image as an boom. Their ideas go well beyond the cess of burning wood merely accelerates 'alternative' publishing company, as many barrel on its side with a door at one end

e natural chemical processes in which it of their glossy books seem to be aimed a t and stove pipe coming out at the other. on the forest floor. Complete mm- the shelves o f the up-market weekend- Some incorporate ovens, hot plates and o n results in virtually no air pollution alternative folk. boilers, and bear very litt le resemblance

-al l that is released is the same However, Woed Heal is the only one of to the drums from which they were mad of carbon dioxide that would be the three books that deals comprehensjve- A serious gap in this book is in the by the rotting process, and the ly with fireplaces. A grate designed for areas o f installation and safety -the left in the woodash can be return- coal is unsuitable for wood, which needs single-walled stovepipes he describes as soil anyway. However, most two or three times as much space to give being suitable for a small cabin are just fires don't achieve complete the same heat. A good woodfireplace is not adequate for any permanent instal-

ion and do emit chemicals in the tall and broad with a shallow firebox, and lations unless replaced frequently, and smoke particles, and Shelton admits that forward sloping fireback. The glowing although he stresses that any.stove shout; not enough research has been done t charcoals tend t o fall through a grate, since be 'safe distance' from combustible discover if this pollution has any adase wood produces hardlyany ash to support material, he doesn't suggest what that sa4 sffects on the environment. them. distance is. s, , ,

~n<lercurmts 37,~ *, *

-. p e h o d b u r & $ Encyclopedia, 1

unlike the personal chatty accounts o f the : other two books4 is a dry, factual, academics-resfarched treatise, but '' surprisingly, fftates fascinatin'g reading for anyone really into woodstoves.

Who's afreud? ' ' Freud for Beginners by 'A & Z', Writers revolutionary and political Implications of

The first section, by Jay Sheldon, it an 1 and Readers, Â£1.95 174pp. Freud's work. Reich rejected Freud's "hf&rmation source of theory, practice ~~~~d forBqjnners is another cartoon theory of a death instinct. He argued that and equipment relating to wood as enew+., without any frills or padding, book from the Readers and Waiters the creative and orgasmic forces within

and rathef poorly illustrated. Publishing Co-op, of Marx/Lenin Nuclear Us were Suppressed and repressed by a PowerIEinstein fame. It gives a t le ar patriarchal social system which, when

He describes the process by which &@is broken down into charcoal and presentation of some V ~ W complicated internalised, brought forth all the

notions that Freud evolved from his neurotic and psychotic symptoms tha m-ifer*s gases, k r ~ ~ w n as pyrolysis: , work, and also informs you about Freud's amazing clinical work first . "generally, the quicker the heating of own life and problems: his uncovered. This also tod him to develop a, the m d , the larger is th% vfefd of Bases his ~e two wars he complex theory of the roots of fascism. a and tars, and the smallerfc the Y ield of *awfial , +one roughly edmate

that in typical wood fires between 113 and 2/3 of the energy content o f the wood i s in th? gases and tar droplets, which are normally burned in the long flames."

-These gases need to be mixed with thrw or four times as much air at a Â¥(Bnperatur of over 1Q0O0F in erder. to bum. He shows that preheating the air, as some styes attempt to do, is unlike& w haye signffuant effect, shnPlY because 4w volume o f aft required Is Ã§ grwt itr ywlation to the temperature o f the flambs. I 'It is much mor& important, iff designing Â¥a efficient stove, to introduce the air where the flames are flattest, and create sagreat deal of turbulence to mix i t with the fuel gases. If you ate $ststarting out on exploring the possibil'itibs o f using wood as a fuel, don't start by reading Ms, or you will probably end up being ,

sp confused by all the conflicting theories and numerous facts to be taken into consideration that you will lose any confidence you had that instinct was a

^good basic guide. But for the enthusiast, the designer, and the searcher after Facts, i t is a book to treasure.

The second and third sections, by Andrew B. fihapiro, offer an uncritical I catalogue of woodburning appliances ' and their specifications. The Woodhurntng Book by the publishers of ~ rac t i ca l~e l f \ to return to an inanimate state. What A & Use Reich in order to make their Sufficiency i s a much better source for Z choose to ignore is the controversy political points. They quote His well- . anyone living in Britain, with detailed that raged in psychoanalysis at the time known work Listen Little Man in one of information on over a hundred stoves, over this formulation; thefact that many the cartoons, without acknowledging cookersand water heaters available over ! clinicat workers have since rejected i t where they have lifted it from. (Freudian here m e brief introductory section both as an unneceisary explanation of slip?) Th is distorts both Keith's and discusses different sources of wood, with clinical evidence and an untenable Freud's very different understanding o f s o p dowh to earth tips on cutting and notion theoretically; and the fact that mass psychology. + a

splitting togs. Appropriately enough, it 1 amongst clinical workers it led to a The issue of the death tnstinct and also advice on planting trees and reactionary conservatism about the o f exactly where the revolutionary core I managing a wood lot. prospects of mankind. The philosophers of Freud's work lies, is a complex one

No British book on woodstoves would 1 have managed to make the death instinct and perhaps not one for 'beginners'. The be complete without mentioning the , fit a revolutionary perspective. The controversy s t i l l rages both amongst the Rayburn. At Laurieston Hall we depend , clinicians - those involved in the day to practitioners of psychoanalysis and its

*on them for almost all our cooking and , day investigations and research of philosphers. But the problem cannot be domestic hot water, except when we are 1 psychoanalysis - have not. overcome by presenting Freud as more invaded by hundreds of people for a Those who hold to the death instinct radical than he was, nor by adopting conference. There i s a great deal of tend to be conservative both in their philosophical interpretations o f his work satisfaction, lying in a bath, the water practice and in their political views, as a solution. for Which has come from the burn, seeing their main task as to strengthen a However, although we th'mk the socio- heated wkh logs from the forest. When weak ego against the vicissitudes of political part of Freud for Beginners is we pull the plug, the water goes back a 1 instinctual forces - an ego that can only inadequate, i t is important to say that as tittle lower down stream, and the ashes go operate in the service of the status quo. a first introduction to a very complicated 6ack to the ground. We've merely inter- Given that A & Z deal with Freud's far subject it i s probably without equal. Most

less important splits with AdIer and lung, definitely a book that's worth having on i t is curious that they ignote his split with 'your shelf. Rejch - the only split that was over the John Southgate and Rosemary Randall

flte Earth, John Berger, Writers and . : Â¥'

Readers Publishing Cooperative, 21 3pf-, , ' .

1 , . , .

PIG EA RTH and the circumstances in which It was written and vroduced are Oink Oink . , lather unusual in comparison with most . .. . . . . , boob published today. John Berger, a . . . . . . well-known and respected writer and

i'/' critie whose reputation depends so much chapters in the book tend to emph&ise hash and heroic struggle, the small . on -communications of various kinds family life or community labour rather individual or family unit as its own nta$F - TV, film, newspapers and journals, than the more solitary, personalised etc - in other words the small property- books etc - has forsaken die metro- viewpoint of the poems. Yet i t seemed owning peasant fanner - not the ru I ~olltan-bised cultural arena in order to to me sometimes that the themes were so proletarian. Berger is in fact pleadingfor live and work in a small French peasant cliched, so obvious, and ha been -unity. While fully reJUng that he encountered so many tirtiefbefore in all fanner as opposed to is, in same ways, a "visitor" to the sorts of books about country life. It community, he Is doubtless a sincere and doesn't actually make this book very

the disa oearance of the peasant Qf productive forces

committed participant In all aspec- different from many others because it . rural IMe in his chosen new residence. happens to be (i) sensitively written and course the ways in which collectivisationl

However he is himself a h r e o f the (ii) followed by an "Historical Afterword", has been forced onto rural populations hi , differences which separate him from the of which more later. "peasants", and he sums these up in a list on page 7 of the book. These include such cultural areas as religion and language, but also mentions more basic differences such as economic resources and potential and physical make-up. The peasants, of course, have developed

. physical attributes to cope with their ' everydaysurroundings in a far more efficient way than the crger family.

Already in this l i t thy, some main issues o f Bener's project emerge - strong points as well qweaknowi. Merger's '- - honesty and commitment are nowhere in '

doubt, but i t Is auestionable whether he '

everokrcomes his a "professional" ~ .r...... . ~ ~ ~ . . ~~ .~

<'

myths, as opposed to the natural, arratives of country life, . in South East Asia are dire warnings td . integrated function of narrative and . urban realities and 'international crises, socialists, b t it is certainly reactionary ',

~ m w l c s3&ing & even& he are mentioned as tansntial to the,counw discount al1)oisibilities of planned , .

describes in t e everyday speech of f people, who are passively presented in socialised rural labour and to plead "

native members of the community. Of relation to this world outside their every- instead for the preservation of one. '

day live;. Bergermentions at one point in particular kind of rural economic his Historical Afterwafd that he views the organisation - that based on the small, peasant economy, as "n economy within independent individual, badgered by 1

e "natural" languageÃ§a recounting of an economy". He alsoseems to follow - . tax-men and. heroically rebelling against the main premises ofthe traditional rustic, the "system", suspicious of new machiti-' rural myth by presenting peasant life as a

~

ery etc like the characters in Pig Earth. little world of its &n, almostentirely, I am not suggesting here that Berger's cordoned off froift the economic, political own attitude is reactionary in a strict anctsocial pressures of the outside world..

'

political sense, because his, book is not a This is not his intention, I think, but such ' work of political polemic; but a workpf,

d is the historical and cultural force of his literature. However, i t seems to me that chosengenre, that his Marxist intention ' it is imprison d by many outworn and, .

has not transcended it successfully. : backward-loo 1 ing attitudes which are . . The Historical Afterword is, to me,the part and parcel of the constructed rural/' '

most interesting but at the same time the , rustic myth, itself a product of the '

s stem most irritating section of the book. growth of capitalism. I t is no accident ;, is still Berger obviously wants to integrate a , . that Berger has renounced metropolitan

Marxist view of the peasantry with his l i fe and the mass media for the essentially d its ' literary of which' this book is the:- deceptive refuge from alienationwhich

he makes some very he now locates in the peasant life-stfle. 2 generalized, abstract statements about Yet the book is well worth reading if the peasantry, as if all peasants were the only asa symptom of this change of w e the world over in all stages of . direction in the career of a prominen, capitalism, and as if their identity as rural :, left intellectual. In many w dwellers was stronger than their economic makes clearer the humanist

, , on such themes as death, birth, growth, ' seasonal changeetc. ~ '

of the peasant as the repository of The poems and prose do, in fact, share values such elemental timeless bonds ' ,

thp "me concerns '"' nigh,f- -'-- ' . - .jÃ§ ~ ~ ~. . .

ROMAN ORKNEY IGHTHOUSE our Eddy in UC36 entit xrgill's nuclear war, me ie Orkney Heritage Soci ich a context that one might - "I link they were an antmuclear *: oup, or in some way gave .aL+z ipport to the anti-nuke ovement. In fact nothing could i further from the truth, as the eritage Society's 'No Uranium' mpagn, withthe support and aimed leadership of local mncillors, politicians, and other nportant persons', has cceeded in channelling the immunity's libertarian spirit id its resistance to outside terference into hierarchical rms of organisation whose iders are against uranium ining in Orkney (for reasons of ire self-interest) but otherwise ck Maggie's nuclear power ogramme to the hilt, and vocate the exploitation of The Ad World, or the world's last maining areas of wilderness, to set our uranium requirements. ie following extract is from a ter which appeared in the local per. The Orcadian, and is ected mainly against a very tall local group called 'The inters'-Orkney's environmental ncern society CDunters' is the I dect word for eider duck, a ides popular in Orkney but eatened by North Sea oil Uution), who have been trying point out that uranium mining )art of a cycle that involves ier processes just as icceptable as mining.

'e have had a valid, factually ied, well organised protest .inst surveying and eventual ning of uranium ore here in kney. Now the radical elements o formed part of this protest im that the mandateobtained n gives them authority to Â¥su their private vendetta inst all things nuclear. How many of those who ported the 'Hands off Orkney' vement would similarly support ~ ta l anttnuclear campaign? I Y those who live in the cuckoo i of alternative energy, and ild rather see our landscape ered with giant windmills, and children out on daily searches cow-pats for the fire. . . Quite simply, we are fighting :eep Orkney green. Ore mining hese islands is just not suitable. oes not mean, however, that ?here else should mining be

/

undertaken; every case must be judged individually.

Let us keep track of our objective, and ensure the eco- freaks do not lose for us the well- earned credibility that the campaign had gained."

Sadly, the views expressed in that letter are typical of the prevailing attitude towards those who are simply and directly against nuclear power. The 'em- freaks' referredto are the Dunters group, made up in fact of mainly middle-class English 'ferryloupers' (dialect for incomers to the islands, particularly those who don't fit in) who would, in turn, shy away from the only other project up here which is (indirectlvl . , against nuclear power. '

That is Orkney's alternative press, the Free- Winged Eagle (of which I admit to being editor), which hopes, by encouraging anti- authoritarian attitudes, by disseminating republican federalistic ideas. and hv

~ ~-~ ..,-..-., advocating autonomy for Orkney, to provide indirect aid to the anti- nuclear movement.

The situation is not helped any by the fact that it is mainly incomers who are against nuclear '

power, while redneck locals are held in awe of its 'benefits'. The English are fairly unpopular up here; they come up here looking for 'self-sufficiency' crofts and think because it'sorkney they can rip-off the locals price-wise. There are already whole islands which are entirely populated by English people, with not a single local left. The traditionalorkney culture is under strain-it will be interesting to see where and when a breaking point is reached, but the outcome may not be too pleasant for our English friends livine here. -

Ross Macgilchrist Centick Head Lighthouse Longhope, Stromness Orkney KW16.

FROM A TROUBLED READER At 37, Undercurrents, your mid- life crisis seems to be hitting you worse than most. The magazine wears a jaded and weary bloom these days, and its arrival meets with yawns and listless leafings through its bog-paper pages, rather than the excited curiosity it could once provoke.

What is happening to you, Undercurrents? Why is it that your pages have become all but

empty of vitality and enthusiasm? lsn t it lime you re-appraised your aims and directions?

Undercurrents used to carry a lot of practical articles in its heady early days-when the AT dream was young and a windmill symbolised revolution-and for many this was the attraction of the magazine; the combination of practice and theory, accessibility of information, demystification -these formed the bedrock of the whole AT movement. I think it's true to say that the dream has had some pretty radical restructuring of itsown, and the picture now, if not quite a confused and nightmarish vision, is much less clear about, for example, the positionof AT with respect to future possibilities. Liberation lies no longer in the construction of neat gadgets but in a far more complex compendium of activity. Perhaps your current flounderings should be seen as reflecting this state of as-yet unresolved direction but it should be the role of a magazine to recognise and define trends-not to be the victim of them.

You seem to have found no comfortable position since the unacknowledged abandonment of your early aims. The theorisings continue, the middle classanalyses but where is the energy and excitement that comes from accounts of what people are doing and achieving in simple personal terms? It may not be building windmills that occupies our best energies any more;where they certainly are exercised is, for example, in creating chiidcare groups, in forming and operating co-ops, in self-help activities at every level. in alternative arts projects, in grass-roots political work, in skills-exchange networks, and in all forms of direct action, whether it bea mass anti-nuke demo or a single person confronting him or herself. 'Radical alternatives' isa vast field to cover, but you could at least transmit the enormous potential vitality 'that it encompasses.

I find your appearance tatty, Your logo dated and your pictures few and boring. Rethink Yourselves. Undercurrents, please: it would be sad if your decline turned into demise. Post- menopausal therapy might be needed, but there should be good timesahead.

Chalky White London NW3.

FROM A FOSSIL-FUEL FREAK

Why has Undercurrents said nothing about the huge expansion planned for the British coal industry? There has been no mention of the massive Selby field now being opened up, and the Vale of Belvoir enquiry currently proceeding seems destined for equally scant attention

The contrast with all the fuss over Windscale couldn't be more striking. Yet the Leicestershire coal field is of vital importance: Britain's coal reserves are important to our energy future for a number of reasons. Despite the CEGB's clumsy cover-up, a cover-up seized on enthusiastically by the UK Atomic Energy Authority, coal already provides the cheapest electricity to Britain's homes and factories and, unless you want nuclear power stations in towns, coal is the best : fuel for combined heat and power systems-perhaps involving fluidised-bed combustion-until : schemes such as waste burning are fully developed. Likewise, in the longer term, coal can ease us through the transition to a time when sun and wind are able to meet our energy needs.

Let's not forget that in 1914 the British coal industry produced about as much energy as Britain used last year. That positionof strength has been lost, though not - irrevocably, to oil, and the question is whether Britain &s thedetermination to restore it. If not, other countries will reap the benefits: US oil companies, for example, are investing heavily in coal. Will the Tories resurrect Sir Keith Joseph's scheme to sell off the better coal pits to private enterprise? The restoration of the 8 coal masters would seem afitting complement to that cornerstone of Tory education policy, the re- establishment of the secondary modern.

So why not more about coal? Or has Undercurrents been taken over by the rural utopians, unwilling to trade off a little landscape despoliation against the security of our fuel future? Does the NFU rule, ok?

Chaa Trevor

Upper Street London N1.

t

+ ., THE BOOKS listed below are available by mail order from Undercurrents. Prices include 1 ' which in many cases has beenabsorbed within the normal shop price. All orders must be prepaid. i

THE POLITICS 01'- NUCLEAR POWER PRACTICAL SOLAR HEATING Daw Elliott (ed). Pat Coyne. Mike Geonse. Kevin McCartney Â£2. . .. . .

Â¥Ro Lewis ' , . .a masterpiece DIY text, of which authors ". ". a very U ~ U I boo;, one which de~$$ FRESH FROM Tm.=ATEsz and publishers of other so called DIY -texts w d ' be widely read and discussed, by trade unionists, NO NUKES: ~Vfi~yoffi's Guide to well take note. I t seems to satisfy all the . .

environmentalists, and all those other 'ists who ~~~l~ power Â£4.00 Undercurrents' central committee criteria; ; makc! up our disputatious society."' Anna Gyor6y and friends. plain, jargon-free = technology fully-

Writ PatlEmm Thae friendly folk at the Clamshell de-mystyfied, put in a bit of social context, ami + Alliance have produced what is evidently construction details so complete barely artwist

meantto be the definitive book on nuclear of a spanner is omitted. There just uen'tmy. SMALL-SCALE WATERPOWER power: a giant tome packed full o f information. cracks for a reviewer be&in priae apart.

Dennott McGuigan ' Â£2.9 analysisand campaigning tips, together with . ~~ some excellent cartoons and illustrations'.

SMALL-SCALE WINDPOWER . . Dave Effiott ENERGY PRIMER Dennott McCuiian Â£2.9

'

Richard Men-ill (Ed)

'THE BAREFOOT PSYCHOANALYST Rosemary Randall, JohnSouthgate, Eraaces.Tondinson Â£2.9

' I t isabout the psychoanalysis which people cando for themselves.. . I t is intended to be of value, . . to people who arc disturbed . . . (or) to anyone who nevertheless wishes to discover more about thcmselves."

RADICAL TECHNOLOGY Godfrey Boyle, Peter Harper Undercurrents Â£4.2 (Bulk discount for 10 or more copies Â£3.70)

"For those who still think about the future in termsof mega-machines and all-powerful bureaucracies. Radical Technology will be an eye-opener. There is an alternative!'

-Alvin Tofflu

LAND FOR THE PEOPLE Herbert Girardei led) Â£1.4 . . . . . . . . - - - . . . ,

A manual o f radical land reform; i t covers: roo( remurcebklf-sufficiency. enclosureb clearances and the Diggers, Highland landlords,! lessons of resettlement, land reform and . revolution, new towns, new villages, and the revival of the countryside. !

Issue numbers 12 to 23areavailable for the BARGAIN price of Â£3.60 numbers 24 to 33 for'f3.00 and the SET for a mere Â£6.00 Single wpie. 60p. We like to think that Undercurrents is not so much a magazineas a 1

growing collection of useful information. So t o c k UP with back iques now. f

8 (WMTEKlNationai A T 18 I T &the Third World/ CentreIOrganic GardeningIFree Chinese Sclence/lT & Second Class RadioIBuilding with Rammed CapitallSupermacker/Lev Hunting1

HydroponicdLucas.

19 Limits to ~edicinelIkl i t lcs 10 Solar Collector ,of Self-HelpIBabes in the Ward/

Guide to Alternative Medicinel Anarchist Cities/Future of AT/ Findhorn Community/National Land for the People/General Centre for AT RevisitedIDanish Systems Theory/Alternativa Anti-Nuclear CampaignIAlternative Cultures Part 1. .- Z.'**ÃˆHistor . :. ~ of England. . . ' y'f^. 12 . Lucas Aerospacel~iofeed .'& 20 Tony Benn on the Diggers/ toack/Community Technology1 /r? ' Farming: Chemicals or Organic?/ COMTEK/Windpower Part 21 .Â¥? Control of Technology/Cambodia Alternative Medical Carel ""Â¥Ã§Â¥ Self-Sufficient?/Solar Energy Alternative Culture Part 3. j-,:fe:f ReportIPaper Meking/Annan

Â¥&> Report on Broadcasting Assessed. 13 DioaersIEnerov & Food :. .Productioi/lndustri and the Community & ATIAlternative England &Wales Supplement/ Planning & Communes/Methane/ ~ l t a n a t i i e Culture Part 4.

14 Jack Mundey on Australian Green BansIAT Round the World/' Building with Natural EnerflvIDlY IniulationIAT in IndiaIBRAD

, Community.

15 Insulation vs Nuclear Power/ Towards a non-nuclear futurelAT & Job OmtionIProduction for Need/ Diodynamic Gardenmg/DC/AC Inverter Design.

16 Garden Vilteges/Wood Food Guide/DlY New Town/Self- Sufficient Solar TerraceslLifespan Community/Bypassing the Planners/Citizens' Band Radio/ Free School.

17 Computer Ley Hunt/Dowse- it-Yoonelf/Kirlian Photography/ Saving your Own Seed/Women & AT/Terrestial Zodiacs.

21 Fascismand the Counter- wltureIMotorwav Madness/Nuclear Policy Chtos lOr~ne EnergvlFree Broadcasting/Good Squat Guide/ Iron Age Farming/Laurieston's Magic GardenIPrint-it-Yourself,

22 Paranoia PowerlWindacaIe Background/Crofting/Food Co-ops StonehengeIFishing Limits/Primal Therapy/Italian Free Radio1 MethaneIFish Farming.

23 Seabrook Anti-Nuclear Demo/Nuclear Power & Trade ' Unions/Herman Khan Interview/ DIY Woodtove/Fortean PhenomenaIDlY Solar Collector . Design/Srrmll-scale Radio Transmitter PlandAustralian Citizen' Band.

24 Nuclear Weapons Accidents1 Electronic SurveillancefiMakina - Cheese & CiderICompost & Communism/Small-scale Radio ~ransmitter Part z / ~ e g i c MushroomslForestrv/SWAPD/ MedicineIChicken's bb.

25 ~motional' Plague in Co- operatives1Compost & Communism Part 2/Water PowerIFindhorn Reviaited/Oz Community Radio/ Car-sharinglsaving Enefgy/Thai Dilemmas.

26 AT Davs that shook ~ortugal l~rowing Dope at Home1 Croftingin theOrkneys1Community Ham RadioIRenairina Boats1 Newcastle AT ~ r o u p i ~ u c a s Alternative HardwarelRussians Weaponry.

27 Soft Energy: Hard Politics/ The Fast Breeder Enquiry/Not So Small Tools for Small FarmsIAnti Nuclear CountermeasuresIFree Wheelin'lHull Docks Fish Farm1 Shaker Communities.

28 Torness DemoIAfter the Windscale Enquiry/The Tvind Â¥Windmill/Prima Therapy at AtlamisIBasque Co-ops/AT in the UK & CanadaIBehaviour Modification.

-- ~ . . linked?/Windscale ~ i~ i t /Ant i -Nuc~em DanceIFeminists Against Nukes1 Women & ScienceIOn Roles1 Women, Work and the Trade UnionsIWelfare Services & The

Control. -1

31 Factory Farming/Food . Additives/Commodity Campaigns/ Wholefood Co-ops US & UK/ { Common Agricultural Politico + ExplainedIPotato Politics1 Feminism & FoodDrganic Farming.

32 The British Road to Ecotopia/Larzac

Economics/Wind-powered Council HousingIAtom Scientists

4 33 ' Resettling the Countryside/ City Wildernenes/Country Parka/ Living on the Lend/Special Status 1 for British Islanders?/Working on : Organic Farms/Collector Design. .: I 34 The Co-op Lesson: Learn! the Hard Way/Crabepple Revisited, AT in PakismnlCounter Revotutio, Quarterly/DIY Radio Piracy/.' Feminists and Nuclear Power/ '

British IndustryIWhales.

1 Brazilian Atom Scandal/Futureof

he NorthlThe Geography Woodstove DesignsIRoad

(Community Technology) ExplainedIGreening Milton Kevn Agribusinks Colleges.

, . , 3 6 Kids can C h a w the ' wi: WorldIDaughter of Alice . I ~. , . . .,A , :i CartoonICity Farms Threatened1 30 Barefoot Soci'l,,~,*%~~ >. ,>~,c News from Prograuive and Frm Alternative Nurseries/Solar Schools/Education a it Could CaliforniaIAT and State Money/ Be/To Cram or not to CrÃˆmf Ecotopia InterviewINF Counter- Community Se~ice/Education measures1Parish PoliticsLEcologv Outside the Classroom/Hunt and Faminism/WindswleScandal and Hassles Inside it., '.'

Z4fMct wr cornmunards herel SntaU Ads at special giveaway price: I p pqr word Box Numbers Â£1

looking for l part-time worker

of choice."

r . s , niiabla Writ* orphan* Pm COMMUNITY ~lenon01-6076918, by

OVER the nut four y e n w will h o m e a group to c r ~ u a viliaga. YOUNG woman nÃ‘dÃ to iMcone ~ i t e Community. It will boa surrogaf motfwr for de~peiring wkga of various hounholds, childlwcouplm. Substantial sharing r ~ o u r c u to mÃ§k a reward. Please write for details to commonndth, and sharing the .Box No. YW *work andcottap industries. : , i , . '

next meeting is et 3jo'clek -Â¥.';. . GENERAL help needed. Poaceful :An 28 N o ~ e m ~ . l ? ~ @ $ J t t ~ ~ ~ " ' ~ ' ~ - SOuptly hwse ih WÃ§ Cork. Look Patchwork Office, @%Islington afterSimon Ã§tc %I can work.

Ptrk ~t re+~~~on~pi^^! ;$$~ ..;~ ~ . .... ,. ?;" +st-drive something,, like animals. Iwi l l ha able tonw vou m a olus ~ ~- ~ ~~. -. .-- ~~~

BRIGHTON ind London. I Ã ‘ n ' Ward. Apply: Allmir, ~ i l ~ , ~ tocontact people who went to live LMP. Co. Cork, Eire. cdtactiveiy somewherd between. ' : No bighmbitions initidly except ,. "

, toga7 . on well. Wecould move .. onto the big ideas afterwards. Ken Godderd, c/o 95 Chert$ Drive, :.', Canterbury, Kent. , ': .. .. , .

. . . <

SMALL AT dasign & prototype workshop soaks another worker- must be skilled or have experience in metal work and light angiwring and ha prepared to get into AT & s h work. Thiscannot at fimt -..- ~ . ~ ~

CANADIAN FAMILY +k to* a ~ ~ u l Ã § r i paving job. Conttct fommunity within 40 m i l t Bristol OATW, 88 Bulllngdon Road, into AT andSS. Bob a wandv. 19 ' Oxford. . Grow PÃˆrkRoÃ§d.'Brillinato ~ . . .

~

Bristol. . ., . , VEG TARIAN, non-wnoking . . m o r r i t f i young dwghmr woks

INTERESTED in twining a i k domÃ‘ti *lDWWt. Orivn. opÃ§tmiv villiÃ§communit Rides. Seperam Â¥eccrtiqWxktion (ZOO+)? Please write, even i f you preferred. Boxno: JW . .

@dbqfoib, enclosing we. , ' ,

' RADICAL parion intocolltctiwi. Altomotive Community . ,

information'Exchange, ' . We an a mixed.coll&tive running . . Aborgwanlais Mill, Cilyc-, . a ~6mI'nUnity cafe md wholefood: ,*: Uandovwy, Dyfed. shop. We nwd someone who .-*'

. . ddMh't m i 4 low.wqj@ I'M ttitÃ

I'M 27. male, ex-teacher and of m w w andpduily aonq Kxnetimks biol&t, trying tt> find, c~:lectiw expui*. T i l * . ~ . , , community in. the countryside will be primully inv- wW.thÃ§ practising yogÃ§,,r,yditetio q d . organiwtion and runningofÃ§h encounter. I haveexperienceof , . . . Â¥"w but we hope fiat they will organk,gir&ni"gknd fanning in.' . alw be prepared to work in the.^. Irgland.Riply to: .Ron~ ,~no ! l , , cab: Further information from 29 Gmmville Rend,,Bleckr~k, : : URURU, 35 Covuley R e , Oxford Dublin, Rap. of Ireland. TeF$; / TÃ§l Oxford.48249. . Dublin 803124. -'.' , ~,;::*, .:.

, , ,; , , . FOR:SA'LE whilefo+ shop in WOMAN and m a i f e e d ~ ~ ~ g i ~ ~ r e ~ a n d . Well established in growth people interested in jointpure ,

af". Living dCC0mmodatiCfI. Of London house. lm@mat in . 1,:. ' .reaÃ§onabl rerit. Â£6,00 ono plus feminisn and theenvironment; I, . , stock. Boxno. EM. would help. Box no. JR. ; ,. . .' . . ' .5 . I

. . . . . . . . JOIN self-hdp Community Cultural WANTED. Couple to J*M 4 on i. , ~r~j&t.'~pporttinity for nun/ our small-holding (7% aereal':in ;::. , Weinen (16+1 to work alonSIid9 C o m d . No mod cons; P i m r f t i f '1 Filled tradesmen m site and join Mr i t useful, senw of humour : , : , . Â t n kidÃ§/K*Jlucultum Proarmme &w. Pmvioua exmriance of ! (sound, film end printing).

M a l *not necÃ§star if willing to . Accommodation providad, learn. Previous community contributetowards food. Smelt experience an advantage. We are wage negotiable after six months. Lynn and Tony, two individuals Great Gmirgn Project, Great , ,

mho live together with 3 dogi and Gtotga StmÃ t Liweipool 1. Tel: 4cats. If interestedpleen write - 061-7098109. for details to LakÃ Farm; Trewidland, Likkeard, Cornwall. I (educator-kale-26 years) would I f rtomply i t means wi are like to work in England from spring inundamd withJttter; andcan't 1980yÃˆiinn 1981.1 want to afford the postage-don't just turn join in an alternative project: for UD. W willthink this i s untooather 9xampleÃ‘education ecology; ;

. 1 "

. . -

PUBLICATIONS : wm v m n , . I , .. ,

THE COMING AGE: magazine of tho mptriarchal tradition and virituel lif.ntYle, 45p, Lux M u h i i IUI.40 St JohnStmot, Oxford.

' CARING for trÃ‘ ahd IndBM. 1WO CALENDAE. lllustmttd fully, woodmdmanagemont. ~ ~ p p k i a packed with infomiation on natural p-tion. foods, oi~Ã§nicflÃ§r<lÃ§iii 12 recipes prop* from Ã‘ Ãˆ.cuttingÃ and much morel SOP. SurreyIHants Ã‡ wood turninn. Winur border. Friendi of the Earth, 30 of fruit a mmnity trew. Urban Flowia),Road, Fleet, Hampshire. t-: -tion o m ; Bulk reductibb. Fleet 3144 eves. ~ ~ n w r v o t ~ o n uwt. Woodland

nature r e w m World Pomt THE CAULDRON nagon iwrnt l Campaign. A &day courn on of the Old Religion. Simple cow john Seymour's (Â¥Â¥rnbrok-h 26p (blank postal order) from farm. January 7-1 1 (Man-Fri) or ' BCM, Box 1633, London WC1V F&-,,Ã 1-6 (wiTuÃ‡s Â£3 incl. 6XX. full bomd SAg for details:

FachMgle I f f <a), Newport. RURAL RÃ§<tttloinqn Handbook: mfed . wcond edition mi& and enlamad. 220piÃ§ of practical, financial, CENTRE for Almrnatiw IN-1, Ã§ocie md pwod Technology, Machynlleth. information on rural rtttttfmant. POW* Wdentiel w M k d Â£1.8 from Rural Resettlement c o u m in practical wlar Group (U), Manor Hour, heating, watmpower, w ind Thelnethm. Dils, Norfolk. power, food growing, lowcost

building, insulating, compost toilets and lot* more. SAE , RECHARGEABLE for *milt.

BATTERIES , EDINBURGH. Visit Pint of M w bookshop, meeting place, exbibition

TRADE ENQUIRIES WELCOME .gallery, 4S Niddrv Street (off Hi Street). Tal: 031-556 6863.

Full range available. SAE for Feminitt, a&hin, environmentatist list& Â£1.2 for booklet Nickel etc. books, hkinu, bedim. Own

EXPERIENCED professionti' .. potter with skills in engineering and Mif^ufficiancv woks a place working with others preferably in acommunity with an established potmw-Chris Southall, Upper Bishops Court Farm, Belltugh, Ide of Man./

feminist group; anti-kcle6~ , '

movement or in non-violent action . . movement. (I'm working in similar

groups in Germany). I'm looking 'i,,.: for a group or soma people who I ' '.

can live withfor the first time or all the time. If you are interested in my offer, please write me a letter to the following address: Kirsten Burgher&, Weidenhauser Str. 33, D-3560 Marburg.

. . . . ,, ,

treditional &rob fatomd to thÃ‘ PEACE NEWS for mn-viol-rt pn-christian wordi Tan dfftefnt rwo~ution. Rtportt. J M ~ V ~ S . Mm c a d for Â£1.60 Normm ~lm. 381 of non-violent action f a social change, building attcrmtivet and resisting the rnrqp-rochina. anti-militarism. rtxual politic*. ecology, demntraliwtion, etC 20P fortnightly; 0 -Wfor a yw'inib. from 8 Elm Avenue. ~ottingham.

. . . ETCETERA ,. '

. ,

HOLIDAY wtth a differencl. We W an 0 r ~ n i c farm situwed in beautiful N Devon countryside and often honaridihg, cheese. nuking,'butur-nuking h ginning. SAâ‚¬,V@r!~o Oatlev, Butler; farm, Chlttfehamholt, ~mberlei~h, N Devon:

UNIQUE holide on organic smallholding with 77 acres woodand nature rtttrva. 6xm& National 8ark.Sea-4 miles. Eight camoufltoed carmans. Modem toilets. Fresh produce. Sump ,. p~eaw for' m. ~owtey wood, PwracomZ'kwm. p o r m b o 200.

CHILDREN'S country holiday house end grounds ~gi lable &ring term-time for courses, conference* etc. Wholefood cooking. Clow to motorway network. Also larga- Â¥ol wholefood outside wr ing . Callow Hill House, Monmouth, Gwant. 0600 3233.

I'M a Friend of the Earth T-shirts. Available from the Environmmf) Information Centre, 16 Goo-, Nottingham. Yellow, blue, whlta or red (5.M + LI. Â£1.9 nch, phu 2Bppostage. .,

IKON prints on wood. mounting for your prints, car& SAE for &uils/n.otf: EIKON IUICI. B2

England

WESTCOUNTRY 'fdwisim -- ..- progremme wks locally' bÃ‘ dswlopmnts in w r o p r i m technology, energy conwrvhon, and Ã§lfmÃ§ti lifm styles. Box k. PJ.

FEMALE wants canpmion(t) tor trip to l s d , vie North A f r i i Living early Decembw. C Walton, 4 Bill Hill Ride. Ounfiald,

ASTROLOGER of<*nÂ¥ccur pmnond birth chart and c h w c f r analysis, Â£ including futun trends 8 y w or 12 months. AImriMthrIv #and for d t l l s : John Willmott, Millbram. Bunion, Mull, Arwtl.

hl subs work is nqw being done in London at our %

;lerkenwell office. We are looking for a part-timer to rgolaae

Call for higher incomes for people aged o v a 75 W ~ O '

Futareim~ortance of Cheap vegetable prices hit water Ã£W ,,deÃ fuel 'not ** ,, s ~OIICY 00 *"1

, y o u are 4nitresied in probl."" 'ik. Ihese, md th,", "W, a- s , m ! d "m!.mb"te 8" N#m 0, - b. +."I" d.t& 4 - w to vowd4q the a&%. vw m iorm f r m : l l a A d m W

shouldwv louarl thisSCDtemtOonihi* O f f t e f l w - , 114- four-yar CNAAcourse lid*. London N14 WH. 0 1 N 2 1074.

There are thousands of people all over the world living in economically and social successful communal groups.

Learn about a highly viable alternative to bedsits and the nuclear family. Find out about communal child-rearing, inter- personal relationships, income pooling, and how to integrate your life, work and interests.

We invite you to take a step towards building a more sane future for yourself. Write for more information to

Alternative Communities Movement (MAS), 1.8 Garth Road, Bangor, North Wales, enclosing an s.a. e.

- Int+rnati'onal Voluntary Service * " . -L . . . --,.Â¥la^f?. .y .4v *, .( , > .I.'-- "

* Â ¥ Â¥ 1 Â -, , , k, t FVS is looking for people who:

& & -'^N a".-- - . * :I+, ,vove sound ideas about what is going on in the world,

c .

0 want to assist those caught in the underdeve I ". .

ft', -.T" 'Â¥'l.Â¥-.<\^. and < ,

I .'! 2 h e useful skills, training and experience to utilise caul '4 'I., - '/$ , ; Some current usbmtwr-vacancies: 10 1L. I 1 *.

Varioqa personnel for new programme: Engineers of all types; Agri/Horticulturists; GPs, specialists ,

Nurse-tutors and paramedics; Technical teacher trainers; Maths/&i&ce Teachers.

, WTSWANA: For Brigades (community h h h g cenixes): Managers, Act- Admirth Textile cuhiiser. Also Rural Craft Enterprises Animateurs to stimulate and ndustay, Manager for co-operative dairy farm; BoatbuiIder (or experienced

iESOTBO: farmers and Market Gardenern and General Technical ('Jack of All Trades') ievelopment project; Weaver and a B w k s s Manager for weavers' co-op.

8WAZSLAND: L.

&nerd Technical person for school of Appropriate Farm Technology; Cooperative advisers to train secretary/managers; Occupational Therapist for hospital in Mbabane.

the above on volunteer terms. Details and epplicatigm form from:&?mWn 085, IVS, 53 Regent Leicester LEI 6YL. J

for sdmulat - mqz+.- -l* 1

+@-$ .&dfl$7rl . ~ ? * . ? s e G ~ 7 ' - Ã y,*&;*.. +: , ' . 'Â¥" * - $ 1 1n' -, - Â¥^ Ã -1 , - I.++

',During the last several years Resurgence has been one of the poles around which disciplined radical alternative thinking has taken shape'

IVAN ILLlCff,

Ã I. FREE special offer to the readers of Un

' ,f^ IÃ‘ I wish to take advantage of the special subscription offer for Resurgence with - 0 , . Â¥"*,I I ,\d free copy of the Schumacher Lectures 1979 (Â£4.)

I enclose Â t

To : RESURGENCE, Hartland, Nr. Bideford, Devon, U.K. p. - - -

uc37 december 1979-january 1980

Documents

city streets

secret plans

revelations o f

republication o f

secret defence bunkers

sort of research

archeadogical research

gas bill evans