UC26 February-March 1978 by Christopher Squire

__________________________________________________________

UC26 February-March 1978 Contents

Eddies: Industrial alternatives; Official Secrets; State Research; Sun Day; Mondragon; Co-operatives; Psychic News Astrology . . 6 What’s On & What’s What 7 Letters 9 Technology & Revolution in Portugal - Marta Pinheiro 12 The Electricity Hard Sell and . . - Robert Vale 14 . . The Insulation Heresy - Richard Nilsen 15 A Jungle Story - Rudyard Kinglip 16 The Russians AREN’T Coming 18 Repairing a Boat - Robin Balbennie 20 New Age Access 21 Crofting in the Orkneys - Ruth Wheeler 24 Growing Dope at Home - Eve the Gardener 26 The Future of Radical Technology - Geoff Wright 28 Lucas’ Socially Useful Prototypes - Mike Cooley 31 Factories for a Small Nation - Bob Black 33 Community Use for Ham Radio - George Wood 34 The Non-returnable Bottle Controversy - Richard Bate 36 How Safe is the Super-Grid? - Pat Coyne 38 The UC Regional Network - Dave Elliott 39 Reviews 46 In The Making 47 Small Ads 48 Subscription Form & Masthead __________________________________________________________

'--

Published by Undercurrents Limited, 27 Clerkenwell Close, London EC1R OAT. Full editorial, distribution and subscription details appear on page 48. m

Industrial alternatives Official secrets State Research Sun Day

Mondragon Co-operatives ychic news Astrology

tional and nuctearstations,

Workers in-the power engineering industry Clarke Chapman, C.A. Parsons and Bab MRteox have been faced, over the past year, with the threat . of redundancy, on account of the fall in demand for power generation equipment itself a result of the current 40% over capacity in the supply industry.

the Power Engineering Industry Trade Union Commftiee -which has trade union representatives from Parsons. GEC, flabcock and Wilcox produced a report entitled What Next After Dmx' which demands that '-a real effort should be made t o sell in the expanding small power plant ranges 5MW or 300MW which we being neglected by the industry'. units, are very important becausethey are moreO '' ur than larger and intensive the emergiw nations'.

Not surprisingly, given the and the intensity the political battle for '-^'control fought out between the Government, the unions and Arnold Weinrtock of BEC, they '(We tended to demand continued iMBtment in large power stations t(ke Drax B - along, that is, with Â¥caltor the nationatisation of thd -*Stry. But at the same time shop

wgenwof the jobs

stewards groups have also been arguing for product diversification along the lines pioneered in the defence sector by the Lucas space Shop Stewards who called

...

for diversification away f r o m defence systems to, amongst other things, alternative energy technotogies and transport system* (UC12). For example 1 addition9 coinbiiudheatandtKmer catlt&f& m e ~a g ~ n ~ ,~ forward ordering programme o f units linked t o district heating be relevant, neworks would Quite apart from leading to an increase in energy conversion/usage efficient from its present 30% to say 70% the construction of such systems wouldcrftrte many jobs (See Eddies in UC20).

tfaiÃ may not be skilled Wortcers and.tachnalookts to

n x t i f n a major nucleef programma, so says The Watt h m i t t e e on Energy in a recent ( critique of the Accord Division Docummt on Energy Research a& Dmelopmont i n thÃ The Watt Committee in its Deployment No. on tonal Resources i n the Energy in the United Kingdom 1875-2025 commented: "We an very disturbed at the a- *us shortage of skilled (trades) ' *power so disclosed by our *,%I studies. It backs this up by quoting *am a manpower study @mmksioned by the UKAEA and carried out by the Energy -re at Newcastle University tfhichconcluded that: "On present trends the rm'cltar rgquirement will pre-empt term put!of the engineering stock ofskilled manpower and theannual nuclear requirement Wilt Ã‡xce<Ã output Â¥Otraining schemes. ,Hmn. So perhaps we nÃ§ea crash training scheme for nuclear fnniwers and technicians. But :iMt wouldhardly make a -in

UK.

--tfeon

* F J H H W I M o f far

the 1.5 million unamploymnt figure. would it? But what-

The Committee also argued that'@determined attempt should : made to diversify into other heavy engineering work'. It called and development on for renewable forms of energy, as the utilization of tidal, wind, and wave power' and pointed t o the report Workers'Power' (reviewed in UC24) produced by AUEVJ.TASS stoiwirrfe at AEI Trafford Park. Thh outlined a range of possible alternative technologies in the renewable energy and energy storage fields

x zeT,%ffiWatt Committee conclusion dn these is a masterpiwe-of understatement: "Tidal and wove power schemes would make sufficient demands on the construction industries but vÃ§ have no t o supthat there could not be met." Quite so. There are 250.000 POP^^ unemployed in the construction industry. The commiWu adds: 'We do notexpect any . manpower limitations on the usa of solar, energy from waste materials or from gaothermal sources. Nor does the seal* of wind powerlead us to expect any limimtions from this

source

.. .

And of course that's true, at least, as long as wind end solar power continue t o receive minimal funding. But even a major alternative energy strategy would be unlikely t o suffer from a lack of manpower .so if you're looking for a solution t o unemployment that A T could be fan of the answer.

- including win$ and wave

power. They hoped that the. htat would stimulate work-.

ers in m e inousrry 10 urwuce detailed plans for diversification. The Joint Trade Union Committee at the Gatesheadplant of Clarke Chapman are producing an Alternative Corporate Plan, modelled on the Lucas workers plan -outlining various technologies which would use their skills. Early drafts indicate that a wide range of alternatives are being considered - including solar and wind power. Campaigns initiated from the grass roots for the 'right to work on socially useful products', emerged first in the aerospace and defence sector at Lucas Aerospace, BAC Preston. Rolls Royce Bristol and at Vickers Barrow, where submersible whicles for owan module collection and farming and

~ o ~ $ d~ e ~ ~ ~ ~ then 'Ocurred in the car industry .at Chrysler (UC181, and now workers in the energy industry are thinking along the same lines. One way or another it looks like the idea of alternative technology is being taken seriously by trade unionis* in a wjde range of industries - as part of their answer t o the threat of unemployment. Of course no one would say that this is the whole answer. SOme shop stewards would say that t o talk about alternative technology in the present context is diversionary-the real issue is that of control. But surely it makes sense t o meet the calls for contracUon and mergers in the energy induitry by demonstrating that there am viable alternative product8 and markets?

LET YOUR HAIR DOWN WITH UNDERCURRENTS If it's 10 days after Sf Valentine's Day and you're still waiting for a card, console yourself with the Undercurrents ~ d l e c t i ~ e Gome andjoin us at the Freemason's Arms in London WC2's fashionable Long Acre, at 7.30 on February 24th. We're having a party to celebrate nothing in particular-so why not celebrite it with us? Admission free, several bars to chocs* between, food provided, real jazz on draught,simulatiag conversation. (Isn't there a mistake here? Ed)

iecrets Act 'could be worse' FALTERING step towards the sweeping away of official secrecy was ken i n London i n December, w i t h the holding of a solemn conference ganised b y the National Union o f Journalists and the National Council ir Civil Liberties. The problem of the transition om a collection of lefties and thers who dislike official crecy t o a measurable political 'essure against secrecy unirtunately remained almost itirely on the hidden agenda, ~entionedonly b y a few more tnical participants. Chief of these was Roger arlington, who nearly empt e LSE's ill-designed old cture theatre by admitting I being political adviser t o lerlyn Rees. He left no daub, iat the fledgling campaign jainst official secrecy has not ? t begun t o touch the authories. For instance, as he said, abody from the Home Office ad been invited to the conrence (he was there on his wn account as a member of ie NCCL). Likewise, the panel ldressinq the meeting includJonathan A i 1 no straight politicians except speakers at the conference includ inathan Aitken. Aitken, Tory ed Duncan Campbell and Crispin P for the Isle of Thanet, paid Aubrey, who spoke very guard(tended visits t o the Old Bailey edly about their trial which will ime years ago after writing begm t o roll at the Old Bailey the Sunday Telegraph, about , ie Labour government's c o l b later this year Other speakers were eloquent about the history on in the Biafran war and and origin of official secrecy :companying genocide pointing out, for instance, that Apart from Aitken, the

State Researchate research along w i t h the ~cialistMedical Association, one of the newer and more teresting occupants o f 9 >land Street, London W1 tome of FOE, BSSRS etc). ate Research has been set Ias 'an independent group investigators collecting and iblishing information f r o m iblic sources o n developments state policy, particularly i n e fields of policing, internal curity, and espionage. It is io concerned w i t h the finks tween the agencies i n these ilds and business, the Right id paramilitary organisations. These weighty ambititfns e t o be pursued i n three ways; e first is a series of meetings, ie next of which is at Poland treet on Janauw 17. o n 'Civil

the main Official Secrets Act was signed into existence in an afternoon i n 1911 in the midst of a f i t of spy mania. A t that time i t was specifically stated that i t would not be used against journalists. What t o do? I n the first place, the pragmatic necessity (if Undercurrents is t o have any good stories ever again), is a victory, preferably political as well as simply a judicial let-off. This would at least establish the principle that Section Two of the 191 1 Act, which prevents the disclosure of official information. would become much harder t o use. This step was recommended' in the Franks Committee report on the reform of the Acts, which Rees has vaguely promised t o implement,

But the longer term objectives are harder t o see. The danger is that the Acts could n o be swept away without the creation of other legislation t o protect personal information like medical and criminal records (which are by no means perfectly secret now) t o safeguard commercial information and t o give limited secrecy for economic, military and diplomatic information. This could have the effect of replacing a visibly unworkable piece of legislation w i t h one which there would be difficulty breaking. This prompted Tony Bunyan, for instance, t o take the line that we should avoid reforming the Acts for fear that they would be replaced by something much more repressive.

The trial on Official Secrets charges of journalists Crispin Aubrey and Duncan Campbell, and ex-soldier John Berry will not now take place until October or November 1978, according to a statement issued by the ABC Defence Committee. I t might'therefore be a staggering twenty-one months after arrest that the three appear at the Old Bailey. During all this time each defendent has been required t o report daily to a police station as a condition of bail-a situation which must continue for another ten months while the Law gathers i t s wits. The Defence Committee is holding a meeting to discuss future strategy at the Roebuck in Tottenham Court Road on 31 January at 6.30. Anyone with ideas welcome to attend.

....J to L.-.v

Â Â

Defence or Internal Defence?' There is also a Bulletin (10 per year for Â£3 institutions Â£6on w e n t developments in security and the state, the first issue of which is very promising. The first issue leads o n the new Police complaints system and has news items and the Bulletin also contains one background paper per issue. The first is a thorough Job on the multifarious Institute for the Study of Conflict. There are plans for an annual, probably t o be called the Review o f Security and the State, which is planned t o appear next September. The first 'State Research' seminar - o n the official secrets act -was held o n the day that Aubrey, Berry and Campbell were committed for trial at the Old Bailev. I t was also. ironical-

.---

Iy, the anniversary of the formation of the Agee-Hosenball defence committee. Tony Bunyan (author of 'The Political Police in Britain') summarised the historv and nrovisions of the various acts, pointing out the dangerous differences between these and all other laws: the onus is on the defendant t o prove innocence; the police can issue search warrants without reference t o a magis.. trate and even preparatory acts are subject t o its provisions. His prediction was that i n the prasent political climate there is no prospect o f relaxation, as the OSA provides a wonderfully ambiguous catch-all for 'subversive~'la word that is continuously being redefined). Phil Kelly (not the author of anv books) pointed out the

authorities' total lack of appreciation of the principles of democracy, one of which is the right of citizens t o knowledge. The 'Catch-22' application of the 'need t o know' principle was quite obvious in the current proceedings. The fact that there is no equivalent in this country t o the 'Vietnam generation' (highly educated technologists who had avoided being brainwashed into conformity) meant that there was little chance of exposure of the Watergate operations that had occurred during the A-H action. Very few British journalists had the w i t and technical knowledge t o ferret out facts f o r themselves, and even fewer had the political courage t o blow the whistle o n the dirtv tricks departments.

When Sun Day falls on Wednesday inday will be 3 May 1978 - a Wednesday. Not a paradox it an effort by the Washington based Worldwatch stitute to galvanise US opinion in favour of solar energy. Plans for Sun Day include rs, exhibitions, demonstrations, ich-ins, lectures, conferences, bates and a great deal of media blicity. The aim is t o tell people at solar energy is n o t some turistic technology b u t is imfdiately practical andwidely plicable. The prime mover behind Sun iy is Denis Hayes, a director of ? Worldwatch Institute and a ite Energy Director of Illinois. iyes is the author o f a number publications, the latest being ~ y so f Hope which advocates a p i d transition f r o m fossil d fissile fuels t o a world powerby safe, non-polluting and centralised energy sources, of i c h the prime example is lar energy. Hayes' involvement w i t h vironmental action began i n 170w i t h 'Earth Day', a largely hoc movement of students

general public is unaware of the potential and policy makers continue t o assume that the technology will n o t be available for many years. So a major educational programme is necessary t o promote the energy transition'.

who organised lectures, teac ins, litter pick-ups bike trips and a host of other activities familiar t o Undercurrents readers. Sun Day will be far broader based, involving labour unions, religious leaders, civic groups and consumers' organisations as well as environmental groups. Although mainly US based, w i t h some support i n Canada and Australia, Hayes told Undercurrents that he was keen t o see the idea taken u p in as many countries as possible and would welcome support from British groups. 'While n o single solar technologv can meet humankind's total demand for energy', he said, 'a combination of solar technologies can. The transition t o a solar era can begin today. I t is technically feasible, economically sound and environmentally attractive. Unfortunately the

One vital object o f the whole exercise is t o involve academics from disciplines connected with renewable technologies. The disciplines include engineering, architecture the environmental sciences, urban planning, law, biology and forestry. The hope to raise$150,000 for organisation and promotion. Two full time activists, Pete Harnik and Richard Munson have already been hired and H~~~~is'reasonably confident, hat the target will be met,

Iondragon tamed -.ty Editors and other establishment figures were invited last month t o a press conference about -eport o n the Mondragon worker-operative region i n the Basque Buntry o f Spain (See ~ e v i e w ! ction for analysis and comment.) The Anglo-German Foundation r the Study of Industrial Society, l o sponsored the research have Patrons those well-known radiIs of the Co-operative movement W, the Prince Philip, Duke of linburgh, and His Excellency Herr alter Scheel, President of the :deral Republic of Germany. Jmour has it that Volkswagen ovides the cash. The report argued that the . ccess of Mondragon was due t o isque Nationalism; highly Ficient management, both localand at the head office; workers' ving an ownership stake, Trade lions being illegal and t o Monagon having an efficient Bank of eir own. This latest factor was ?n as crucial and the key t o ccess. Asked whether Mondragon u l d be copied i n the UK, and i y worker co-ops had failed iewhere, the response was that ere was a lack of capital, that zome was distributed rather than

reinvested and that management was of a low standard, Small and middle scale technologies were most suited t o the co-op idea - maybe ICI could organise itself as a federation. They did n o t see Mondragon as operating a 'Small is beautiful' policy. Many co-ops were in,the '2nd Division' of industry and quite large. Undercurrents (unofficial) correspondent (the only one present who actually worked in a workers co-op) asked how all this could apply t o the inner cities, the tenant co-ops where many people were unskilled and worked in sweatshops and the like. A long pause followed. Finally the speaker said this was a very difficult question and he couldn't give

-a VIEW ... ...

You can contact the organisers of Sun Day through Undercurrents or b y writing to: Dennis Hayes, Worldwatch Institute, 1776 MassachuseJts Avenue, NW, Washington DC, 20036, USA. ^Ory

The Tories look like adopting a new energy policy based on (you've guessed it)-conservation. Nigel Forman MP, i n a booklet 'Towards a More Conservative Energy Policy', argues that the scope for conservation is much greater than most People realisethat much more emphasis needs t o be p u t on efficiency and appropriateness of energy consumption, and that it is unwise t o base plans for the future on nuclear power. Sounds interesting,

Coooerati

Ă&#x201A;

- - r -

On Saturday 3rd December over 200 people from the co-operative movement - - met i n Leeds for a day conference entitled 'Co-operatives - a living alternative? Jointly organised b y the Leeds W.E.A., the Northern Wholefoods Co-operatives and the Leeds Co-op Society, the hope of the organisers was that the conference could be the start of a dialogue between the older co-operative movement, the labour and trade union movement and the newer collectives and co-operative enterprises that have arisen i n the last ten years.

Representatives f r o m the organising groups plus people from ICOM the Publications Distribution Co-op, Community Volunteer Service, Labour Party Co-ops, German Agency for Technical Co-operation, Open University, Institute for Workers Control and International Voluntary Service were present and working co-ops represented included bakery, decorating, building, housing, presses, publications, pottery, community theatre, AT, newspapers, wholefoods, women's refuges. The day was divided i n t o a morning session addressed by t w o speakers, Pete Smith f r o m ICOM and John Morrison f r o m Fife Cooperatives, and an afternoon session of workshops. John Morrison has been trying . .t o combat the high un-

employmentin FHe Ihrou@ th establishment of co-operatives and has been working on this with government agencies at both local and national level. To many of those present his approach seemed politically naive and unfortunately trusting of the intentions and interest of government i n the cooperative movement. For those who lasted o u t there was an additional session on the Sunday of a co-operative strategy game devised by Rob Paton and Martin Lockett from the Open University, and designed t o simulate some of the managerial, financial and decision-making problems of co-operatives. Most of those present found the game an accurate representation of their own experience and a useful learning exercise. Rob and Martin are willing t o travel t o co-ops interested and demonstrate the game. They can be contacted via the Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA. The aims of the organisers of establishing dialogue between the disparate parts of the co-operative movement did not wholly succeed although a useful start was made in this direction. One particularly useful outcome was a proposal t o set up a regional office of ICOM in Leeds. A meeting has since been held t o discuss this and it looks as if the plans will go ahead.

eddies

Psychic ants call for shonfloor unitv lot long ago a belief in astrology scored in Professor Hans ysenck's personality tests as a sign of 'neuroticism'. It lay therefore come as a surprise t o hear Eysenck now efending astrology - . at least in certain respects. This remarkable transformation ?gan i n 1974. w i t h a collaboration ?tween Geoff Mayo (author of 'each Yourself Astrology') and ie Maudesley Clinic. Mayo had !en investigating the traditional i t i o n that the Zodiac sun-signs ternated between being positive id negative, and that the 'positive' signs were extrovert b y nature, while the 'negative' signs were trovert.

He had given a questionnaire assess introversion-extroversion i d merely compared this w i t h ie sun-sign, that is the zodiac sign which the sun was standing at ie time of birth. The Institute UI Psychiatry agreed t o process the results and test their significance, although naturally they were very sceptical. They were i n fact astonished b y the significance of the results, but queried such things as the randomness of the survey and the personality test used. Eysenck decided t o repeat the survey using a larger sample size (2,300) and his own E.P.I. iestionnaire. Again a highly inificant correlation was found. The results of this Eysenckl avo study are due t o be publishI as 'An Empirical Study of the ifation between Astrological 1 dctors and Personality' i n the Journal of Social Psychology. Stimulated by these findings Eysenck turned next t o the work 3f a person who has really done Ire than anyone else t o place rologv on a scientific basis: chel Gauquelin. This Frenchin has demonstrated the link tween vocation (soldiers, sinessmen, poets, etcl and the inets occupying certain key sitions at the time of birth. r example, outstanding men war are more likely t o have irs rising above the horizon, 'culminating', that is reaching highest point in the sky at !ir time of birth than those other professions; outstandI poets or imaginative writers more likely t o have the Moon such positions, outstanding sntists are likely t o have :urn in such positions, and forth. The surveys have been carried t on a massive scale and repeatin different European countries, iwing only minor national

checking through some of Gauquelin's data Eysenck wrote in a 1976 'New Behaviour' article: 1 think it may be said that, as far as objectivity of observation, statistical significance of differences, verification of the hypothesis and replicability are concerned, there are few sets of data in psychology which could compete w i t h these observations'. I t should be added that Gauquelin, a lecturer in psychology at the Sorbonne, has always been very sceptical towards traditional 'fortune-telling' astrology, and i n fact his first statistical investigations over a number of years had the aim of testing and disproving such claims. I t may have been this attitude which persuaded Eysenck thdt here was someone t o be taken seriously. Between them Eysenck and Gauquelin hatched a brand-new project, using Eysenck's questionnaire and Gauquelin's planetary positions hypothesis. Its conception was very simple, and concerned primarily Saturn and Jupiter. Traditionally Saturn-types are supposed t o be of brooding, melancholic, introvert nature, while Jupiter-types are 'jovial' and extrovert. So the positions of these t w o in the key positions at time of birth were correlated this time n o t w i t h vocation b u t with score on the E.P.I. introversion-extroversion scale. The 'very significant' results of this survey are t o be published in the British Journal o f Social and Clinical Psychology, in an article entitled 'Personality and Position of the Planets at Birth: A n Empirical Study'. Such a survey could refute the notion that astrological beliefs are not amenable t o being scientifically tested. Is i t possible that human destiny is somehow played out against the scale o f the stars? There has been in this country very little interest i n Gauquelin's work. I n Canada a live discussion between Eysenck and Gauquelin was recently broadcast coast-tocoast and generated a great deal of interest. In this country the BBC 'Horizon' team last year spent a great deal of time interviewing Eysenck, Gauquelin and others concerned but finally

Psychics of the world unite, you have nothing t o lose but your powers-this was the plaintive c r y o f paranormal talents Suzanne Padfield and Matthew Manning at this year's Parascience Conference I t appears that for bender? telekinesis operatives, remote viewers and psycho metrists are under threat n o t only from sceptical scientists an cynical media folk b from sympathetic investigators of PK phenomena as well.. Psychic sensitives volunteering t o have their powers tested are rushed f r o m the trains with nary a bite t o eat or enquiry about their welfare into unfriendly labs where electrodes and worse are clamped t o them as they are t o l d "Perform or we will expose you". The answer is t o be an informal ~nion of the paranormally-power?d. Labs and investigators,will be iubject t o a star-grading system ietermined b y the extent t o which :hey treat psychics as real human >eings, the neatness of the design l f their experiments, and their leneral sympathy t o the notion

BMV11

that formalpsychics and biology may all the answers. Also a cause for concern are the founding o f groups like the one headed by Martin Gardner, Carl Sagan, Buckminster Fuller, and Isaac Asimov t o censor (as the PK People see i t ) all sensible talk onthe topic. Over here the writings of the OldScientist's Joe Hanlon and magician Randi are regarded with particular distaste. The 'union will take legal and quasi-indostrial action were aDorooriate

Fhe competition is fierce t o become Europe's first astroperson. Our h m m o n Market correspondent smuggled out this picture o f Ireland's vould-be man i n space, M r G T Wrixon, undergoing what were lescribed as 'special medical tests' at the Institut ftir Flugmedizin, Vest Germany. One slip and we wouldn't give much for his chances

eddies

Campus Wars lur local university doing its b i t t o defend us f r o m t h e communist peril? It probably is, since t h e Ministry of Defence and t h e US Department o f Defense are major sources of funds for political and scientific work at British Universities and some Polytechnics. I f y o u live i n Lancaster it certainly is. Undercurrents has obtained the report b y Martin Edmonds, M O D Lecturer at Lancaster, o n his work for the last academic year. He has been lecturer i n 'Higher Defence Studies' there for three years. Edmonds is t o be found i n the Politics Department at Fylde College. Lancaster, and specialises i n the trendy area of political-military relations. For Edmunds, 'Higher Defence Studies' is n o t an academic fairyland. On the contrary, as he says, rather ungrammatically, " I t has been increasingly evident t o me, over the last three years as defence lecturer at Lancaster, the importance of continuing contact with members o f the armed forces". No innocent squaddie is safe: "Since 1975 I have had the opportunity t o meet personnel from and o f one o f the Navy's frigates, Regiments and batteries of the Royal Artillery and the R A F Regiment, and t o observe themin the execution of their day-to-day duties; this is in addition t o meeting officers and senior NCO's at conferences and seminars." A t least that's one thing the humble private soldier is spared. Military research at Lancaster is necessarily very international, and Edmond's main work is on arms sales i n Europe. His main project, a Rockefeller Foundation funded study of arms sales and public accountability i n Western Europe, has a supervisory boferd including luminaries from Brussels, Fontainbleu [sic], Toulouse, the West German Army, Bonn, MIT, Michigan, Edinburgh and London. The project has only just got o f f the ground, but Edmonds has now found a Mrs Caroline Seddon-Brown t o do the hard work while he stands i n the middle and takes his fair share of the glory. Edmonds is also involved in something called the European Alternatives Project, which is less pleasant than i t sounds and is concerned with the future of aerospace firms i n Europe. This provides a handy excuse for trips t o Toulouse t o see Aerospatiale. Edmonds is also tied up with a US project on how overseas elites perceive US fftreign policy, and a British one on European Armies. This frenetic activity seems t o have left Edmonds with enough time t o lecture at Catterick on Areas o f Potential Conflict i n

The Role o f the Armed Forces i n the Maintenance o f Law and Order. He also appeared at the Royal Military Coflege o f Science on Civil-Military Relations i n Britain since 1945, and spent a l o t o f time attending conferences and talking t o people. But i t is clear that Edmonds's own ambitions involve the establishment of a major military research centre at Lancaster, which would inevitably be more war-oriented than most o f its counterparts elsewhere. "I have initiated discussions between members o f the History, Economics Sociology and Political Departments" with a view t o making proposals for "the establishment o f a centre of International Strategic and Military Studies" as one of a number of centres of distinction which the Lancaster ViceChancellor is anxious t o see there. Enthusiasm for the scheme is far from universal (hence the leak of Edmonds's report t o Undercurrents) but Edmonds rightly considers that the size of Lancaster's military committment is large i n terms of people, library holdings, contacts, and the editing o f t w o strategic journals there. From the MOD'S point o f view, Edmonds's function is perhaps t o provide intellectual backing for military thinking on the political role of the armed forces. This is reflected in the work done b y his students. His undergraduates submitted theses on military aid t o the civil power IMACP t o M O D trendiesj, the prospects of a British milnary Coup, and the Ethiopian Revolution of 1974. Likewise the graduate students working for M A degrees worked on the politics of British defence Cuts, military politics in the Sudan, British defence policy and strategic theory, and US weapons technology and strategic thought. Only one student has gone for an M A under Edmonds's colleague, Ian Bellamy, whose speciality i s ---*.I.

FOE slam PWRs Those ubiquitous gadflies, Friends o f the Earth (Director-T Burke and bar) are at i t again. This time i t is a letter t o the Prime Minister f r o m T o m Burke and Amory Lovins, warning J i m of the dangers o f adopting t h e American Pressurised Water Reactor. The two present a damning indictment of the PWR. They accuse US manufacturers Westinghouse of cornering the world market n o t b y economic or technical merit b u t b y a process of 'mutual intoxication', using aggressive sales techniques, loss leaders, and dubious financial projections. They claim that i n the USA PWR's are being built at twice their expected capital costs, that running costs are u p t o six times those claimed, and that capital costs are escalating at 20% annually-three times as fast as comparable coal-fired power stations. As a result the nuclear industry i n the USA has all but collapsed. Total net orders of

3 8 reactors in 1973 had sunk t o 3 by 1976. The contribution of nuclear power t o total US energy consumption i n 2000 is now expected t o be about 3%-about the same as firewood. The huge losses incurred by US vendors of reactors-over E~OOOM, half of i t by Westinghouse aloneand the pressure on cash flow caused by falling orders, has given them a psychological and commercial incentive t o offer what Lovins and Burke call 'Christmas sale terms' in an effort t o keep production lines open. The significance o f addressing the letter t o JC is that he is reportedly pressing a reluctant Tony Benn for an earl decision on reactor choice. This appears t o be confirmed b y sources n o t a megaparsec from Poland Street who claim that a certain Secretary of State phoned t o express his gratitude for the missive, and t o keep u p the good work.

Wedgie saves Those cynics who imagined that all U K energy policy was a costly menagerie of fast breeding white elephants and retarded gas cooled turkeys received something of a shock just before Christmas. A breath of sanity seems t o have wafted down the corridor of the Department of Energy ( T Benn prop). U p t o now the energy establishment had considered all problems i n terms of supply. Now the bright idea has occurred t o someone in the Department that if demand threatens t o outstrip supply i t might be an idea t o c u t back demand. N o t only that, but they are prepared t o finance a conservation programme t o the tune of E320M over the next four years. Total savings are expected t o be worth E700M a year at current prices. The programme includes allocations for insulation and nonitoring equipment i n National Health, defence and educational buildings, and Ă&#x201A;ÂŁ28.5 annually t o bring council houses u p t o an acceptable standard o f insulation. These will be coupled w i t h new regulations making heating controls mandatory i n public buildings and the establishment of 3 new government advisory and training service for energy

The most significant organisational change is the creation o f a new Energy Conservation Division of the Department o f Energy, headed b y Bernard Ingham, formerly Benn's director of information. On t w o points, however, the programme is disappointing. On transport, which accounts for 17% of primary fuel consumption, the Department merely promises t o start 'discussions' w i t h the manumacturers on possible targets. F w industry, responsible for over 35% of total energy consumption, the programme seems distinctly timid. True, E38M of the package is earmarked for industry, but most of i t will go o n insulation. Industrial processes, where very large savings are possible, receives only small amounts, mostly for demonstration projects. Quite how muLn could be saved can be seen from the results of an exercise carried out b y the Department of Industry. Following a survey of 2,200 firms the department estimates that savings of E320M a year could be achieved within 5 years-an amount equivalent t o about 10% of total capital formation i n 1976. Payback time for these measures would average 1.5 years-several times faster than investment in other areas.

Undercurrents 2 --

THE SOIL ASSOCIATION and the SHROPSHI RE F A R M INSTITUTE are holding a joint course called 'The Principles and Practices of Organic Husbandry' at the SFI, Walford, Baschurch, Shrewsbury, Salop, f r o m Sunday March 19 t o Thursday March 23. The course will cover all aspects of organic agriculture and horticulture, and the all-inclusiv inclusive fee will be Â£28 Further details from the SF1 at the above address, or from the Soil Association, Walnut Tree Manor, Haughley, Stowmarket, Suffolk, IP14 3RS. (Tel. Haughley 23516)

This year's round of anti-nuclear demonstrations will get off to a rousing start on Sunday March 19 when FRIENDS O F THE EARTH, a group hitherto more noted for its high level lobbying, is organising a meeting in London's Trafalgar Square. Local groups will be hiring buses and trains from every corner of the land so there's no excuse for not turning up. Assembly point for the march is Hyde Park Corner at 12.30 pm. For details contact your local FOE Group (address from FOE, 9 Poland St, London Wl; t e l 0 1 434 1684). Let's hope it doesn't snow, U p i n Scotland SCRAM (Scottish Campaign t o Resist the Atomic Menace) are planning a mass march and rally t o Torness Point, six miles south o f Dunbar, East Lothian, where the SSEB want t o build the first of Britain's next generation of reactors. The demo is on the weekend of May 6 and 7, and SCRAM are asking for all possible assistance t o make this a convincing manifestation o f popular resistance. Contact them at 2 Ainslie Place, Edinburgh. Tel. 031-225 7752.

STARGAZY ON ZUMMERDOWN (sic) is a new TV play by John Fletcher, best known to Undercurrents readers for his Alternative History of England (No. 19) and his long essay on Paranoia Power (Nos. 22 & 23) but also the author of the much praised radio play Wandering in Eden a few years back. It will be screened on BBC2 the first week in March, probably on the 1st. The play is about 'a vision of future liberation utopia, complete with AT and all sorts of goodies'. Not to be missed. John would be pleased to receive critical comments on the play from our readers (John Fletcher, Ebenezer Chapel, Shepton Mallet, Somerset: tel. 074 989 433). A L T E R N A T I V E LIFESTYLES A N D APPROPRIATE TECHNOLOGIES is the t i t l e of t w o one-term courses at Swarthmore College, Woodhouse Square, Leeds 2. The first o f these courses has been completed, but the second starts on January 12th. so if you are interested it may n o t be t o o late t o join. The course is organised b y Appropriate Technology Yorkshire i n cooperation w i t h the Leeds Future Studies Centre, and will cover such topics as Wind and Solar Power. Water Power, Do-It-Yourself and Insulation, Job Satisfaction, and Personal Action. The course takes place o n Thursday evenings, from 7 t o 9pm, and the t u t o r is Roland Chaplain, who is secretary of FSC and ATY. Write t o h i m for more information at 1 5 Kelso Road, Leeds 2, or ohone Leeds 459865.

SELF-RELIANCE, SOCIAL VALUES AND THE FUTURE O F WALES is the title of a joint conference organised by Resurgence and the Plaid Cymru, to be held on Saturday May 20 at Aberystwyth. Speakers will be Davydd Thomas MP, Phil Williams (Vice-president of the Plaid), Leopold Kohl and John Seymour, Conference fee Â£2Details and booking form from Resurgence, Pentre Ifan, Felindre Farchog, Crymych, Dyfed, Wales; tel. 0239 820 317.

CONCORD FILMS COUNCIL r u n a 16mm educational f i l m library specialising i n locumentary and T V films about contemporar iroblams. Films o n pollution, energy, ~opulation and ecology are available for hire. ; o m examples are 'Bill Loosely's Heat Pump' tnd 'Bate's Car' (about the car adapted t o use nethane gas obtained f r o m manure o n Harold Sates' farm}. They have a stock of about 2,000 'ilrns, and copies o f their list can be obtained r o m Nacton, Ipswich,Suffolk.

THE CONSERVATION SOCIETY are holding a conference 'Places for People', on April 15-16 at Reading University. It will deal with the question o f what patterns of land use and distribution o f housing are best for a sustainable society. The Society has n o firm policies o n this matter, but hopes t o offer a forum for the public, and speakers including Dr Alice Coleman and M r Tom Hancock. Further details are obtainable from John Treble, 228 London Road, Reading, Berks. ITel. 663281)

The Brighton WHOLE EARTH GROUP W have just published the f i s t in a series of pamphlets, Start an Organic Garden or Allotwent. (25p post free from 11 George St, Brighton), a primer for the absolute beginner would be urben digger, Just the thing for those who think the revolution can begin in their own back yard. PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP has

WEA and SERA are running an action/ learning course on the problem of unemployment in the London borough of Tower Hamlets and the prospects for improvement. Both conventional and alternative projects will be considered, as well as the results of experimental schemes in other places (e.g. Wandsworth, Fife). Speakers will include Dave Elliott, Tony Emerson and Mike George, but the aim is for group participation in thinking up new ideas and checking their practicability rather than passive listening. Sessions will be held on Thursdays at 6.30 pm at 58 Watney St, E l , starting on Jan. 19th. For more information, contact Denise Jones, 196 Cable St, E l . (790 6420).

SLIDE A N D TAPE SHOWS f r o m FOE. Three educational slides and tape k i t s have been published b y Diana Wylie, 3 Park Road, Baker Street, London N?1 6XP. They have been devised b y Mike Flood and are entitled 'Harnessing the Atom', 'Radioactivity and the Nuclear Fuel Cycle', and 'Fast Breeder Reactors and the Nuclear Economy'. They last half an hour each. The first is a fairly detailed description o f the development of Nuclear Power, whereas t h e second would provide a useful introduction t o a talk. The t h i r d f i l m concentrates o n the social issues rather than the technology. Each has 48 slides, so speakers can devise their own talks around them.

Thinking of taking up FARMING as a career? Then the Government's Committee of Enquiry into the Acquisition and Occupancy of Agricultural Land would like to hear about any difficulties you may have, like trouble laying your hands on Â£100,00to get started, etc. This well meaning but hopelessly out of touch group of middle-aged wealthy men would also like to hear about proposals for allotments, new villages, kibbutzes. Land for the People and so forth. Send your evidence to: Mr. C.J.A. Barnes, Romney House, Marsham St, London SWl; tel01-212 671 1. While you're about it you could ask the Chairman, Lord Northfield, why there are no farmworkers on the committee.

resumed an independent existence after a swei attack of emotional plague at the Half Moon Photography Workshop. As well as a magazine along the lines of the original Camrawork, the will produce a photochemical newsletter w i t h articles o n alternative photo-technology like home-made lenses, cameras and emulsions. More information f r o m 152 Upper Street, London N1.

CONSERVATION BOOKS (228 Londo Road, Reading) have a nice line in recycled stationery, both domestic and commercial, called Armageddon. I t comes in White Wove (80 gsm) and Deep Green (120 gsm); 200 sheets of headed A5 paper will cost you about Â£2with a large discount for orders above 1,000 sheets and there is a substantial discount for large orders. Send an sae for details. They also do a series of full colour posters, including the ecofreak classic There's No Such Thine As i Free Lunch (who was it said that?) at 90p post free. Send an sae for details. When you get your stationery you could usefully use it to write t o your MP, Councillor, union boss, etc, pointing out that if, as already happens in well governed countries, the bureaucratic bumf producers were required to use recycled paper a whole new industry would arise creating countless jobs, saving foreign exchangi and so on. WHAT'S WRITTEN: I n the near future we are planning t o do a women's issue of Unde currents. Any woman who wants t o be involve, in compiling or writing articles for this issue, let i n touch with Rosemary (01-267 1064), Lyn (01-267 5711) or.Lowena (01-221 5033). Or write t o Undercurrents.

Are you looking for a place to write a book or studv Sanskrit where vou won't be disturbed? ~ x c e by ~ tthe occasional mad inventor or disgruntled subscriber that is. UNDERCURRENTS can offer the free use of desk and typewriter in a more or less heated central London office in exchange for answering the phone and dealing with callers. If you want t o find out about the glamorous andexciting business of small mag publishing, this is your chance! Come to one of our Wednesday editorial meetings (start 7.30 pm prompt) or phone Chris Hutton Squire on 01-261 6774 or write t o the Chief Personnel Manager, Undercurrents Ltd, Free coffee and aspirins and as many back numbers as you can carry away. WAYS A N D MEANS is a large director! of alternative information costing 60o from SCANUS, 302 Pentonville R d . London N1. ~tcontains sections o n community work and ' " of addresses of education. an .

Undercurrents 26 Undercurrents 27 Clerkenwell Close London EC1 R OAT

LETTERS 1 I

NOT-SO-POSITIVE SABOTAGE

One comment on the mag - can you drop the childish illustrations, e.g. the cover of UC25? I'm sure it does nothing for circulation to give the impression that UC is produced by primary school kids. The illustrations can reflect the ideology and tenor of a publication as much as the articles 1 mavbe more as their impact is this man, hovering in the ail like a malevolent Sunday-school god, totally masks the fact that UC is composed, at least in part, of well-researched factual articles of a subversive nature. Another example of this deficiency was the illustration accompanying Tony Fletcher's article on SF in No. 24. Apart from the banality of the joke, it was an example of exactly the type of crap that Tony was criticising - more suited to the Beano. And while I have pen and paper handy - a few words about Mike George's 'Constructive Idealism'. The majority of the actual article was informative and interesting, but the trouble starts when he makes his proposal for 'positive sabotage', which I call wild fantasy. His mixture of nostalgia for Guild Socialism and 'If it were possible' dreaming is going to get idealism a bad name. The gap between his proposal and any chance of it getting off the ground is big enough to drive a Grunwick picket through. How does he seriously propose even 'a substantial number of connected combine and shop stewards committees' could get

oncrete and immediate in the ~ i n d of s the majority of workers ?an socially useful products: it /as redundancy. Portugal in 97415 provided more examples han wecould count, and more scently and closer to home ospital closures have rubbed

:in.

Is the government 'embarrassd' by the hospital work-ins? If hey are, what has it meant in ractice? They just exert a bit lore muscle to do what they ave to in order t o massage apitalism. They will use whatever orce is necessary to crush overmbitious attempts a t reform. But re, the masses, have the potential o smash the whole stupid system n d sort out our own. That's the iroblem Mike has to face and how o organise that potential, not low to load burdens onto vorkers. Who does he propose would iay the heroic production workers or their labour? Maybe they Ă&#x201A;ÂĽaul create the socially useful roducts in their spare time for ree? So the workforce becomes inpaid labour and plugs some of he holes in the bosses' crisis ~ e a t Five . or six years ago they ;ailed it 'I'm backing Britain'. Posifive'Sabotage' only sabotages h e interestsof workers - it ioesn't challenge the system a lit. I just can't understand how hts article got printed. If you're icrious . ~ - - . about a better life. Mikc. >ut away the opium pipe and get wganising. Chris A. Pitts ~

4partment 204, Doerukuca t-22-2, Kugahara, 3ta-Ku, Tokyo 146.

PERLS OF WISDOM? the projects? While management is in control, the f i s t worker to liberate a box of bolts would be out of a job and into court on theft charges. That's the way management and the press would characterise it, and the way the general public, i.e. the mass of workers this initiative is supposed to inspire, would see it. You'd have to take over the whole factor~/productionorocess, but wilhiut enough port to resist the law, the press onslaurht. and the forces of the state, such a take-over would be very short lived indeed. It is a auestion who controls. and who decides how the sy stem is run. The reason it's not the workers is state power and at the moment they have it all - technological, ideological and sheer brute force. This situation can't be challenged in one or even a hundred places of work if the mass of workers doesn't understand What Should Be Done. The Lip Watch Factory in France illustrated this point - and there the issue was more

sup-

It's good to find that Phil Brachi sees that our essential analysis c o n firms his experience. However, while we agree that Fritz Perls may be a good guide for personal growth his philosophy (or 'Elephant Shit') can be a veiyreactionary guide. He was a pupil of Reich's who, along with other 'new therapies' developed a portion of Reich's scientific work relating to the body. Pert's spicy and folksy style conceals years of creative study (he did in fact write heavy textbooks, see 'Gestalt Therapy* Perls, Hefferline and Goodman, Del 1951, N.Y.) Peris therapy is a sort of counter-invasion aimed a t morbii dependency and arid inteuectualism. His philosphy, unfortunately, denies our human inter-dependence our needs for nurturing, creative thinking and mutual aid. It can therefore be turned into a kind of bourgeois individualism, so much so that many radicals we know use the therapy but reject the philosophy. But the proof of the pudding is in the eating. When we've worked with Gestdt therapists we find that they are just as subject to the emotional plague when oreanisim

1 co-operative venture as anyone ilse. It looks t o us as though Phil is in danger of jumping from the frying pan of an emotion-negating technology to the fire of an antiscientific 'emotion-only* trip. The classic Reich quote is, 'Love work and knowledge are the wellsprings of life. They should also govern it'. The problem remains as to how we can combine love and work and knowledge. John Southgate & Ro Randall 12 Nassington Road London NW3

BATTERIES DISCHARGED? I am driven to write to you concerning the article by Tony Stark titled 'Chicken's Lib'. What Tony Stark and the founder and members of 'Chicken Lib' are doing is attributing human feelings to chickens. If this were valid then I would not be writing this letter since chickens would be the co-rulers of this planet. Anyone who knows anything about chickens will confirm that they will lay most eggs when they are 'happy'. A battery chicken is a happy chicken and who are we t o deny them that happiness. Yours Egeoistically, P.S. Egoism (dictonary defn.) The principle of private happiness! Ian LyaU 33 Jasmine Terrace Aberdeen AB2 1LA

UNCOMPROMISED I am deliehted to read M. KeUv's letter ~ 2 2 4 ) . I am delighted to hear that if my neighbour &stals a solar panel built in an exploitative factory and uses the money saved to pay his subscription to the National Front and buv a faster car. the world has been improved. I am deligtued to hear that if mv local school is filled with creativity-minded teachers this won't delude anyone into thinking that State Education is a good thing. I am delighted to learn that if I want to set up a truly radical educational establishment (whatever that means) the part-radical Rudolf Steiner schools won't compete with me for the supply - - of pupils. It all makes the revolution so much easier. It's a pity M. Kelly sees such bac logic in support of a good point. Aereed that none of us can be totally radical - but what are the values of (say) a creativity minded teacher in a State school? Creativit ('alternative') or support of State Education? The problem surely is that if we accept anything less than total alternativism as desirable in itself rather than an unfortunate comnromise to be ditched as fast as possible we shall create what we desire - partial alternativism. The ~

problem in turn with partial allernativism is that instead of bringing down the System it helps people to tolerate the Sy stem,whichremains in command of the situation with merely a few minor concessions mdde (vote Labour for subsidised sol& panels.....) M.Kelly is all too right tho' in suggesting that it is 'a mistake if alternative values are too stronelvassociated with a particular lie; style, age group or subculture.. I've met blue-ieaned Marxist communards whose attitude implies that since I'm none of these things my views are'nt worth hearing and it's a pity I'm not a bank manager so they can hate me properly. The laugh is that if you probe you find they are as radical as a can of Heinz baked beans- (We buy our Mothers Pride at Tesco, digging the garden is too much like work, we always listen to the top 20, looking after kids is for women, isn't Concorde exciting?) These people, so determined to look alternative are in reality no more so than the N T . member with a solar panel. Having accepted comromise with the System without even thinking about it, they busy themselves trying to turn off anyone who chooses to make different compromises. If we wonder why social change is not moving very fast, perhaps we need look no further than two inches behind our own eyes...., to the minds that swiftly adopt the appearances of alternativism but take most of their basic attitudes uncritically from the old culture. Where do we go from here? If M. KeUy or anyone else is into the idea of developing and living total radicalism as a policy and wants to join a group for mutual support rather than ideological correction, I'd suggest contacting the Parallel Cultures Group, either through me or through Barbara Hand, 83 Evington Road, Leicester. Yours, compromised but uncom. promisingly. Sandy Mairison 244 Calais Road Burton-on-Trent Staffs.

HORRIBLE MUSHROOMS I was rather shocked to read the article 'Magic Mushrooms' in Undercurrents 24. I consider it irres~onsiblefor a magazine (oarticu~arlyone concerned withihe nuclear menace, ecology and chcmical oollution! to publish an article which encourageidrug taking, even if the drugs are 'free' and 'organic'. As for the last section conceming Amanita Muscariawhich the (anonymous) author describes as relatively harmless, may 1 quote from 'Wild Mushrooms' by Linys Zeitlmayr. ...Typical symptoms appear 15 - 30 minutes after. The patient is highly agitated as though htoxicated, seems to suffer from a temp orary form of madness with delusions, impaired memory, and

Undercurrents 26

inergy as the halycon days of 1956-58, 1963-65. Meanwhile.. it has been written that 'There is no real harmony the Punk groups don't and probaby can't hit the top notes but no?ne cares - and little real t u n e . . . I'he Punk fans are not challenging mything. . . We should be beyond :onsoling ourselves that the Punk zroii~sand their fans are neoascists . . .' No, not a paraphrase of Dave's uncle but Charles Ratcliffe writme n the anarchist weekly reedo omn November 1963, about - wait or it - the Beatles! (I've substitut.,d Punk i;rÃˆup i.ir Bciitlrq. \\ell, liope t h ~ iiiakei t Dave l e d very ineasy. As Dave compares the New Wave unfavourably with his favourte group The Doors, so Charles 3atcliffe in his article compares ' he Beatles unfavourably with the ;ood diction and progressive conent of songs by Peter, Paul and vlary and Trini Lopez! The point is that Elvis Costello's LP My Aim is True gives me the shudder of excitement as did the opening lines of High School Confidential (Honey, get your bopping shoes, Before thejuke box blows a fuse), the first time I heard them, that The Motors have plenty of intelligible messages in their songs (If that's what you want), and that watching the Boom Town Rats on Top o f the Pops, of ;ill things, reminded me of The Animals when they used to end Ready Steady Go with a live session. If anyone thinks this letter irrelevant to alternative technology, just imagine what a reader of Dave'! article in ten years will think! ~

eyes, affected vision and temporary blindness, disturbed diction, and finally. sleeuiness . giddiness. loss of consciousness, and contraction of the+yes. The pulse is slow and weak, or barely noticeable. The poisoning is only fatal if there is inability to p a t h or weakness of the heart. My second criticism concerns the language used by some contributors. For example, the above mentioned article 'Magic Mushrooms' had several quite unnecessary swear words (which were pointed out to me by my 11 year old daughter), and Tony Wedd'; letter 'The Real Thing' which was just full of obscenities. If writers cannot express themselves in English without resorting to languagelike that, I suggest that they give up writing until they can. Finally, I would like to take issue with you on your implied criticism of the new magazine ' o l e . The reviewers comment was . . a good read for Laodiceans'. (Laodicean - one lacking zeal in religion or politics) You may think that you can radically change society, bu-t time is against you. Unless people who care about what is happening to this planet (even if they are 'trendies forget politics and oppose nuclear expansion and industrial pollution in any wiiy they can. in years to come there may be no society to change. Norman Hodghton 'Lonbain', Top Street Pilton Shepton Mallet Somerset

ELVIS PRESLEY IS DEAD LONG LIVE ELVIS COSTELLO I cut my teeth on Tommy Steele's Rebel Rock and went onto the more solid nourishment of High School Confidential, Rave On, and the other high protein offerings of the London American and Coral labels. The day the music died that Dave Elliott mentioned in his disappointing article on New Wave music (Undercurrents 25) was the day Buddy Holly was killed in an aircrash that is what Don Maclean is singing about - not the demise of psychedelic music. Dave must know that anyway. New Wave is taking up not where psychedelic music left off, but where rock died in 1959 (Holly killed, Elvis about to go in the army, Little Richard retiring to a monastery and Jerry Lee marrying a schoolgirl bride), and where British rhvthm and blues and ruck groups lust iheir w.iy or ossifird around 1966. Neu Wave has the same raw excitement and

Pete Grafton 'Spion Kop', Lamlash, Isle of Arran

SPITTING INTO HISTORY I read with interest Dave Elliott's article in the last issue. in which he contrd,ted the punk rock culiure 01 ti-idas uuli the 'hipp! i n i n t c i culture' i i i tlie 60.q. Although it i.-ont~ini.'dsome useful insights nil cummenis. i t iilso had some rather misleading facts and ideas. Firstly, one must distinguish between the English and the American counter cultures which have different origins and musical content. Thus, the leaders of the '1968 counter culture', listed by Dave Elliott, as Hendrix, Morrison Joplin and Dylan are all American. Secondly, the counter culture did not start in 1968 nor was it from exclusivelv middle class roots. Cuunter ~ u l t u r c sarc diffuse and often divergent social movements, whose only unifying theme is, in Dave Elliott's words, 'an attack on middle class perceptions of civilised behaviour'. Dave is dead right when he says of punk rock: The best hope is that i t will

directed from below . . . (but) much more likely it will be co~ ~ destroyed, ~ ~ opted and or simply dissipate itself in negativity'. If we. of the 60's generation. are to have any influence o n this emerging and basically antiauthoritarian movement, it is by treating those in it with respect and not rushing in and trying to qrganise them on middle class, marxist do-gooder lines or by writing lengthy tomes on what we think they should be about. Let's listen to them with a spirit of fraternity, and reserve our analysis for our own movement. Horace Herring 54 Queen's Park Rd, Brighton Sussex.

JUNK THE PUNK I share MrIMs Nicholls' distaste for

be renewing my subscription: But please - spare us articles on Punk Rock. There are dozens of journals devoted to analysing the niultifarious nuances and subtleties of Punk for those who are interested. It's only t o be expected that the Colour Supplements will dribble over it, but Undercurrents is supposed to have standards. Hugh Watding 68 Albany Road, Great Yarmouth Norfolk

forms uf Capitalism is necessary to achieve the happiness of Mankind but not the destruction of others. The important thing then is to realize that the destruction of one form of Capitalism is a Means and not an End. Once it becomes that then the original End (to make people happy) gets forgotten and you end up with somewhere like Russia where the people are not happy at all and the biggest wheat-.eruwing area in the world has become depen-

do take five years to pay off their capital debt the technological society) and the village watchmaker, in preference to that. Particularly if that has to depend (as Tom Athanasiou seems to suppose it docs) on fusion powei which will, when it arrives, prove just as dangerous, dirty and tending towards an over-ccntralised and authoritiirian society as fission power. And tlic way t o reconcile the interests of loggers with those of tree lovers is to turn the loggers into tree lovers. It could be done. John Seymour FdchoIlglc Isaf Trefdraeth Sir Beniro Omru

FINAL DEMAND This will be my last pay nwnt unles: you get hack to more t e c h n o l ~ i c a l matters and less airy-fairyness. Mike Cartel

UP AGAINST THE WALL, WATCH-MAKER? Undercurrents is getting better and better - No.25 was very exciting. A year ago it looked as if, having said all there was to say about AT unless you actually start doing it, the paper was sliding down into a wallow of superstition. Now this appears gloriously not the case. The article by Tom Athanasiou LS parlicularl) m t r r i s t ~ n3s~ iin of 1 nd, illustratiun ~i ilie :oni nsi~>ii and Meins tli-it is ;it tlie basis ot Marxism. The original, prototypal, End of Marxism was to make people happy. A Means to this End seemed to be the destruction of Capitalism. Now the End has been displaced by the Means: the End of Marxism has become the destruction of Capitalism. Every Marxist who is still capable of questioning should ask himself this question. Supposing convincing evidence was shown to me that the happiness o f Mankind could be achieved without the destruction o i C~pil-ilisin- w,)uld I still want to ilestru) C~pil-.ilism? He should disc ask humcli wliat is Capitalism? If J.D. Rockefellow (hope I got his name right) was a capitalist is a village watch maker? I S he also an ~ n e m yof the Working Class? It may well be that the destruction of some

24 St Michael's Road, London SW9.

PRACTICAL INSUFFICIENCY 1 will not be renewing my sub, as you have got too Paranoid, Political, Hypothetical and Whimsical for my liking. When I originally took your mag I was very impressed by its practicability but this seems to have faded away. Perhaps actually doing things is too difficult for , most people. I don't mean to c r i t i c ~ s e ~ &efforts r in producing the mag by tMÃ§ S. Lawrence Brook Cottage Peterchurch Herefordshire.

Yes, we're aware o f the fact that there aren't enough practical A. T articles in UC these days. And yes. it's mostlv our fault - but not en tirely -^?-< We'be said i f if/oreand w e say it again A11 io;; readers out there doing good solid, practical things how about sending us some good, solid, practical articles 7 - Editors %

EVERYTHING'S ALMOST back to normal now in Portugal, as almost every paper from the New Statesman to The Times have pointed out in recent months. Of course, normality in Portugal depends on who, or what you are. For the international businessman it:s sea food restaurants worth breaking a flight for. However, for the mass of ordinary Portuguese people normality i s pretty close t o bare subsistence. The peasants had nothing to lose in the revolution that was lost. So what went wrong? Marta Pinheiro was there, and writes about the problems of the mass movement, and about the part alternative technology could have played. THE COUPS o f the 25th April 1974 and the 11th March 1975, ushered i n a whole new set o f pre-revolutionary conditions i n Portugal. The outburst of the mass movement went far beyond what most people expected. Very often the rank and file o f the left-wing parties took more revolutionary positions than did their own leaders. Obviously reformism was also present and played its historical role in holding back the mass movement. After the Chilean experience o f Allende's period, there isn't much more we can learn about, or expect from such reformist positions. Their presence i s unavoidable during the process whereby the consciousness of workers and peasants is'transformed and a class based political organisation developed. There is, however, something important to be learnt from the instruments the revolutionary left used - or lacked - when trying t o create such class awareness at the grass-roots in Portugal. For instance, it is difficult to understand, let alone justifv the

Piles of cork outside the Mundet Cork Factory.

lack of a technical dimension inside the international revolutionary movement when it is apparent that there is no political system, which, having seized political power, is able to prevail without seizing economic powei. The following article is an attempt to abstract the underlying lessons to be learnt from the practice of some of us in Portugal during the '74-'76 period, with the object of highlighting how scientists and technologists can participate in the process of social change. Ultimately we hope t o pinpoint the parameters which are critical i n defining an alternative technology which i s compatible, politically, with the left.

Alliance for no progress One o f the main centres of our activity was SAAL, (Network for Local Technical Support), formed in mid1974 as an offshoot of the FFH (Housing Development Fund), which also cnntrnlled it The FFH had been crea-

ted in 1969 during Caetano's government. During its first five years the FFH financed the construction o f only 200 houses, and had started some grandiose schemes o f comprehensive redevelopment. Its approach was close to that o f similar institutions encouraged by the Alliance for Progress in Latin America in the '60's, and its true objective was to muffle the sounds of unrest coming from the ever growing areas of shanty towns around the cities, by making promises but notcarrying them out. For a time i t was quite successful in doing this. In the light of this it is hardly surprising that such an organisation built housing for the midd' classes only, and none for those most i r need. After the 25th April '74, changes inside the FFH enabled SAAL to choos very different objectives. SAAL's starting point - in order t o solve the housiti problems of the most needy - was pop1 lar mobilisation, with the creation of nc links between the different agents intervening and participating in the economic process. SAAL's aim was to provide technical and organisational assistance to the new popular power organisations being formed in the shant towns. I t was also a channel for Stale funds then being made available for hoi ing such groups. I f the neighbourhood wanted a group of SAAL technicians (called Equipa) to intervene, people hat to agree that land expropriated for housing construction was going to be communally owned under the directior of a Shanty Town Dwellers Association (Associano de Moradores).

Forging new links Most of the technicians working in SAAL saw its operation as dependent o new laws on land expropriation and hol ing finance. Their pnoiities expressed themselves in the way they channelled popular grass-roots activity towards legalising the popular power oganisatiot and pressurising the State apparatus to create new laws. Obviously these things never happened. The underlying class nature of this approach i s important an I would like to emphasise it. I t is naive

The shower built by Street Farm, showing the solar panels that supplied hot water.

Under , J think that one can give bourgeois For export to continue it needed & pations-extremist; appealed for trust in Jarantees to a process which acts against Portuguese Government to (officially) the AFM and i n SAAL; and confirmedie fundamental interests of the b a r - endorse contracts. Obviously the that the State had grantedeach family eoisie. Moreover, it doesn't matter i f Government was not in a position to ahousing grant of 60,000escudos that eople in the State apparatus talk about do this. There was a class struggle within didn't have to be repaid. (A house would xialism - it is the political structure the AFM and it didn't have the political cost 3-4 times t h i s amount; the rest 1 which they are operating which will would be paid back at a very low interest means to face international pressures. aunt in the end. The necessary step Meap&~tle factories were increasing rate). This was only a promise at the I t h i s situation would have been to - time and was in fact kept only in a few production, their stocks of finished ?archfor revolutionary guarantees, goods were overflowing, and consequentinstances. SAAL failed to clarify this iat is for a class conscious political ly their working capital was diminishing. to the shanty town dwellers and in spit%. rgartisation, establishing new links By spring '75 most factories had been of our protest officially backed the etween the industrial and agricultural occupied by workers q+dwereAeing AFM's arguments. Instead of organising porkers and the lumpen-proletariat1 the occupations politically, people went- - administered by Workers' Commissions. f theshanty towns. SAAL, as a whole, &f~<beg&$establishing-Ijnks -.e:--ame back to their shanties. ever succeeded in taking this kind of The situation in the industrial s e c $ ~ - ; = ~ ~ - b e t ~ $theshanty n tow<dwellers and os1tidn: In the description which such Commission8 and in t h i s way we at this tjme was critical. I n Portugal, %is-'" acquired building materials at less than allows, the implications of this are in all dependent capitalist countries, the normal price. One of the most emonstrated. t e c h n i c a l experts are few and mostly 'sons important companies in the private --offie bosses' in industry as well as in We were working in Setubal, in the' . idustrial belt around tiibanf-in a,, agriculture. There is no body of trained buildingindustry, AC, in Troia, near Setubat, had been expropriated by the qanty-town area c~ntainingblocks of technicians and witfi very few exceptions, State and was being administered by a ats which had been built by private when the bosses left, the technical exWorker's Commission with State repreonstruction firms, and then left empty perts went as well. ecause their rents were too high for sentation. Workers had refused to conIn addition to this, most of the Imporlose who needed them. After the tinue buildin hotels and services for tant industries were geared to the export tourism and ere being paid by the ounter-reactionary coup on 11th market, and most articles produced were larch 1975 the shanty-town dwellers State t o provide labour for housing the to satisfy the requirements of the well-toccupied enough of these empty new most needy. We formed a brigade comdo. It was vitally necessary t o re-orientats to house all their families. Their bining these skilled building workers late and diversify production in favour o f iew was: 'Why build new houses in with unemployed people in the neigharticles needed by the workers themu r neighbourhoods when there are bourhood and in a few months we had selves, so that workers could begin to 11these empty new flats-already exchange their products, thus strengthen- -built the structural framework o f 50 round?' ing the economic power of the wornna -; houses. , class. Then conflict arose between the workers and the shanty town dwellers. ;old down the river It was notclear to many on the left that The international bloekadf The Armed Forces Movement (AFM) bridging the gap between the lumpen

'town dwellers, including the Associa-

occupation of land in the summer of '76.

of reactionary forces. Cork, too, was nroduced bv the occtinvine aericultural r -----workers and during this period they gave preference to factories occupied by workers, such as at Mundet. These peasants were in great need of lighting, hot water etc but, geared as it had been to the production of luxury items, Mundet was not making anything with cork that could be exchanged for the raw material. The solar heating panel coultTthus have been a step towards '4utions at several levels. F ,

.. .

-----

social imperialism. Ideological wrangling This impasse at the level'of the neighhourhood, factory and agricultural . n he choices we make determine our co-ops, had its political expression in social practice, and our practice the events leadingup to the attempted determines the development of our coup by some sections of the left on consciousness. Therefore class is reveal 25th November '75. On the 22nd one ed by the priorities one~chooses,if.a of these sections called for a popular given time, and whose interests are insurrection at aprexs conference. really served by them. The left parties This appeal is a good example of how seem to have given priority, in the '74the left were often out of touch with '76 period, to the ideological battle reality, and how they tried to force to impose the correct party line on the movement. The thermometer events to fit preconceived schemes --_mass unaware of the actualkituation the ndicating how much support the p a 9 workers were facing. ine gained was the number of people .. , -., . ...-. . .. ..

--->

-:;.I

'*.

smonstratmg in the streets under ieir banner. Nevertheless, politics is not &eraire alone; the instruments of political ?Ãˆe are the actions preceding the s . What was most needed were e, concrete and humble acts to igthen the economic base of the etariat, and to link the industrial orker's struggle with that o f the ;ricultural ones, and so on. One of te best instruments to achieve this >uldhave been a creative alternative inology that changed with changing ditions and was sensitive to growg class-consciousness. Workers have t o fight with thejnstruents inherent to their dasr. the ability 1 design and produce new technotosy i the shop-floor, for a class-consci&sode of production. That i s why the Corporate Plan o f the Lucas Combined Shop Stewards Committee could be very important i n establishing links at grass-roots - between workers in

dependent capitalist countries and workers in countries with social-tlemocratic governments. To achieve this we also need to form cadres of technicians in the so-called Third World; not in the technical schools where youngsters forget their working-class origins and acquire a false consciousness, but on the shop-floor and in the country.

Decisions for the boys -

"Â

< --Obviously the present programmes

...

.of alternative and Intermediate Tech-

nology are not doing t h i s (see, for example, Hanlon on AT in India, Neb Scientist, 5, i 9 and 26 May,2 and 9 June). AT is being co-opted by imperialism becausÂit isrooted in fdatiorifbBiidevelrn toy t e u m ideology, (w<Ã§~Â¥apt theindividual DIY potitfoal set-up, or W-chew for thf boss! Imperialist strategy towards A T is

quite clear. It was no accident that one o f the last things Kissinger did, whilst in power, was to ask the United States' Congress for a sum of one billion dollars for AT research. Major decisions about what, how, and for whom AT is produced, are restricted to the top 10%; while minor decisions can be left to the small co-ops, AT groups, and even Workers' Commissions in factories as in Portueal. These groups will be busy discussing their internal volitics. workine out the ultimately 'corkct line', whilst real control is concentrated in the hands of the same-few. +g

Natn

Marta Pinhejro

&>-&

1. Ttr ~unipcn-Dro~earim an conwitmly ttktfttobÃ§-mÃ§mberttlwtertiuymotor of wloyment.for ex&e -I worken imatibuiin*s> men. and the df-employed and often hive middle-class aspirations. They ate a a r m from whleft the National Front ~ c r u iin t Brimin.

'STOPPING ADVERTISING when business is slack is like pulling out a 3.:s-i.-~*--sp. dam because the water is tow', runs the adman's adage. Taking this to heart efw=-.-.~.--Ãˆ -*-:*-, : <-GW. 3, aand going over t o the offensive, the Central Electricity Generatina Board ~

-Â

have launched a massive advertising campaign for '~edallion~omes', their latest promotional scheme. But are we being sold something we don't want and the country can't afford. Robert Vale investigates. SUDDENLY TEDDY BEARS with mentioned, an 'important new promowall) - is designed o f course to help you, ..eat Electric' tee-shirts have filled the tion scheme. backed by national the speculative builder, sell houses to the electricity showrooms, and the papers, advertising,'which 'atassure your evw gullible public and 'gain a reputation TV and commercial radio are besieging customers that their homes meet a as a builder who really cares'. Imagine the public with the advantages of special Heating Plus standard of comthe conversations in the golf club bar -

electric heating plus home insulation. The journals of the Building Trade are not immune from t h i s campaign, although the bear's tee-shirt here proclaims 'Build Electric', and the copy explains how the builder can cut costs by putting in electric heating i n new houses.(A brilliant stroke surely can't have been an accident?)b y Building Desgn on November 18th, had, above the big full colour electric heating ad, an article headlined: 'Manchester to spend t1m replacing electric heating'. Ho, ho! Apparently the tenants find it 'expensive and impossible to control'. Returning to the electric heating advert, the Electricity Council procfaim that 'Heating Plus begins where the Building Regulations leave off. It pro. vides for extra insulation where most heat would otherwise be lost'. A full colour section shows the delights of mineral wool. vapour barriers and cavity %

fort and energy saving'.

I see that estate of y w s on the site of - s & < % e old cathedral got the Medallion Award, For the chap v^lo cares &-=&mid man. I can see you're a chap whTo Always ready to save energy we m z s " r e a \ \ ycares'. obtained a copy of the Medallion ~ w a f f f - w The ~ text of the brochure i s worth ">*>' uoting at length: 'The Medallion scheme brochure for builders. The scheme i . g ~as the massive support of the Electricity which centres round a sort of plaque ,?woards throughout the country. It tells which says: 'The Medallion Award, s** xa* prospective buyers that your homes have Energy Saving Home' (we thought one been purpose-built to save energy. That of those would look very smart on our

&'5i

,mne,teat

t of electric heating

john~lliot 021 422 4000

(It'sgood senseb build the Heating Phis .ma way)

the useful energy demand represents the 'net energy' demand o f the house. Examples of approximate efficiencies of heating systems (figures from Building Research Establishment (BRE) 1975 and Bradbury 1962) are: open fife 20%-25%; gas central heating 60%; off peak electric storage heatine70%; and on peak electric e specification for Medallion Homes heating 1T b BREtsthiMtethat the useful June 1977 until+urther n o t i c e l ~ t s e requirements lhat wit1 allow ttÃ -sf needed for heating domestic hot water is 3336 kWb (12 GI)wouatly, r to gain the coveteAwaid.The averaged over all the housingstock. Ifthis nterestingfion-ttrocttlratdemands figure is added to the space heating demand of the electric house, i t gives a total energy demand of 17952 kW4 (65 _ Gj).If half of _this must come from off de fireplaces with flues'. Perhaps peak electricity at an efficiency of TO%, k$is'scheme was really dreamed up by the then the on peak Part of the space heatp o w e r workers to make future industrial ing load will be 8976 kwh, and the off @fern more effective. peak part will be 5640 kWh, assuming e-- The technical part o f the specification that all the domestichot Water is provided 2 &%down U-values (Table 1) and internal by off peak energy. The Purpose 0 f M s 1: U-values specified for Medallion calculation is to minimise the component off peak energy needed (~uildi,,~ Regulations i n ~ ~ ~ ~ k ofe less t efficient ~ ) for space heating, so as to make the cornparison with the Building figs house as favourable as possible. Using these figures the net energy demand for space heating will be: 0.3 (0.6) on oeak off aeak + 3 + t L = 17033 kb'h t--.temperature standards.that must be 8 m 100% 70% achieved. Windows and external b r s If the Building Regulationshouse has consphwe to be fitted with weatherstripping. ventional central heatingrunning at 60% ""The recommerrded temperatures (at an efficiency i t s net energy demand for external temperature of -lOc) range from space heating will.be: 21% in living and dining rooms to 16% / in bedrooms. Finally the specification -2 = 34560 k w h demands that at teast 50% of the electri

kg~~~d~Descriptions ~,.t A house insulated to the Medallion Award standard, with gas central heatir would use only 25822 kwh of primary

coal seam to-th~consumer requires only

which heat i s lost), the hea be wshown in Table'2.

(53 GJ), and the Building Regs house wil use 20736 kwh (75 GJ) over the heating season. Again the all electric house leads bysaving energy. The energy needed to heat the house i 'useful energy' - in the case of on-peak electricity alone, it represents the energy supplied to the house. For all other form!, of heating the energy bought by the consurner i s not used at 100%efficiency, which means that extra energy must be bought. The energy that is used to meet

a small amount of energy the ener& overhead of coal is 1.02, or, in other words, coal production i s 98% efficient and only 2% of the output is needed to mine, process and transport the caal The least efficient, in primary energy terms, form of energy is electricity, with an energy overhead of 3.73 or an efficiency of 27%. The other fossil fuels are almost as efficient in primary energy terms as coal, for exampte, oil, 1.08, and natural gas, 1.06. Even the least efficient, the manufactured fuels such as smokeless solid fuels, have an energy overhead of only 1.4 or an efficiency of 71%. WÃˆ the energy overheads for primary energy are applied to the net energy demands of the two houses discussed earlier the results are as show1 in Table 3. In other words, the 'energy saving' Medallion award house uses almost double the primary energy of a Building Regulations house. This means that, if all-electric houses of this type were to be built in large numbers, the national energy consumption would have t o rise to generate enough electricity to run them. Moreover, t h e BRE have estimated that abandoning electric heating in att existing dwellings would save 2% ofthe national primary energy consumption.

TABLE 2: Heat losses from Regulations Standard

.. Building Reg> h o w Coal central heating Natural gas CH

Oit CM Smokelewfue'CH

. - . -. -

34560

1.40

48384 r

Undercurrents ?A@

LOWER YOUR HEATING BILL WITH A ROOM AIR CIRCULATOR

POPULAR OPINION has come t o accept that it is wiser to insulate your house before fitting a solar collector. But is insulation the best value for money energy saver? And what are the alternatives? We've seen how deceptive the Medallion Medal scheme is i n Great Britain. So it wouldn't be surprising if there were also lessons t o be learnt from American experience. After the hard winter of '76177 the US was stricken by an epidemic of insulation fever that is still raging. Whilst the mad scramble goes on, a few hard-headed individuals have looked at the problem in greater depth. Jay McGrew is one such person, as soon becomes evident i n this article, which is a summary of an article by Richard Nilsenthat originally -hc appeared i n the CoEvolution Quarterly, Fall 1977.

-Sitf AS.

THE INSULATION HERESY o f jay -= efficiency of gas furnaces, he then had L. McGrew was suggesting that, in terms some rather radical ideas for improving y"^ of energy saved per pound spent, the overall efficiency. Because turning down room thermostats only increases the best thing to do first was not t o insulate your house, but to install room air amount of heat going up the stack, he circulators (see box); or, if using a gas suggests turning down the gas flow of furnace (boiler), to adjust it to work existing furnaces, or cycling more air more efficiently. through the ducts. Naturally McGrew's views, backed as they are, by impressive data on Holes in the wall energy use and heat loss of existing With new buildings a furnace shou housing in Denver, Colarado, have not be fitted that would run all the time been well received by insulation manuon the coldest day of the year, rather facturers. Similarly gas companies, who than one that ohly runs for a quarter supply the natural gas used for more of the time on the coldest day of the than half of the space (central) heating year, as is current American practice. in the US, are not too happy with his Similarly, the American contractors rule 'ternatives. of thumb of sizing a furnace for a house McGrew's argument runs like this: by allowing 100 BTUs of heat for each ie commonest gas space heating square foot of floor space, should be stem in the US works by the gas drastically reduced to an adequate20warming a cast-iron heat exchanger. 25 BTUs per square foot of floor. Air blown through this i s warmed and Turning to insulation, he was audacontinues through ducts into the house. cious enough to suggest that there i s These systems are cheap, safe and no point in having more than three and maintenance free. Unfortunately, they a half inches of insulation in either the also squander energy. For, although a walls or ceiling of a house, asa typical gas fire may be rated as, say 75% home has over 60 square inches of heatefficient by a body like the American losing ventilation holes intentionally Gas Association (AGA), these figures poked through its ventilation skin. are for the furnace alone, not for the It becomes obvious that, instead of whole system o f furnace, blower and modifying a poor design, or changing duct-work throughout the house. Cona careless construction practice, our sidering the whole system - and taking consumer economy would always prefer account o f the heat that goes up the to sell us a new solution, or at least stack as the heat-exchanger cools whenmore o f something we already have. ever the furnace is switched o f f during Jay McGrew's measurements mean that 1 the frequent offJon cycles - McGrew an insulation itch couched in the found that the averaae efficiencies for rhetoric o f energy cons gas/forced air systems were In the range the whole story. of '2O-30%.And, as his figures are a measure of British Thermal Units (BTU's) burned versus BTUs delivered, they are much more meaningful than those,of the AGA. Having drastically reduced the conventionally accepted figure for the n,sÃˆ&g-

<^-

--_ ^ z :

Jay McGrew's heat IOB measurements of existing housing indicate that a vertical temperature diffarence of lSÂ° i n rooms with %fool ceilings is not uncommon. Hot air rises: t o maintain a 70' temperature near the floor of such a home require! 8 5 of unuuola heat at the calling. Recyclina the hot air with a circulator makes room'air temperature more uniform, remitinn in lam work for the furnace. An air cireutotor b a hollow vutical tube sitting on top of a blower mounted in a box. ThÃ fan wcks hot air down the tube id Mows it out at the floor. tt's w aimph M&ew d o n not bother t o 8elJ the device or even p l a n for it.* To build one yourealf requim little time or money. Ad you n d it a 4-inch diameter tube that extan& t o 6 inches below the ailinn. Plaits mine. cardboard. or wood ( f o u r l x & t o nwkaa Squw t u b 1 wock ( q d l y wdl. McGrew m*dÃhim out of shoat f i b e a r , held i n a tube shape by wooden collars. Below the tube the fan (its in a box with a vent i n one side. Mount the box on c a t & and the circulator cm be moved from room t o room. For remodelling or new ox (truction, consider building a circulator into the wall as a permanent fixture, similar t o a wdl-mounted gas furnace. One fan could then service two rooms simultaneously. This is also an effective way of transferring warm air from a heated room t o an adjoining room that has no heet source. Electric blowers are rated by cubic feet of air moved per minute. Air conditioning or electric supply homes sell then.. Size the motor so that the blower is able t o cycle a room's volume of air 10 times each hour. With this air flow rate, produced by a blower that cost under 215 twholesete), McGrew can get hit floor and clligg air temperatures t o within 1 of each other. 'x

'Information on a 'Hwt Ha cycler' available from:

THE JANATA PARTY in India has unveiled its economic strategy of decentralisina bread-and-butter production back t o t h e villages in a n

attempt t o solve t h e massive problems o f rural poverty. Will t h e wealthy urban ruling classes a l l o w it t o happen? Rudyard Kinglip reports. wealthier Indians in the towns allow this THE PROPOSALS made i n the strategy t o succeed, even in part? Fourth World t o scale down and decentralise power back t o the com~t last we will see if 'intermediate munity gain credibility from recent technology' is by itself revolutionary, experience abroad, especially in the as some o f its advocates have tirelessly so-called Third World countries. claimed over the last few years, or whether the Janata scheme will quietly Janata, the new ruling party of fade away before the resistance of lndia, has just adopted sucha scheme - , the urban elite. However, it is clear acomplicated mix o f Socialism, that we will face similar problems Gandhism, Ludditism and pragmatism i n decentralising power and production - t o return the production o f shoes, in the UK. soap and cloth t o the villages. Village production will be aimed at the vast Jungle Stories internal market o f 600 million people. We may usefully compare the forces giving paid and useful employment t o o f production with human powered every fit person. The Government will mechanical beasts that battle, under the hold the ring; they will decide which control o f their masters, for a patch i n industries are t o be decentralised; the jungle. I n the time before ours, i n supply credit f o r their establishment Adam Smith's day, the jungle was an and machinery for quality control; overgrown place with unexploited train cadres to get them started; and resources growing everywhere. Comi t will also create a marketing network munications and transport were difficult and ensure a supply o f raw materials over the uncleared land and so the beats at reasonable prices. Production o f had t o be content with small scale exluxuries (TVs, freezers, etc.) will be ploitation o f what was t o hand. They cut; production o f necessities (clothes, were kept in check by poor technique bikes and fans, etc.) will be increased. and cultural sanctions. I t was not a This intermediate technologist's golden age except for the few who charter is completely sensible for an drove them; for the rest i t was a simple underdeveloped country, with little life o f privation, if not poverty. capital b u t plenty o f unemployed Competition tor lebensraum between people with modest skills. Simon the small beasts was supposed to be selfWinchester, reporting the j a r m party's regulating, and was legitimised by the strategy, quotes the politicians idea o f the 'hidden hand' working for 'Unless these (upper) classes give up the benefit o f all. The people labouring ostentation and display, unless they within the beasts had no power and agree to make sacrifices proportiofla1 nothing t o offer except their labour; to their wealth and responsibility, however, theywere supposed to benefit the commonpeople cannot be asked from the system as consumers, Individuals to exerciseself-restraintor moderate with little capital could enter the jungle their sectional demands'. at any stage, and struggle for a patch using the modest techniques o f the day. Which is, as they say, the rub. Will the

Controlling the Beasts How can we tame the beasts? Jere miahs like Enoch Powell say we are beyond redemption and must accept the merciless law o f the jungle. Others say that all will be well if we'll just heave them into the saddle. The Small i s Beautiful lobby want t o tame the beasts by splitting them up and restarting local production for local use. But without someone t o hold the ring, such local production will always be vulnerable to 'internal dumping' by the bigger beasts who are geared up t o supply a national market. Cheap transport means distance is no defence. I n effect the much vaunted 'economies o f scale' enjoyed by the national companies are hidden subsidies - paid by those at the periphery, who r o t on the dole and pay more than they need t o for what they buy. I n the threadbare jungle that i s India, there is little t o interest the multinational beasts because the general level o f wealth is so low that few can afford their products. Moreover much of the existing production is already State controlled, and the cost o f labour is so low that even the most peopleintensive methods o f production can be made to pay. So the Janata scheme has at least a chance o f working.

The UK Jungle Things will be much harder in the British patch; because much of our pro. duction is for export. The ruinous Cornpetition i n such industries as shipbuilding and steelmaking can only be regulated by international agreement. What could be done straight away, i f the will was there, is t o selectively nationalise and decentralise those industries which produce mainly for the home market. Beer and bread, the two staples of life, are two obvious examples. When do we start? Rudyard Kinglit

ents 26

ARE THE RUSSIANS really planning to swallow us whole? Opinion differs, but everyone in the West who is less than middle-aged has been brought up to think that they are and will have some difficulty in thinking otherwise. Martin Ince reports on some recent assessments of their plans and military strength that suggest the red horde would be hard put to it to overrun us just now. IN AUGUST'S NATO Review, Les Aspin assesses the risk o f a surprise attack on Western Europe and doesn't find it appreciably high. Apart from the unusual location of the article, it is notable that Aspin himself is a former Pentagon analyst partly made good: he is now a member of the House of Representatives Armed Service Committee and Democrat ""~resentative for Wisconsin. As Aspin says, 'conventional wisdom s held that the Warsaw Pact's forces, d particularly those of the Soviet lion, are oriented primarily for a ort, intense war characterised by assive high-speed offensive operations. i the other hand, US and other NATO rces are based more on a World War 11 (Ie conflict in which success depends I staying power. NATO forces have wer initial combat capabilities and .lower response to enemy mobilisation'. The reasons for these fundamental 'ferences are deep. First, probably, is s fact that personal contact with rman general staff in the 1930s and

hard experience in the 1941-2 taught the Soviet general staff a lot about the virtues of blitzkreig. The successful Soviet Blitzkreig in Manchuria in 1945 confirms this. More importantly, the level of Soviet industrial development and the widespread disaffection in the rest of Comecon means that an extended war could not be fought. There i s only one possible result of this analysis: 'It breeds a desire to improve NATO capabilities for the earlier stages of a conflict recent moves to this end by the US military have included increasing the level of warlike stocks in Europe, converting three divisions from support to combat roles, improving cornmunications with central Europe and putting a US Army brigade into Northern "Germany. But even these measures would not be terribly useful, as the usual wisdom has it, against the prospect which is now being raised of an attack on the NATO centre with no more than 48 hours warning. This danger was pointed out, in particular, by Senator Sam Nunn in NATO Review in an article

Major Surface Combatants and Attack Submarines, 1975

Naval Aircraft

MUMBEfl OF SHIPS

NUMBER OF PLANES

preceding Aspin's. The reason for Nunn's alarm are less than clear. It may be, for example, that Europe is now so well protected from more sedate military threats that these offer no new market opportunities. But such a surprise attack has never been less likely than now, because of the impossibility of marsh&llingeven a reduced force just behind the Iron Curtain, an area to which even the tragically deplet ed CIA must pay some small attention when examining its pictures. Nunn's reasons for believing in the threat are simple: an upgrading of Soviet round forces and transport in Central urope and a similar improvement in tactical air strength. However, Aspin finds that the 27 Soviet divisions in East Germany, Poland and Czechoslovakia (5 in the latter, a garrison if ever there was one), which are top rated as ready are no more than 75% manned and, if they were on the NATO side, would therefore be counted in category C4 (not ready and needing months to be mobilised). 'Even allowing for the differences in

rganisgtion between East European ivisions and our own, it is curious how these) would supposedly be ready to ight on a few hours' notice; The same goes for the lesser half of ie threat, 27 East German, Polish and zechoslovakian divisions. They are large1 equipped with Soviet hand-me-down ear like T55, T54 and T34 tanks of '.orean and even World War 2 vintage. aid the political problems would be ven greater; it might take weeks to get greement for the surprise attack, which ~ouldmost likely compromise the irprise. and even then the Soviets robably couldn't take the chance on aving the other Comecon countries ehind ungarrisoned, even i f they could Â¥us the East European troops to take . fe field wholeheartedly with them. nd many of the 27 Soviet divisions "e such a long way from the Iron urtain that the surprise would be hard ) achieve. Aspin argues that devices like the lutual and Balanced Force Reduction klks should be used to negotiate on ~ilitaryreadiness and warning as much 1 on absolute levels of military presence. ut his main political conclusion that . ie Soviets simply can't raise, the nerve ) leave Eastern Europe without its ikrs i s of far more fundamental nportance,

The new USAFIFairchild A10 ground attack aircraft, just oneof the new weapons of war that the Americans, for' their part, will be bringing into use in 1980s.

or Czechoslovakia i s much help in this respect. Aspin finds that the US and Soviet navies are both smaller than they were. The Soviet decline has beenmodest but 'the decline in US major surface ships has been drastic'. However, even the Red Navy has 5% fewer major surfacevessels than in 1958. Both have fewer submarines than recently, as they have been phasing out diesel ones and reoviet Sea Power placing them with fewer nuclear ones. One hare which red menace enthu- &* have set running isthe ~~d N ~ --'Â ~ But ~ there, . 'the more dramatic decline in numbers has been in the Soviet Navy'. he p aa g e 0 g a t Overall, 'the Soviet Navy has lost 27% is that tied in with Soviet attempts at of its vessels since 1958, while the US (tending political influence, mainly in Navy has lost 45%. But it is in the future frica, it evokes a world menaced by that the Promise lies the us ie paw of the bear on the vital sources of Navy, since the Red Navy will have to w materials and sea routes. The retire an increasing number of ships .oblem i s that the Sovi and their shipbuilding ability has already has ways been so weak (,,i navy the lu~icrous fallen behind the Americans'. This i s )isode of the Baltic Sea fleetin 905) especially true of submarines since the iat it is hard to regard it as a very us Navy has almost finished phasing rious enemy. For instance, it has only out its diesels. 'In other words, the trend s t acquired its first, small, aircraft of the past is being reversed. The US irriers and it has remained's minor Navy is now growing larger white the irce outside home waters. The readiSoviet Navy is getting smaller'. sss of its crews to sail forSweden when Apart from backing up his view with ley get the chance doesn't help. tables and charts on ship numbers, ages It is undeniable that the Soviet navy is and replacements, Aspin pours cold salt creasing in size, though, and the only water on the notion that the Red Navy ew of its growth which is not couched either dismissive or hysterical terms Bibliography as published recently in the sadly demet Recon, a small US magazine which There is a lot of good stuff, some of it quite as the alternative War Monthly. The new on all of this. The only problem is that tide, again by Aspin, appeared although the Recon material is unavailable as the e editors of Recon did 'not agree with magazine has folded. The Nunn and Aspin sp Aspin's conclusion that the trends , articles are inJV.ATO Review Nos. 1 and 4 (February and August) 1977, free from NATO e favourable'. Favourable to whom? Information Service, Brussels 1110, Belgium. I the USA. Aspin finds that 'today the US intentions, particularly as seen in the wiet Union has gained a numerical lead wars in Asia and the start of the cold war. almost every category of warship'. are brought out in Rise tb Globalism, by Stephen E. Ambrose, Penguin 60p. An ex?spitethis, 'the US Navy can perform cellent look at US foreign policy 1938-1970, missions' because it is better quality which is volume 8 of the Penguin history of id it has allies (that's you and me) with the USA. Some particularly heretical views lnsiderable navies. Neither Mongolia bn the numbers of tioops needed to over-

is now an aggressive world force. The days of i t s great expansion seem to be at an end. These were in the 1960s when ship-days on distant deployment for the Red Navy went from 2000 per year in 1965 to over 20,000 in 1970. By 1975 they had fallen below 20,000 again,although this trend can be far more readily reversed than such things as average ship ages. The total has never approached the US Navy's record, which was nearly 80,000 in ,1968 and nearly 40,000 in 1975, up on 1974. And this does not allow for any of their allies. So could the Warsaw Pact overwhelm Western Europe? No: it i s not united; it is poorly equipped, and it would need many more men that it has to attack the West since attackers need farmore numbers than an emplaced defence. I s its Navy trying to take over the world':' blue water as the west chickens out of its responsibility? Not particularly. Are Soviet diplomats trying to ease westerr influence out wherever possible?Of course, but they have along way to go, particularly because the Soviet priorities lie overwhelmingly at home and among the buffer states of Eastern Europe, through which Russia has been invaded three times this century, Martin Ince

come emplaced defences, as in Europe, are in The Nuclear Trap by Robert E. Walter% Penguin 60p, who is also not convinced of the reality of the Red Menace. Walters is a sea-power buff. On Russia, Hednck Smith's The Russians is the best general look at the country's people, mentality and priorities (Sphere. Â£1.50)National capability is summed up in The Technologicol Level of Soviet Industry by Ron Amman, Julian Cooper and Bob Davies, Yale UP, Â£20or see the lengthy extract in New Scientist for 24 November- 1977. The authors are all Soviet Studies people at Birmingham University. And there is a little on the Soviet blitzkrieg in Manchuria in the same issue of NATO Review as the Aspin piece.

-*<

Undercurrent;

OVERWHELMING would be an overstatement, but considerable woulu be a fair assessment of the response to the Squat a Boat Eddy in Undercurrents 24. Finding your dream boat is one thing, barely floating hulk into it, quite another. Robin Balbenn just spent a year renovating a boat on the Tharnes, writes basics of boat-conversion, and Qn how to Cut Cost5 SQUATTING on an abandoned or unused boat is an excellent idea. There i s no need to restrict yourself t o the Midlands, as I have seen many a tuppaware gin-palace gathering weeds and status in sundry South Coast estuaries. However, there are considerable differencesbetween making a deserted boat habitable and renovating an empty house. The first priority is to make sure that the water stays out. So, the hull must obviously be checked. Unless you have access to tidal waters or a slipway (and a tow) this has to be - done from the inside. Pump out as much water as you can, and finish o with a sponge and bucket. If a bilge pump i s not already fitted an ex-MOD stirrup pump will do. Then watch, and if, after about a week, the water has not reached i t s old level the problem is not insurmountable. If it stays dry you are dead lucky. I am assuming that the hull is wooden, as this is probably the commonest material for older boats: steel hulls have scrap value, but if you do find one i t will be difficult to patch; and most plastic or glass fibre boats are spoken for as they have not been around that long.

Staying off the bottom With wooden boats it is worthwhile going round with a screwdriver and checking for rot; joins where end grain is exposed to damp are the commonest sites. Also inspect between planks to see if the caulking it still sound. Give the screwdriver a good wallop, and if it >es through in too many places forget it. Minor leaks can be patched internally ,ing 'external' ply, which has wateroof glue. Cut the ply to a size large iough to reach well over into sound aod, prime both sides, and paint t h something waterproof - rubberiz' "-or paint or lino paint are comparacheap. Then screw it down with ass screws, and seal it off with a -

liberal application of. mastic or bitumen (underseal). Doing t h i s sort of repair won't get you round the world, but it will keep you off the bottom for a b i t Bilges repay attention. If you are going to stay for any length of time it is a good idea to clean all the grot o u t This can be a really unpleasant job, but, if you don't do it, come the winter all the rubbish that tends to accumulate will be a source of rising damp, mould and smells, as the air above is heated and draws it up. Don't bother if you only plan to be there a short time. A handful of salt is the cheapest way t( inhibit bacteria and r o t

Quickest and cheapest Next keep the rain out. I f the boat has been unused for a long time there will be much to do inside, and it is no joke trying to work around the drips. The quickest and cheapest way to keep dry is to buy or scrounge a large polythene sheet. Fasten it on by nailing through wooden battens, not directly, Any edges can be made rip-resistant by glueing a hem with evo-stick. Make sure you have left nowhere where the wind can catch or get underneath. If you have any pipes or fittings comin &rough it make doubly sure of the join; either lash with tape, or make ply 'collar' and screw it down to ' clamp the plastic in place. An advantag of using plastic sheeting is that it has a slight double-glazingeffect. If plastic i s no use, and you have decks to paint, use either Sandtex o conventional paint mixed with silve sand. Here again I'm told lino or. rubberized paint is satisfactory. Now that you are reasonably wate tight work can begin on the interior. If the boat has previously had accommodation in it so much the better. vou can just tart it up. Assuming the worst, and you just have a large space to fill, it would be best to have it open plan if you don't want t o spend too much time working on it. This is not only

For ease of construction, but also for

are a bare hold to fill, first?^using any old timber; demond dumps are sometimes a good source of this. This can be used to provide the basis for an internal skin, which though not strictly necessary, does add to comfort. The inner walls can now put up using, for example, ply or tongw-and groove. Again try dunfps and demo sites, or a local firm of shopfitters - they often just rip out whatever it is t k y sire replacing, and might give it away if you offer to take it down for them. Before putting the internal walls up it i s sensible tol uinsulate ohguo r h t Any conventional material will do for this, though l.find expanded polystyrene easiest to work with and stockists will often let you have chipoed or cracked sheets for next t o nothing. One inch of polystyrene on the ceiling will both conserve heat and prevent condensation. The insulation can either be fastened directly to the hull and superstructure, or to the back of the internal wall. The latter is preferable, though more of a fag, as it allows air t o circulate freely next t o the outside waits. Stale damp air breeds mould and rot. If you wish to conceal any wiring or piping it i s best to have it worked out in advance and done last thing before fixingthe walls. I will deal briefly with each system later. Remember for now that you must have access to all gas joints, and you may need to ge. at wiring junctions and water pipe fittingsat some time.

Hotting things up Once you have a livingspace heat will probably be your next concern, or if it isn't, it soon will be. The choice is between gas, paraffin and solid fuel, as most boats will not have access t o mains electricity. Gas is OK and gives instant heat, the catalytic type heaterare more efficient, safer and dearer. Gas gives off water vapour, which can be a disadvantage, as invariably condensation is a problem when it gets cold. Paraffin iseven worse, giving o f f its own weight in water. Iwould not recom-

- though Iknow many rfe on boats who use it - solely use Idon't like the thought of [rningoil i n the bilges, but others iy be more blase about this. What I . xild suggest is soHd fuel heating, iis is probably a good point to stress e importance of having a couple of e extinguishers about A small Or burning n sometimes be scrounged, or picki p from a junk or house-clearance p for around Ă&#x201A;ÂŁ10The cheapest cent stove that Iknow is the Artic I. 1 slow combustion stove. If you ry one thorugh the post, stipulate ..at it i s for a garden shed, because Hie VAT on products for boats i s 2: per cent. The great advantage of a solid fuel stove is that it gives o f f a dry heat; it also circulates the air; and ' fuel often floats past Your stove must be mounted on a fire-proof plinth, such as a paving stone, and so situated that it won't set anything alight (arranging this ir a constricted space can be difficult) A chimney can be made out o f a cast iron drainpipe - 4 inches diameter i s standard for most small ' stove pipe fittings. A t a pinch you ^can use asbestos, but keep an eye on ft. loins can be bodged with exhaust paste and tape. Theoretically the boat can now,be lived in. If your stay is going t o be ' Short then this may be enough, and you can exist on a camping basis. If you want to make things a little more permanent and comfortable land a houseboat can be luxurio"si, YOU

Electricity i Twelve volts from the largest accumulator you can get hold o f will run lights, a car cassette player and pumps. A friend o f a friend of a. .got hold o f a good battery from wherever , invalid cars are scrapped. Thesecan be charged with a generator (or even the now atmest obligatory 'ndmilt). Ifyou are putti% in wiring use &main gauge wire and 5 amp fups for each circuit in a conventional household fusebox. This i s both to cut out fire risk, and to minimise voltage drop, which can be a problem with dc. Lights can be made with car fittings, though fluorescent tubes use less current. Do not use 240 volt switches as these arc with 12 volts supply, instead use proper 12 volt flick switches. Fit the thickest wire YOU can get (lump leads) from the battery to the fuse box as this may have t o carry all the current. Now, at last, you can stick in an electric bilge pump..

Water

For a sufficient water pressure to get running water a pump i s necessary, unless you can fit a tank high up enough. The simplest and cheapest method i s to have ' a switch by each .tap. There are a number of more fophisttated systems on the market ifyou want to lash out. any boating or caravanning Otherwise plumbing i s fairly straightforward. ASwater pipes will probably have to follow a fairly tortuous route, it will be easier, and cheaper, to use flexible hoe. If they are not already there you will have to drill holes in the hull and bung in skin fittings for discharging waste water.

If you feel like incurring more de6& an instantaneous gas heater for hot

' '

water is handy. You may be able to get .; a secondhand one through small ads. It must be specially for Calor gas. We have a 'Nymph' heater which supplies two basins and a show'r-

Gas t o finally gas. There Which brings us no safs way to wonomise two types of bottled gas are butane and propane; both are toxic, explosive and heavier than air. The risks are obvious, especially as escaped gas will collect under your floor. Butane (blue bottle) is more common and slightly cheaper Propane (red bottle) fie;zing point and thus doesnot lose i t s pressure so readily in the winter. It is also stored under a greater pressure. Both are made and distributed by Calor Gas and are readily available. You will have to pay a deposit 7n your first cylinder. Calor gas i s not something to cut corners with - the 'official' regulations are rightly strict It i s daft using old copper piping in case there i s a lurking hole. Cywan shops are the cheapest source o f pipe and fittings, and there are plenty of books with detailed assembling instructions. Basically you will need: a cylinder outside; a pressure regulator; and a length of flexible (armoured) piping jointed onto copper pipe going directly to a stove with a junction for any heaters. Joinsare made with compression joints, and it i s worth polishing the end of the pipe with wirewool. You can check for leaks by the foul smell and by sqearing,aisgg&t~,)$ -...f...&...c.. *; %:-:;* soapy water.

&:.'

,...

Now you have everything for indepe dence, apart from a toilet. The bucket and chuck-it system is by far the cheap and least likely to go wrong. There are many chemical bogs advertised in the magazines. The 'Porta-potti' (honest) range is recommended for those of a delicate nature. These are not to be emptied overboard because as the chemicals used appear t o be based on formalin. which would wreak h a w with thelocal ecology. If there is a sea toilet this may be buggered through lack of use. The manufacturers set complete renovating kits. That's about it. I could go on forever about the almost unendin series o f problems that occur dur the fitting out of any boat, and would be glad to attempt to answer any queries (s.a.e please). Living on a boat can be a whole new way o f life. Generalising from my own experience, if there are others around it is rather like returning to a small, communityminded village. Robin BaWmie

',-'

{ears. NEW AGE ACCESS began towards the nd of 1974. Those involved i n it shared common awareness that the future, larticularly in rural areas, was going to c radically different from what was ireviously expected. Evidently industrial ociety was crumbling, but little work /as being done towards developinga lost-industrial society. If the plausible future lies with

lainfully evident to us - the lack of iseful information about alternatives. Over the past three years New Age

Access has attempted to go some wa towards meeting this need. We've answered postal queries, and we've already published some information where we've felt there was a gap to fill, and there is more in the pipeline. As far

always these skills h 5 c-Inext stage wil paper! Not all of the publicati serious, the One Man's Munch grew out of the amazing food at group meetings.

wind turbine that holds great promise, but is so designed that it could be produced in a relatively well equippe< community-workshop. We've also been helping to develop an all-glass flat solar panel that uses a heat collection medium as the fluid in the indirect system; and we're developing a water-power system for a communil in-Scotland. We don't set out to be a design group, nor are we windmill designers - everything tends t o be a one-off in the search for answers. Although tlw media would sometimes hayeus otherwise, we definitely aren'tpurely an ATgroup - energy production just seems to be one of thi prime areas where research and development i s urgently needed. Nevertheless, a large part of our work concerns food production. A t present the organisation* in this field publish adequate information on organic husbandry, compaioi planting,etc. However, the flow o f information will have to increase with the ever increasing need. . The need fdr a site t o demonstrate ourfindings, and to carry on the research i n new areas grew, while we were giving so many educational talks that permanent full-ttme staff with a base for demonstrations were needed. Somewhere was required where partie of children from local schools and the big cities nearby could visit and learn.

e Wooley Hospital, the sui have found, was built main1 1920's as a sanatorium for the fresh-air re o f tuberculosis. Later on it became a geriatric hospital. It was seen as a temporary hospital and all the original buildings were built from wood sawnup oh the site. The quality o f workma ship i s excellent, but a lack of proper foundations, combined with other problems led to i t s eventual closure. The Local Health Authority left the site in June 1976, and since October of that year New Age Access has been considering using the site as a centre where we could co-ordinate our servicl to the public, and demonstrate the practical and educational aspects of our work. The site covers more than 17 acres, but the Area Health Authority is keep ing approximately two acres for hwsii There are four large wards, one smaH ward and many outbuildings. The wards are in various states of rep some outbuildings will need a co able amount ofwork doing t o th before they are useable. The site own water supply and sewage pla Initially one ward could be conver into an indoor exhibition, a bookshop, and a series of workshops. This building was built later than the others and i s in

Undercurrents 26 walls. We have conducted building and energy surveys and the proposals all seem feasible. The grassed area outside will be an exhibition site for energy generating technology that can supply adjacent buildings. A large proportion o f the hospital's needs were grown on the site, and there is sufficient land t o set up a fairly comprehensive range o f horticultural and husbandry activities. A large organic , garden will demonstrate the result o f different growing methods and these, together with a smallscale husbandry unit, could be compared with intensive farming methods. Wooley itself is some five miles south of Hexharn, a market town mid-way along the Roman Wall in Northumberland. The site faces south and is open t o the prevailing winds - ideal for generating power from natural sources. The centre is , easy t o reach (for more details o f how to find it, and o f the groups work, see Eddies, Undercurrents 251,and local reaction t o the proposals has been favourable, so we feel that New Age Access has found an ideal home. From the early days the practical problems o f developing such a site were apparent. Luckily the group already contained people with business and legal backgrounds, an engineer, a trained horticulturist, and others who had worked on farms and i n factories. Later an architect and a building services expert joined in. Obviously we haven't entered into the project lightly.

HERCULE'S LABOURS mayseem a most oeo~le.However. for the Wheeler's settling on a small-holding in wind-bashed Orkney has' been as Herculean as any of his labours, as Ruth Wheeler explains. We must warn potential crofters that thefollowing article may disturb their day-dreaming. EGILSAY is a small island i n the North Orkney group. It is only three miles by one mile and has no mains water or electricity. I came here with m y husband and small son in 1974 from Brighton. We were the first English people t o settle o n the island and the native Orcadians sat back t o watch our activities with barely disguised amusement. Here we were, three ferryloupers (incomers), with thirteen acres o f uncultivated land, an old but and ben dwelling house and a few crumbling outbuildings. My new 'house'- I use the term loosely - Was unbelievably primitive. Sheets o f cardboard had been nailed on to the bare stone walls, and the farmer occupant had covered it with gay floral wallpaper. Rotting, sagging beams sighed under huge stone flags. Outside they were covered with Orkney thatch, that is platted grasses and reeds held on with a great fishing-net. The floor consisted o f large uneven flags laid directly on t o the earth. On wet days mud oozed up between the chunks o f rock.

A charitable business New Age Access is also lucky i n differing from so many 'alternative' groups i n having a structure that has kept pace with the growth o f the group. Although the 'business' was registered, it started o f f extremely informally, and the structure has grown organically from there. Nowadays there is a 'core group' o f about nine people that takes policy and day-to-day decisions. A much larger 'friends o f New Age Access' group provides support and expertise in particular areas, or helps with big activities like festivals. T o take advantage o f the benefits we are in the final throes of becoming a charity, and are also becoming a democratic limited company with a written constitution available to anyone t o read or use. New Age Access i s still essentially a local group. We will, and do answer postal queries in return for a couple o f stamps, but local queries always take preference, so be prepared t o wait! For more details o f any aspects o f New Age Access and their work write to: New Age Access PO Box 4 Hexham Northumberland England

Ă&#x201A;

The ravages of winter The house had three rooms. Two were totally uninhabitable and the dimensions o f the third main room, approxiwhich I have de~cribed~were mately thirty feet by twelve. T w o huge box beds covered most o f this room and an ancient Victoress stove stood fa the massive fireplace. We lived in this one room until t h ravages o f winter made it unbearabl The thatch needed rep strong gales began t o d between the stones on night before turning o f f the o i ptaced buckets in strategic pla slept fitfully. Each m o new spot where the water had managed to seep in. We had done no building before and the thought o f it made. us feel very sick. We had so many other urgent tasks in hand. We had t o prepare land, untouched for over twenty years, for the next growing season and we had t o buy some livestock. We decided t o leave the building until after the winter and we were fortunate t o find a mobile home which we bought reasonably cheaply. Getting it t o Egilsay was not so easy, o f course, but we managed. This meant that we didn't have t o rush the building and we

were able to look around for good second-hand materials su roofing tiles etc.

Undreamt of luxury By Christmas '74 we had brought electricity t o Whistlebrae' in theform o f 1% k w Lister diesel engine; and on New Year's Day 1975 wegot the water pump t o work. For the first time in six months 1 didn't have t o carry water from the wet1 for ourselves and the livestock. I didn't know what t o d o with my spare time! Also I was able t o put away the oil lamps, not to mention the chemical loo. The mobile home had a very basic bathroom and w.c; but which seemed t o me at that time t o be luxury beyond my wildest dreams. Along the shoreline, not far from the buildings, we found a natural basin-like hollow which had been eroded out o f the rock by sea and wind With stones from the beach we built a wall around it, cementing-in strategic places. We filled the bottom o f the 'basin' with gravel and ran sewage pipes down from the mobile home. This became the septic tank and is still goin1 strong. The liquid which seeps out is perfectly clear, so I guess it must work. Although, early in 1975, we had water on tap we were still heating it on the stove. Later we managed t o get a h e c o n d hand back-boiler for the Ravurn and, with some copper pipes and tie ingenuity, we were able t o have a al hot bath. (We use waste wood and rift-wood for the stove and so get all stic h o t water for free -.not to on the welcome blast o f warmth winter months!) Anyone who ha d in an old tin bath in a cold raughty room will know the joy o f turning on the h o t tap and stepping into a clean white bath. After living i n such a primitive style we knew the real valuf of all resources.

Short, windy, winter days I thought that August was a rotten time t o come t o a croft. What on earth could we do in the garden? - especiallj in a place like Orkney. But we did have one advantage. By the time the next growing season came around we had experienced an Orcadian winter and it was severe. From the end o f Septembe

--rds we were constantly blasted Westerly gates; and from mid-Octoberirttil well into February darkness falls it about four i n the afternoon, and I t sn't really light enough for work until 1.30 in the morning. The gales drove he rain and hail with a hell of a force ind with our 485 yds of sea frontage, ' aid a house situated very close to the hore, we were very exposed. We soon :new that our main problem would be me of shelter, and we spent that first vinter building dry-stone walls. In biting vinds we dragged huge boulders up from he beach and heaved them on to the valls. Without a tractor and trailer it vas heavy and exhausting work. This is the method we use for building the dry-stone walls. We do not dig foundations for the (halter walls. It seems to be unnecessary and we cartainlv haven't had a watt fall down on us

--x .,

tones as illustrated: ,

Growing andstoring the crops

q date

have grown good crops of 'nips (turnips-), tatties (potatoes), carrots, onions, cabbage, cauliflower, sprouts, beet, parsnips, celery, lettuce. radish etc. The greenhouse (well sheltered) provides us with tomatoes, cucumbers and the odd,sweet corn. The surplus tomatoes are frozen, bottled and made into chutney. We also freeze broad beans which a lot of pw , grow yell h re. We run a large chest freezer off generator, and although of it is only on fbr a daily six hours in the winter, all food remains fresh and in good condition. So that we need not run the generator when there is almost perpetual daylight, 1 ~ the~freezer- , in June and 1 ~ 1 empty By mid-October it i s futt tocapacity - again with winter stocks. We now grow over an acre o f vegetables which last'all the year

fishes just off shore here for most o f -7: the year. He has a twelve foot dmghy and manages to catch goodsupplies o f the local fish which i s called sillocfe. .We freeze the fish, then give the pig her daily quota mixed with potatoes, scraps, milk and whey from cheese making. We manage to get eggs throughout the winter by taking eight or nine selected hens into a larger henhouse where an electric light burns as long athe generator runs. They need more food, of course, but we have lots o f tatties and also a few oats, and plen of fish. Occasionally we have a spa hen who ends up in the pot.

1 that is. 'nips, carrots, beet, and pars--J=S;~. nips, we leave. Potatoes are taken up

underneath: (side view)

we begin to fill in the middle of At this the wall, using the smaller stones and m y nibble available. TO strengthen the struttare we make a mud mixture with soil and water which is poured into the middle. This seenn to bind well, especĂ&#x201A;ÂĽall on windy days. On the second-to-last layer we put large slab< over the whole wall:

The final layer is of thinner stones placed in a slanting position:

anv time between mid-October and m<d-~ovemberand we store them in soil and straw. We grow enough of a winter variety { D ~ ~ ~ head), to keep ourselves and the livestock going through the winter. , When the greenhouse is clearedof tomatoes at the end of October we dig over the soil and plant lettuces for winter salads. In fact, with careful Re-building the house planning and good shelter, one can Last ~ e b r u a we r ~ decided that we have a wide and varied diet even in the had had enough of living like gypsies toughest climate in the UK. and felt the need for four substantial In November or December we bring stone walls around us. We had SO many cartloads of seaweedand shell sand" ideas. One was to buy a house in k i t from the shore andspread it across the form and assemble it on a chosen site growing areas. The contents of the We discarded this idea, mainly on the pig, goat and hen houses also provide grounds o f cost. The brochures talkus with good manure. ed glibly of thousands of pounds as if it was of no consequence. The idea of Keeping the animals rebuilding the original dwelling housi Right now we have three milking which was now in a sad state was goats, one milking cow and two depressing to say the least. Ayrshire calves -we favour Ayreshires Then Jan had an idea which at first because they are hardier than other seemed impractical. We now had a . milking breeds. We outwinter our 32 ft. mobile home which had proven animals, bringing them inside in only its worth and strength over three the severest weather. We wpptement Orcadian winters. In it was a lounge, their diet from November until the bedroom, kitchen, bath and w.c. - ir beginning o f May with hay, oats, fact all the plumbing and electrical 'nips and cabbages. Most fanners wiring had been done. Why not fehere have beef cattle and bring them build the old but and ben house and inside for five or stx months, during put the mobile home alongside to form the winter. We try not to buy any part of the house? Eventually we would" processed animal feed such as cattle roof the whole lot - house, mobile nuts and the like. Whenever possible home and ail. A t first I disliked the idea. we feed bought-in calves on surplus When we went Into the cost of buying goat's milk. If one cannot operate plumbing equipment for the house, like this then the economy of the bath, sink unit, toilet, piping, water crofter or self-supporter wouldbreak tanks, etc. Irealised that Jan's idea o f down completely. utilising what we already had was the We also have sixteen maran hens, only practical one. a sheep and a pig. The latter two By March we had collected 1,600 will be killed and put in the deep second-hand Redland concrete roofing ' freeze well before Christmas. The pig tiles and two hundred pounds worth o f -has been fattened mainly on flsb. Jan seam#&& wood ofvaryingthick-. *

Imust stress here that we've had no uition in this manner o f building. iowever we have had a lot of practice nd the shelter provided is second to one. Behind these walls we grow a ariety of soft fruits, outdoor tomatoes nd even sunflowers. Placed correctly, i e stone holds the heat from the sun nd this i s an added advantage. This ~ m m e ('77) r we've had good crops f blackberries, gooseberries, blackurrants, and strawberries. We have ~perimentedwith other shelters. We lanted a lot of small fir trees but after ie first gale they were battered to eath. Trees do grow in Orkney but ley all seem to be behind solid stone 'alls! The only other alternative A t e r is of wood -that i s a barrier f wooden slats, with good foundaons. They seem to be able t o break ~force of the wind.

md lengths. In mid-March we . started, We hauled the remaining thatch " o f f the roof of the old dwelling house along with the massive flags. We then rinped away the rotting beams.

,+ranorthern lights he walls were approx. two-three feet thick and we took three of the tour walls almost to ground level in order t o put i n targer windows and doors. Orcadian windows are tiny. The natives of these islands think that windows make houses cold. We are gradually winningthem over to the idea that light can also mean warmth. We got hold o f three good window-frames with a job-lot of second-hand wood and they f i t E d well into the building. We put them on either sideof the front door, retaining the original symmetry. Because we didh't apply for a Local Authority grant-we were able t o decide upon the overall height of the building. We kept it low enough to retain its original character, but high enough to prevent severe brain damage f r o w r a c k ing our heads on the top o f the doors! We built up the walls using the original stone along with some concrete. We gathered the sand from a spot well back from where the tide could reach, and when we had collected gravel from the shore we left it for a whiie to 'wash'. Once the window frames were ih place we put up battens for the lintel above th front door and the large windows, and also at the sides for the gable ends. The front lintel was to be about 30 feet long Over the frames we put steel rods and any other scrap metal available, in order to strengthen it. Next we sorted through the wood ant chose the strongest pieces for the beams We had 18 lengths of pine which measuf i 18' x 5" x 3". We made a prototype accordance with the'angles we had ready decided for the roof drop.

When the beams were fastened in place we put on the sarking. This was in fact the tongued-and-grooved flooring which we had bought with the second-h wood. On top o f the sarking we f tarred roofing felt. fastene with narrow vertical slats. a roof of sorts we could begin to work inside. It was September now an weather was beginning to break.

Retaining the best features We managed t o retain the bes of the chimney-breast wall with fireplace and spit, and the carefully placed stones which must have been there for several hundred years. These we scrubbed with a power drill and sander. We have left them completely naked. The other three walls are cement rendered and whitened, and we are told by the islanders that it looks very much Hke an old Orcadian house. We do not plan to have a ceiling as we feel that the natural wood of the huge beams and the sarking is far superior. Because the building is still fairly low there i s not too much of a heating problem. We have an old Bonnybridge Dover s t y e with oven and copper water tank and this is adequate. If there is sub-zero weather we can light the fire in the large fireplace. Two weeks ago we swung round the mobile home and our next job is to build a porch between the two. Then we shalt start on the bottom section of the house following roughly the same process as we did for the main part. Eventually we plan to surround the mobile home with local stone so that it will really be part of the , building. However t h i s is going to take time. We are pleased with what has beer done so far; We have'kept the long low look and costs have been kept to a minimum. BecauserJan and I have done the work alone it has taken such a long time. The only help we have had was from one

guy whom we hired for two days when , we hoisted up the beams, and another neighbour helped us for a few hours when e moved the mobile home.

heavy work found one o f the e moving o f the o oor. We dug up each one, placed soil ' sand underneath in order to level it , Finally we cemented round each one. re going to have a cement floor but we decided that restoration work ore in order. However the large stones were very heavy and it took every ounce of our combined strength to move them. Ihave mixed concrete and heaved. stones up and down ladders all summer. We devised a pulley system when we had to take rocks up on to the roef for building up the chimneys. This consisted of two ladders and some strong rope. I tied the stones at-the bottom o f the ladder a d Jan slowly dragged them up. Some of the work looked impossible, we've certainly learnedthe full extent of our strength, and we know our limitations. The work would have been easier with more bodies around, but as the community on Egilsay is a small and ageing one there isn't much chance of any practical help. In - fact there are only 27 people on the island right now.'There i s a one-teacher school with six pupils and the population level has just about reached crisis point. Indeed we are isolated with few services and the climate can be harsh, but it's a great place for adults and children.

% wasteful Of course Government policy on agricultural land doesn't help remote islands IikeEgilsay. We haven't escaped the onslaught o f the 'big isbeautiful' brigade. Farm&rs are encouraged by bribes otherwise known as grants and subsidies to swallow Up smaller units and incorporate them into large agri-businesses. Houses are l e f t t o dereliction and decay. There are eight or nine unoccupied dwellings on this island inv arious stages of dilapidation which once belonged to small farms and crofts. Apart from our croft of thirteen acres there isn't a unit here under 50 acres. We are trying tcpromote the reverse ideal of 'small is beautiful'. Indeed we grow a greater variety of food than anyone else on the island. We were told on arrival of the things which wouldn't grow. However with our shelters and planning we did what was thought to be impossible. Most of the natives had never tasted radishes or celery and they shook their heads in disbelief as we planted apple, pear, cherry and peach trees. As yet we've had no fruit as the trees are still too young, but we can say that they are alive and well and living in Orkney.

Ruth Wheeler

J *-.' -

.<. . <*.&. :.i .***-^'

a , v^^',Sy"

IMAGINE IT. N o more problems with the supply drying up. N o more hassles with your local friendly dealer. And enough of the wonder weed to get you high - without having to scrimp and save. 'Capability' Brown would be turning in his grave, all that and you don't w e n need to lay out 40 acres of grounds first. TO cultivate cannabis all you need' a bit of stealth (10 foot geraniums officer, honest), a bit of common

who made his own beer. Not only did it taste much nicer than the pub bitter for which I had dutifully acquired the taste, but at 4p a pint it had an incredible kick t o it. Often, he would try and tell us how t o make it. 'It's easy!' he would exclaim, his eyes misty with sincerity. I never believed him. I shut my mind t o what I was convinced were the labrinthine mysteries of home brewing. Sadly, by the time he got t o detailing the process, we were always too pissed t o remember. ' Now, when I see friends depr' themselves o f good food, contin holidays, new cars, and the like, order to fork out incredible sums money for inferior quality grass an hashish, I try and convince them o simplicities o f home-growing. 'It's e I exclaim, 'It's good! It's cheap! Here - try some' - but by the time I get to the details their minds have glossed over and they stumble out into the city murk, their heads f u l l o f half-digested Jiffy pots and John Innes. Now here is just how easy it really Leave in warm, light place. Water regularly but don't soak them - thev should be moist. not water-logged.

is:- One March a few years ago I planted half a dozen cannabis seeds. By 'planting' I mean I dug over, with a trowel because that was all I had,, a .. patch o f ground for about eight square feet in my back yard - the earth was a sort o f grey dust, and stuck in the seeds about half-an-inch deep and two feet apart. Five plants appeared and grew. Two were s t i l l there by the summer; rest had been trampled by kids, dogs cats, etc. They grew t o a surprising h When I came back from m y summer holiday at the beginning o f September, they had gone all hairy and bushy. I left them, hoping they'd produce seeds. One morning in October I looked out o f the window and saw them being threatened by a redeveloping bulldozer. Shrieking 'my cabbages, my cabbages' I rushed out in my nightie and yanked out my two eight-footers from the ground. I hung them up indoors t o dry. This took about a week t o ten days. When they seemed dry enough to smoke, I stripped the leaves off the big stalks and chopped them up. I still believed that good quality dope could only be grown in exotic far-away After about the end of March (depending on area, weather, etc.) plants can go in a 'cold frame' outdoors, or outdoors on warm days, in on cold nights. This is called 'hardening off' and lessens the shock of permanent transference t o outdoor life.

seed in seed tray containing seed compost, previously dampened if it is very dry, Seed tray and compost obtainable from Wbolworths or gardening shops. You can make your own seed compost - see gardening books. SOW

hot places, so with considerable scepticI lit up the first joint.

A wonderful surprise The first joint o f each year's homegrown 'R always a wonderful surprise. li creeps up on you unawares, because you just don't believe those green leaves sit-ting out there in all that long wet summer melling more like school cabbage thar pungent herb, could ever getyou ned. Two years later I gave most of the stuff away - fed up with rooms constantly full of prostrate, stoned, silly people. I found the stuff was very strong and sent my mind wandering o f f for so long. every time that I'couldn't do all the things I wanted to do. Now thatwas easy - but then I was lucky. I could have lost all those plants if a late frost had killed o f f the seelings. So the next year Idecided t o be a bit more methodical about it. Without much agonising I arrived at the method which has proved simple, reliable and perfectly adequate for producing good quality dope in an English climate. I consulted the various U.S. publications on the Final position can be wherever you have best soil and sunniest, most sheltered (from wind) position. Put sandlgrit and peat in clayey soil. Always add manure or compost. Water

(Mm pbnts h w four h a s (not counting tha first two thick ones) thÃ§ need more nourishment than <**d compost (which h i d u l for $urnination) o n provide. Transplant to peat pots eonfninecwtttna compost.

diking. Then uncover and give them at much flht as (xnsible. Never let them dry out.

* k t Vott disinfarate when in mil. so whan phtinfl out t i m cow* you don't nwd to disturb thw d d i roots.Bm m y careful whfi m a t i n #r o o f a this stage. Work wicklv so mots do not dr9 out. water them tint to keep moat. -

fetid &&osphere and virulent insect * Every bit, or as nearly every bit as lifeof a London back-yard, they were , makes no difference, o f the country is the only green thing not to be eaten regularly scrutinised by some locat or .alive by greenfly, caterpillars, or leaf 'Â¥&er Itfsvery hard t o find 'un-noticminers. - .'-,--^ *.id*bits, or places where you won't , I It's worth waiting until after they've be observed by someone* you dig flowered, which can be as late as holes, carry out your inspections, and October before harvesting, as they gain ferry water in dry seasons; i.e. where When to harvest in strength ahd if you start greedily a new ten-foot weed won't be noticThe plants.may need support with picking the leaves before then you may ed - though you can get round that \ iticks early on, especially if they have weaken the plant. But you will find problem by pinchihg out theseen started off indoors and there hasn't that some big leaves start to go yellow seen quite enough light, because this and drop off from mid-summer onoaks like a pleasant green carpet vill make them produce very long, thin wads, and these provide an excellent May will be a 6'10' jungle of italks. They quickly tell you when they +, -smoke until the main crop comes in. n, bramble and thistle by the wed watering: the whole pfant wilts, _ , - -* -.I have never managed to produce many July. 'ecovering dramatically when watered^ seeds but my aim is to produce a quick * Rabbits, or something, have eaten have grown good plants in old tin growing variety that can be self-seeding every one but a few o f the plants j ~aths,buckets and very targe pots, but in an English climate. have stuck out in the wild. I even know 'emember, ideally each plant should someone whose plants were eaten by lave a two foot depth of soil for i t s The necessity for coolth a lama escaped from aprivate zoo oats, and at least that much space, nearby. If you do intend to chance it Unfortunately, growing is still illegal, between plants. They can grow 12 feet in the English countryside, choc-a-bloc so you need to be discreet and here each all, but you won't harm them by with hungry wild-life, it's probably a )inching out the tops to encourage set of circumstances is unique. But a good idea to wait until the plants are nore side growth, in fact some growers word of warning, however, to those _ _ @out 18 inchestelland nice arid ecommend this. Basically the plants who think plantingout in the country ire very hardy and strSng&andin the someyhere may be the answer, remember: strong first.':. iject and found they seemed to make inell'uva palaver out of a simple operation: messing about with light boxes, ~ltra-violetlights and what-not iff an - iffort to produce 'super-dope', when inyohe who's simpled home-grown can ell you it's super-dope anyway.

.,-

-""'

If you plant in pots, the b i m r the better. Use a well-balanced soil and compost with atenty of grit. Put broken crocks and/or big itones in the bottom for drainage. Whatever fou usa must have a hole for water to b i n aww.

To harvest, wait until after flowering plants. beeomawry bushy (flowers are green and hot obvious) cut and hang upside down over sheets of newspaper to catch the bit* that drop.

When plant* are dry, after one of two weeks, chop finely and store in airtight plastic bags. Scrape resin off fingers after* chopping and make hash for Xmas. Use with caution.

ants will grow much better if the ground under their roots has been dug and manured. The fine roots need a light soil, with plenty of air spaces hence the digging. Growing them in undug, compacted soils that may be heavy clay will restrict root growth, which will restrict top growth. . So,if you have found somewhere nice, really-pri~ate,sunny, near a supply of water, sheltered from wind, and not overshadowed byother plants, i t could be an idea to dig a two Toot deep hole first and pile the soil back in, mixing in some manure, compost or peat - or all three. When planting out always try and disturb roots as little as possible (this is where the extra expense of peat pots is

red-handed, with plants growing in your backyard. Defenses like '1 didn't know what they were'; or: 'A friend planted them, and no, t don't know his name' sound a bit thin,yd don't seem to work. There isno longer any shred of a legal defense centring on the "flowering-tops' controversy. (The new definition of cannqbis under the New Criminal Law Act bans even the roots. Penalties for a first time offense of cultivating marihuana vary widely, depending on - - : the quantity grown, and can be up to six months imprisonment or a Â £ 1 0 0 0

fine. So grow on& what you need and the penalties should be much less severe. Ed.)

Anyone who is busted for growing should contact Release to make sure their solicitor isau fait with the latest developments. But it is worth using every court case, particularly outside London, where the judiciary may be even more helplessly ignorant than in the capital;and sentencing is consequently heavier, t o make a few points: . The Wootton report on cannabis found ^ it t o be harmless; it is now legal in some- "US states; and most 'authorities' would the -dangers' of cannabis lie agree not so much in the drug itself, but in its connection via a pusher, with the , 'hard' drugs. To allow cannabis to be easily and cheaply produced by anyone 'for their own consumption severs t h i s connection, and with it the growing control over the cannabis supply of the organised villains who have a vested interest in using harmless dope to I onto the really dangerous, and real profitable, drugs.

Popular fallacies about dope

If you water it too much you produce hemp, not dope. Wrong - wet summer's don't seem i~ noticeably affect the quality. You can't over-water a plant that has good drainage round i t s roots; as it will take what it needs and let the rest flow away. B u t -

if drainage i s poor the roots get waterlogged and then the plant will die. So, if the plant i s in a pot there must be a hole in the bottom for the water to run out from, and some bitsuf broken crockery or big stones at the bottom to avoid the soil getting too closepackaged. Only the female plants are any good. Objective surveys in the field show (en ourof ten average ~ ~-ki~i~ ers cannot tell the difference between a joint rolled from amale plant and one rolled from a female p1ant:But the female plant ha* a denser, bushier top to it, so has more surfaces for the resin to hang around, and more volume. Only the floweringtops wewy good. The leaves are not quite at powerful but are certainly good enough. The small stalks seem pretty sticky with resin too. Bird seed containing hemp seeds obtainable from pet shops is sterllised. Objective suqeyscarrisd out in the field again show t h i s one to be wrong, if it ever was right. ( have yet to find proof o f the alleged difference between hemp and dope. As far as I know, botanically they are the same plant. Â£vthe Gardene

&,=

-.,

-Release are at 1, Elgin Avunue, W 3PR. Ted: O T - Z ~1123 ~ (9-6) E m m " w T e l : 03-603 86!$l~~>trs.), -- .-

THE PUTU MDICA1 TECHnOlOGV -

& ; A

THERE:WASA

TIME when Undmurrents was subtitled simply the gazine of radical technology and people's science. There Gas more to-n that even then, but for many people the radical technol* the important issue, and a loosely knit radical technology grew. But somewhere along the way the movement seems t s way. I n this open letter Geoff Wright takes the radical movement and Undercurrents to task. '

I'M NOT SURE Undercurrents i s certain about i t s direction. Idon't thinkmonsters, ley lines, etc. are what-Undercurrents ought to be discussing, and I'm, sure you agree. However, it is not that i n particular that I'm writing to you about. Undercurrentsseems to follow individual issues without any overall context. Seen in context, 4 l o t of these issues are either false, or not so important. Personally, Idon't believe either i n the scenario of collapse throughlack of , inergy, or in horror stories about a ilutonium economy. Building a svstem lased on fast breeders wouldtake at

least ten years even if the decision was

taken now. So we couldn't have a plutonium based economy before about 1990. Fusion is making progress and scientists talk about practical fusion about the year 2,000. If more resources were put into fusion it could come sooner. A plutonium economy would mean an investment of many thousands of millions of pounds in a system that would probably be obsolete in ten yearsTherefore, for purely economic reasons I don't see it happening. We may well have a few. but not a complete system. hthink Bonn's idea i s to use more coal

until we have fusion. Have you heard about the new method o f liquid mining the Coal Boards trying out? This i s based on acoal solvent which dissolves coal to give a liquid which i s a reasonable oil substitute. The method is t o drill down to a thin seam, uneconomic by conventional methods, pump in the solvent, then pump out the dissolved coal. This could be the Government's plan t o supplement N Sea oil when it starts running out/ It could well eliminate any serious oil shortage, in

the - .- dinrt ..- .- term -....

As the Radical Technology (RT)

energy scenario,'it has concentrated too much on this. Advances in automation and information technology will bring about much more radical changes than changes in ' energy technology. The RT movement ought to foresee these changes and explore the possibil-ities for social change in these technologies. The RT movement ought to formulate plans for social changes using these new possibilities. Another issue disturbs me. Some people sem to want to turn Britain into a rural topia populated by happy peasants using largely medieval techndtogy. ft is hoped >setup 'self-sufficient* agricultural com~unities.Crap!

eware of State intervention The-only way to set up any such system illbe by changes in the land-ownership 'stem. I can't see t h i s happening without ate intervention. A wealth tax could, duce the price of agricultural land to ie point where many people could buy with or without government financial sip. Alternatively all land could be itionalised and a State sponsored prom m e t o set up communities tried. ither way the state would have ultimate introl - there are dangers in this! Without an industrial base these communities could well be reduced to . complete poverty. With automation, industries would tend to be either services, highly-automated, mass manufac--$wing industries, or craft industries. In ten to fifteen years many manufacbe re-classif& as craft ~ f t fim c .industries. t$ codd be vitalto p&te aft industries (classifiedaslabour ,

invest in labour-intensive industries. While profitable, automated firms may do this to avert revolution, it won't lead t o a complete solution. The pattern is usually for heavy unemployment to lead t o demands for more state intervention. This could well lead to complete State dominance of the economl Maybe a more radical Labour government under Benn would expand planning agreements to accomplish this. This i s why an extension o f Democrat* is soimportant. My worry is that the politicians will continue the old 'more investments more employment' tie untilwe have a confused and uninformed population drift into fascism. With = the straight Left trying to continue thi '*same old pattern o f employment, and screaming for more and more impossDemand to be told ible jobs, and proposing solutions that nollonger make sense, a vacuum is I appreciate there are angers in this left for the National Front (NF). The system because of the power o f the proLeft engaging in false arguments props grammers. This i s why the RT movemen UP the false arguments of the NF. must do some practical planning. If, however, we don't push on the information front our rulers will continue to Look for new solutions hog information and continue the state I'm afraid the RT movement is in a , of ignorance among the population. similar position: its concentration on Unemployment is another issue. energy is going t o leave it high and James Prior has recently said publicly dry, and unless it sorts out its present that a N Sea oil boom will not eliminate confusions it will vanish. The State and uaemployment; becase iavestment industrialists are taking over solar, wind will concentrate on capital-intensive, , and wave technologies and backyard rather than labour-intensive, operations. While Callaghan continues the same -..DIY is no solution. What will the RT movement do next? I don't get any sort old ties s h e politicians are worried of answer from reading Undercurrents. about a permanent qd,growing class of unemployed. Old you see the '2002' Geoff Wrieht Horizon? They were flying a kite. Supposedly set in the year 2002 and No* looking back at history, it showed how. Oil hasbeen In<l<lefrom for yMr'with growing unemployment and unrest inSouth Africa, of all unmentionable in the 198Ons,the M l y automated countries, but has always been conside&lg , industries bad cons1 cred itprudent to momexperwive than crude oil. . - 2 e-high human skill industries), fill a manufacturing gap, and for satisfaction. They could be decentralbd and a vital Part of new ~~mmufiities in the countryThe RT movement has neither spelfrout how information technology'could bring about decentralised workers' con(TO, democratic planning of the entire economy; nor come to terms with Information and automation technologies. Computer grids and information nets set up so each citizen could have access to all social, technical. scientific, and economic information . both at home, school, college, and work, would raise entirety new possibilities for democracy.

The Alternative Corporate Plan generated by workers at Lucas Aerospace reflects a subtle shift in thinking about the nature, purpose and design of products. The Plan was produced after nearly a year's concentrated effort by shop stewards and blue and white collar workers at Lucas Aerospace's 17 factories spread throughout the UK. So far in Undercurrents we've concentrated on the campaign for the implementation of the Plan's proposals. In this article, Mike Cooley, a member of the Lucas Aerospace Combine Shop Stewards Committee, describes some of the products and the philosophy behind them. As Cooley reports, a number of these have now reached the prototype stage/mainly, with the exception of the natural g being developed at the Burnley factory, outside of the company, in colleges and polytechnics. ALTHOUGH THE SOCIAL and political implications o f the Lucas Aerospace Workers campaign have received onsiderable attention, the technology ontained within the Corporate Plan has irgely been ignored. Even though the workers themselves, i n their Corporate Plan, placed at least as much emphasis upon the forms taken by the technology, the products and the manner o f producing them. They had sought t o find, and debated i n considerable detail, those forms o f technology which would give full vent t o thecreativity o f the hands and minds o f the workers, and that could be produced by non-hierarhical forms o f industrial organisations. I n the course o f actually designing nd building prototypes they have disovered, as one o f them expressed it: . that management is n o t a skill or raft or profession b u t a command relationship, a sort o f bad habit which we have inherited from the army and the church'. They have also shown, only in embryo, that the design methodology used i n a 'socialist technology' would have t o be radically different from that which applies i n our current technoloev

the product is rendered redundant. These raritied mathematical procedures are outside the experience o f the mass o f industrial workers and art used as a means o f blud~eoninetheir common sense into silence. All their knowledge o f the physica world about them, acquired through years o f making things and seeing them break and rupture, i s regarded as insignificant, irrelevant or even dangerous. However, with the prototypes develooed from the oroducts orouose in the corporate plan, the keihddolo was quite the reverse. Workers on the shop floor had every opportunity o f giving full vent t o their skills and creativity - because the prototypes -were designed more by 'feel' than by 'analysis'. There is nothing mysterious about this 'feel' or 'tacit knowledge' as I will call it. It comes about as a result o f years o f direct experience at the point o f production itself. It is a sad reflection o f the specific form technology takes in this society that this wealth o f knowledge is deliberately. eliminated. Indeed this elimination is the very root o f so-called scientific management or Taylorism. Taylor pointed out: '. that the worker is

^oldexactly what he is to do and how 7e has to do it and any improvements ie makes upon the instructions given to him are disastrousto success. anv talk o f industrial demo-Tlearlv -;racy k t h t h i s kind o f technology is

It will undoubtedly be argued by the authoritarians, both o f the right and o f the left, that the Lucas workers approach t o technology is romantic, ~nrigorousand unscientific. Such a tiew ignores the fact that a desire t o meet real social needs is a vitally important stimulus t o good quality and creative design; and is a qualitative element o f design, which cannot be t r e a t d i n a mathematical fashion, as can thequantitative elements. Nor are the Lucas workers alone i n taking this viewpoint o f science and technology. I n a recent paper one o f tl country's leading technologists and ademics, Howard Rosenbrock had fr say: 'My own conclusion is that engineer ing is an art rather than a science ari by saying this I imply a higher, not lower status. Scientific knowledge c,

A Prototype hybrid road-rail vehicle under test on a disused railway track.

idercurrents 21 combustion engine would be running continuously at its constant optimum rate. All the energy that is wasted as one starts from cold, accelerates and decelerates, changes gear, or idles at traffic Fights, would go into tht system as useful energy. This, it is suggested, would improve fuel consumption by about 50%. S i n k the engine 1s running constantly and at i t s optimum temperature, it fotlows that combusDon o f the gases will be much more complete, thereby reducing the emission of toxic gases by about 80%. The engin<! would be run at constant revs

atical analysis enter into reserve bat ensheering In an indlspenslble way store them and their role will continua/& I n m a k . But engineering talso contains elements The hybrid electric vehicle of experience and judgement - and The aeroipace workers'appr regard ail social considerations and the quite different. They pointed out most effective ways'of using human the average vehjcfetw an engine twice labour. These partly embody knowledge which has not yetbeen reduced to exact and p y t Ã three times larger than is and mathematicgl form. They also embody necess^fy, sifflpiy to give it take-off value judgements which are not amenable torque. OncS-fte vehicle is <n m u c h smaller engine could satisfactofto the scientific method'. i l Power ~ it. They pointed out that That this approach to technology i s not the performance characteristicso f an -. ily more democratic, but also much more electric motor are the diatecticalODOO- ,-3 litful i s demonstrated hv the- Â¥imnw.siv

at its ootimum-revs - and - - -a-t i t s- &timu& -r - . Sy^ temperature drives a generator * in turn charges a very small stack of & .:- -g2 Lucas Electrical, which is a separate batteries, which act merely as a tern-, + % )mpany from L u c s Aero~ace,has p r o p o r q energy m,and wpply wed a solution based on a battery driven an electric motor, h ,& i driv u. But with avehicle of this kind i t i s transmission system; or in a rev scessary t o recharge it approximately version hub motors directtv on wy 40 miles o f stop-start driving and wheels. 'ery 100 miles on flat terrain. FurtherA numb& o f variations on this ore, it is necessary to carry a significant theme have been proposed - for eight of batteries. A t a chassis weight of exampie, for intercity driving, once ound 1300 kilos an additional 1000 the vehicle has gained speed, the c 10s of batteries would have t o be carried. bustion engine could drive the whe "'-directly through the mechanical scause thebatteries need charging at gular intervals, vehiclesof this kind are ' - transmissionsystem. Whereas, whe isuitable for random journeys. .-' it enters a suburban area, with the Additionally, there would be a need , sequent stop-start driving, it could r a new roadside infrastructure w i t h . winthe hybrid mode. equent charging facilities. One possibilne L~~~ workers alsoenvisage / would be to provide these i n existing . in coming years, the internal irages. But having a large number o f combustion engine would be bann -. overnight - from the centre of cities. With the 'hides waiting to be charged

barging too much and too often

is now being built and tested at Queen Mary College, London. No individual component of system is in itself revolutionary. is new i s the creative manner wi which the various elements have beel put together. It is proposed thatthe unit should run for about fifteen yea with the minimum of maintenance. This i s comoletelv contraryto the whole philosophyo f the motor oar industry. Whilst the tucas workers are proposing this kind o f power pack their colleagues at another large car manufacturersare having to &sign and develop an engine which would be thrown away after 20,000 miles, o r t w o years, whichever comes-first. The idea i s that'the engine would simply be bolted on- the input side of the gear box so that you would simply connect the carburettor to it. The owner would even be denied the pleasure o f outtine water and oil in.

p09;21t

to the notion t^at interchange- i_- ibke to drive to the peri Ile batteries should be .' prohibited zone and r

ires rise

,er, it would clearly be a significant sk to re larlY change a WOO kilos of O u t a providg storage for large numbers of space the London area i s reckoned t o cost imewhat between Â£4 and Â£6 per ibic foot per annum. Thus drivers ould have to pay for theadditional

- - .

be thrown away after two isa sign of a criminally irresponsible type of technology which Wester6 society zone, drive slowty, s cannot be arrogant enough to continue energy. 5ubwquentl pursuing. Yet the whole political and - - cuuld be recharged when ope economic infrastructure of society is in the hybrid mode elsewhe based - - on oreciwlv - -- , that - - tort - - - rtf - aswrnnr -:-z*<z**s*r-*, ." *--'-,% ti"","""'~IYthat the pate of ob5ole5Ecologically ;,,=-fW cence of products &illincrease, and In geyrg,@, ho w f that the rate of orduction and con->

A prototype of the foadlfail vehicle has been built at the North East London Polytechnic and tested out on the East Kent railway Ihe. It has been highly successful. High speed tests are now being considered. In parts of Britain there is growing interest in a vehicle of t h i s kind, since it could provide the basis for a truly integrated transport system with vehicles running through our congested cities like coaches and then moving straight on to the railway network.

Kidney machines The Lucas workers do not merely design and build new products. There are one or two existing products i n Lucas Aerosoace which thev would like tosee produced at a much greater rate. One of these is the home dialysis, or kidney machine. The Lucas workers rubber *-Is. and thug the the curve of the track, and, by a ~rro-n~chmiirn, steers were horrified to learn that 3000 vehicle, along the track without any lateratconstraint. Ti?#fÃ‘dbac mechanisfn is stiffi~bntly people died in Britain each year because accurate and rapid for it to ridesafely at high speeds, even old trade. they cannot get a kidney machine. In the Birmingham area if yo0 are under The is quite Eastern London Polytechnic (NtLP). Mferent. They have designed a universal Aerospace ( R ~ ~ 15~ or~over ) 45 you are allowed, as a the mid_5ors lower pack which is quite capable of medical practitioner put it so nicely spent over.one million pounds developproviding a wide range of services. It 'to go into decline'. The Lucas Aeroing an actuating mechanism whereby a has a basic prime mover which could 'Pace workers were disgusted when set of pneumatic tyres could be brought run on a wide range of fuels including they saw, i n a recent 1TV programme, down into position-so that a railway ' ~iaturallyavailable materials, methane an interview with a teacher who was coach could run on the roads. In' its gas and so on. 45 and whawas being Â¥lHowe to railway mode a metal rim would ran on By using a specially designed, variable / 'go into decline'. She said she was going a track, which in practice resulted peed gear box it ispossible to vary the to commit suicide so that her grand_ inall shocksgoing up throughthe lutput speed over a very wide range. children would not see her superstructure. Inevitably this meant a rhus the unit i s capable of providing the through the progressive stages of large rigid superstructure,of the type peed and power necessary to drive a Secretary of the Ernie Scarbrow, cornittee, thesaid, at we have inherited from Victorian roll- . debility. generator which could supply electricity ing stock it night; or when running at one of a recent public meeting, But again there is another approach, he lower speeds, drive a compressor 'it is outrageous that our members which was followed up by the Lucas vhich could provide compressed air for in Lucas Aerospace are being made workers and the NELP. By using a small pneumatic tools. It could also drive a redundant when the state has to find guide wheel (see picture), running on the nydraulic pump, t o provide hydraulic them Â£4a week to do nothing exrail, with servo-mechanism feedbackto cept suffer the degradation of the power for lifting equipment, while at the running wheels, the wheel can be very low speeds it could drive a water dole 'queue. In fact the Â£4 a week Steered along the track while the is about Â£7 a week when the cost pump and be used for irrigation purpneumatic tyres run on the rails. And, . of administration by the bureaucrats poses. The unit could thus be used in of course, with the guide mechanisms is taken into account. Our workers a number of ways for almost 2 4 hours retracted, the vehicle can be used conshould be given this Â£7 a week and a day. \n considering the design, the ventionally on the road. This provides various bearing surfaces have been allowed to produce socially useful the basis of a flexible light weight ' products such as the kidney machine. made much larger than normal and vehicle, which is capable of going up a the components deliberately designed rail incline of one in six. in such a way as to make them last Normal railway stock, because of the for about 20 years, with almost no low friction between the metal rim and maintenance. But it has been designed the metal track is capable of going up in such a way that if maintenance is an incline of do more than one in 80. , necessary it can be carried out using This means that when a new railway local skills. Furthermore instructions line-is being laid, for example in the would be such thatthese maintenance developing countries, it is necessary orocesses would help t o develop selfliterally to flatten the mountains and eliance amongst those using the fill up the valleys or build tunnels and quiprnent. viaducts. This costs, typically, Â£1 Road and rail vehicle per trick qile. But with the hybrid

Undercurrents 26 I f the social contract has any meaning i t will surely be that we will have the right to use our skills on products o f this kind. That will be the real meaning of a social wage'.

Production for need, n o t greed One o f the most important aspects the Lucas workers complaints has been that i t has demonstrated so clearly - t o a whole host o f scientific and technical workers, and through the medium o f their own jobs - the limits o f the system. Many of them actually used t o believe that the only reason society didn't have nice socially useful products was that nobody had thought of them. The fact that these products are being built, and are still being rejected, both by the government and the comuanv. ,, demonitrates in very dramatic terms the kind of priorities dominant in this society.

Mike Cooley Editors note As reported in Undercurrants 25, the Lucas Aerospace Combine Shop Stewards Committee have been instrumental i n setting up a Centre for Alternative Industrial and Technological Systems i n conjunction w i t h NELP, funded b y a charitable trust. Researchers at the centre hope t o provide a resource base for workers at Lucas and elsewhere engaged in diversifications of the Lucas tvoe. Thev also oian t o develop some of tne prototypes mentioned .n 1h.s article. Undercurrents will be reporting on the work of the centre as it oroqresses.

THE OTHER ALTERNATIVE PRODUCTS In addition t o the proposals outlined i n this article, the Lucas workers Alternative Corporate Plan outlined a number of possibilities i n the alternative energy techno1o.w area, for example heat pumps, fuel cplls;&ind generators, and solar power systems for low energy housing. But as Mike Coolev argued in Defence Cuts a n d Labour's Industrial Strategy (CND 1976) the shop stewards did not want t o produce 'gimmicks for individual architect-built houses, since there is a tendency for certain sections of alternative technology t o be used as playthings, f o r the middle class'. Thev were concerned t o develop medium scale community heating wstems,that is units suited t o complete housing estates rather than for individual dwellings. The Plan also proposed a series of telechiric (remote control) devices for use i n dangerous environments for example i n mining and fire fighting, sea bed nodule collection, undersea oil rig maintenance, and undersea farming. As Cooley p u t it, these vieces of eauioment 'mimic in a remote - ~ environme"t. the actual motions and actions of human beings. We are particularlv keen on the philosophy underlying thesedevices since, unlike robotic equipment, which takes part of the skill of a human being and objectifies i t i n some k i n d of memory or magnetic tape (and i n consequence frequently leads t o reundancies), i n these telechiric devices the human beings remain in full control all the time. Thus this is a way of blending high technology w i t h a relatively labour-intensive f o r m o f work'.

R U R A L DEVELOPMENT is a phrase one normally associates with the so-called developing countries. However, parts of rural Britain also suffer from regional neglect and economic decline. Of course there are government grants for Development Areas, Job Creation Projects, and so on. Nevertheless there is increasing evidence t o suggest, as Bob Black does in this report, that government aid t o regions like Gwynedd is misfiring, and even increasing the problems o f the rural areas it is meant t o assist. I N GWYNEDD unemployment, at nearly twice the UK average - though perhaps insignificant compared with the problems of the larger inner city areas o f Liverpool, Glassop, etc. - represents over 4000 able-bodied people out o f work. With the decline o f quarrying and related industries, i n the past controlled by a few feudal families, and very little re-investment i n skills and manufacturing, Gwynedd suffers from the classic branch factory economy, having provided (for over a century), a reservoir o f cheap labour disciplined by the threat o f unemployment. Some industry has been attracted into the area, and there has been a series of large public works t o provide jobs perhaps the area should be renamed the Snowdonia Public Works Park. The Dynorwic Pumped Storage Hydroelectric Scheme is the latest in a succession o f giant construction projects that the Government, and the CEGB in particular,have over the last five years, sited in Gwynedd in the 'National Interest'.

The Natives are restless There i s a growing feeling i n the area, however, that the National Interest means primarily the interest o f English consumer's, o f the Government, and the multinational corporations, and has little to do with the real interest o f the people o f Gwynedd. The creation o f a large number of well-paid jobs in an area o f chronic unemployment used to be seen locally as one o f the major benefits o f these schemes, but this too turns out to be not quite what it seemed. In a recent report, Gwynedd County Council said: , 'the evidence suggests that the long term effect o f the major construction schemes in Gwynedd has been to help prevent the growth of employment in more stable industries as a result of the impact of large construction projects on local wage and labour supply'. So is the government really doing anything to help the depressed, sparsely

populated regions such as Gwynedd, wi their high levels o f chronic unemployment and emigration? In theory it is doing quite a lot. There are an impressi\ number o f government departments and agencies ready to help with advice and money. Most o f Gwynedd i s a Special Development Area, which rnear that the Department o f Industry and the Welsh Office will give generous gran to encourage industry to settle here. They will pay 22% o f the cost of new factory building and 22% o f the cost o f new machinery. On top of this, they may provide preferential loans, give removal grants of up to 80% t o firms moving into the area, and help with redundancy payments at the other end. Another body, the Welsh Development Agency (WDA), has the task of helping smaller firms by building advance factories, providing commercial loans, where needed, and generally giving advice. ( I n Mid-Wales, and parts of North Wales, the Development Board for Rural Wales (DBRW) has a similar role to the WDA.) In practice this aid is almost exclusively aimed at encouraging large scale industry - the bigger the better, in particular that moving into the area from nests outside. The Welsh Office is very efficient, but it will not look at any project costing less than aboutĂ&#x201A;ÂŁ15,000 while the WDA and the DBRW seem reluctant t o give any but the most miserly assistance to small firms, and no-one knows what either body is really supposed t o be doing. Moreover, until the Welsh Assembly is established, they have no one to answer to. Industry is encouraged to settle in 'Growth Centres'. These are generallv towns with serviced industrial sites in Bala, Llandudno, Bangor, Caernarfon, Portmadoc and Blaenau Ffestiniog, for instance - all on the edge o f the National Park. On these sites, the WDA is building large advance factories, many of which i t cannot let because they are too large for local firms. Not to be put off, it recently announced its intention t o build a further 18 factories

Undercurrents 26 ,-.L

..as

Government out of touch

those o f Merseyside or Newcastle. ,

Whatistobemade?" - - - -

scale industry is not the answer. When . to do SO'' - - If there is a growing feeling ttat &? The Snowdonia National Park up here it is~partly fairly beautiful, there is very little Authority, thewetically the organ! because o f the availability o f cheap "-$&lea about what sort of small industry that manages the National Park, labour and cheap virgin land, but the ' " proposed setting up its own workshops would be most appropriate to Gwynedj main reasons are government incentives: to bring back economic life to the - Often small scale concerns manage to ., the factory is probably the branch' of compete with the big operators by provillages, but it has come up against a ' some national or multinational comducing a 'quality' product that appeals wall of official opposition;-in effect it bine with no commitment to the local to an elite, and there are a fair number .has been told t o mind its own business area. Ifthe going gets tough, the branch . keep tocie, traditional things like of local firms doing just that very factory is quite likely to close and . successfully. There is a reservoir o f . waymarking footpaws and building leave a large proportion o f the local toilets for the tourists. The County craftsmen skilled in working local population jobless. Council is now converting an old schoolmaterials such as stone and wool who . , One thing leads to-mother house for use as small workshops as an can produce articles of worth to be sold to the tourists. And as craftsmen-made experiment. They have a waiting list of It is important to remember tha people wanting to move in; but there i s ,goods usually have a high value to weight though the unemployment r i t e mig . only a limited amount a Council like t h i s ratio, they can be transported a long ' ' be very high in some areas, the actua can do by itself. A recent advert placed economically.Generally t h i s is not numbers out o f work might be quite - way done because marketing skills are lackin a local newspaper by the economic small. For example the town of Blaenau ing, but there i s scope for? lot of grow@ oficer for Gwynedd, enquiring if people ' Ffestinog (see Eddies, Undercurnuts 24) here. Welsh slate chess sets for sale in wanted small-sized work places, produchas an unemployment rate o f 12% but . the capital cities o f Europe? Why not. ed 60 replies. t h i s represenk only 350 people acqatly But what about making more basic what is needed is an economic out of work. Therefore a large new everyday things? Here it i s more difficult envirenment that encourages local inifactory coming into such an area. and '?or small concerns to compete - unless employinga laworkforce, is going they have some sort of natural advantage. to have to draw that workforce from The isolation from major population an area much wider than the local comcentres and transportation routes, the munity. In the case o f the largest provery thing that handicaps the bigfirms jects - for example the aluminium in North Wales, may be to the advantage smelter on Anglesey - commutingup of the small firms - if they can produc to a radius of 40 miles is common goods for local use, or if they can tap a (whilst the specialist staff have t o be local market that their big competitors imported from England or abroad). cannot effectively reach. A working these large projects force people " example of this is the dozens of tiny bakeries in Gwynedd that survive because of the difficulty o f distributing fresh bread from central factories. The local firm would also be at an advantage if it could draw on local specialist skills; for example by produe ing AT hardware in co-operation with the National Centre at Machynllth, or if it a u l d process local materials, such as fish or wood products. A small I paper mill using a mixture o f local woo

LIBERATING THE AIRWAVES is a vital part of any campaign for eedom of information, for the right to know, to say and to broadcast. Pirate Radio is only part of the struggle. As Cop MacDonald pointed out in Undercurrents 8 and in Radical Technolouv, amateur radio is a mrfectly legal way for alternative-minded ~mericanstokeep in touch. over. amateur radio could be a valuable communications tool in building an alternative society in Europe as well. The ball's already begun to r o l l Sweden, as George Wood describes.

ore-

CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE is a fine ctic, and it's often been very effective. out there's no need to use civil disobedience - directly bringing yourself up against the law - if you can accomplish the same goal legally. For one thing, you don't have to continually worry about getting caught, and what to do if you are caught. That puts a tremendous crimp on your activities: you have to use lower power levels; set up antennae that are hard to detect; and build dispensible equipment. A t the same time, you're risking jamming other services. I n the best o f cases this may lose you potential friends, and in the worst may put lives at risk; at least one Dutch pirate is putting a harmonic, Â¥ an international distress frequency. I'm not criticising pirate radio as an afternative to the State and commercial broadcasting monopolies. But I don't quite understand the need to use pirate Tadio for two-way communication. You don't have Citizens' Band radio yet in Britain, but there's no reason why amateur radio couldn't be used for two-way communication. Moreover, there really aren't many stations hanging around the 88MHz FM band waiting to talk to you.

rnldn't care less Unfortunately, most, if not all, of the ople on the ham bands couldn't care Anyone who reads Undercurrents, already

s an amateur radio licence, and wants t o set some kind of regular contact between Britain and Sweden, is invited to contact George at Kungshamra 311107, 171 70 Solna, Sweden.

Notes 1. To broadcast on the 2 metre band and all frequenciesgreater than 144 MHz you need to pass the Radio Amateur's Examination (RAE) thereby gaining Amateur Licence B, otherwise known as 'GB'. To gain Amateur Licence A, or 'GC, required t o broadcast on all the amateur bands, you need t o pass both the RAE and a morse code examination. The RAE is held twice yearly, in May and December, at the City and Guilds of London Institute, 76 Portland Place, London W I N AAA.

commercial equipment'for ecologicall~ sound low-powered, often home-made gear. In America, New Directions Radio has been going for four years now. Thr days a week people interested in alternative technology, homesteading, etc., on the West Coast meet on the 80 metre band for long discussions. They talk about their latest experiments wit! windmills, swap vegetarian recipes, get help for problems in bee-keeping, revie new books etc. Similar meetings go once a week in the Midwest and on East Coast. Once a week stations fro around the country meet on the 20 metre band, for deeper discussions and to pass on news from region to region. The Farm, home of 900 plus people in Tennessee, has a daily net, with station checking in from similar collective farn around the US, and from the Farm's relief mission in Guatemala.

Keeping Swedish collectives in touch

less about alternative technology, or organic gardening, or 'Small is Beautiful', or anything like that. Most of them spend their time on the bands discussing their equipment and the weather, and would feel threatened if people popped up wanting to talk about something important. However in my experience it's always been the British stations that want to talk about things of substance, in sharp contrast to stations in other countries. And it has been British hams who have taken the lead in the QRP Movement, rejecting energy-wasting high-powered Useful Addresses British QRP Club, c/o Rev. G.C. Dobbs, 131A Mansfield Rd, Nottingham. Send a ya.e. for a sample copy of their magazine SPRAT". They have data sheets on low powered DYO transmitters and receivers. New Directions Roundtable Newsletter, c/o Randy Brink, 1174 SE Fern Rd, Port Orchard, WA 98366, USA. The bimonthly newsletter of the New Directions nets, it lists times and frequencies of regular meetings, plus latest , activities of members. Radio Society of Great Britain, 35 Doughty St, London WC1 2AE. The RSGB is the staid voice of the British amateur radio establishment (prince -

We can do this kind of thing in Europe. We're taking the first steps here in Sweden. This January an article on New Directions Radio - discussing hov. collectives around the country can use the amateur 80 metre band to maintair regular communications with each other - will appear in Rapport Fran Ekoteket, an alternative technology magazine. Within a few weeks we'll be moving in another direction - the building o f links in urban areas using the 2 metre band. We're hoping to start regular 2 metre nets in Stockholm and Gothenberg to discuss alternative energy. We'v also been in contact with New Directions hams in North America on the 20 metre band. To gain an amateur licence in Swede you have to have the probationary 'B' licence for one year, before you can receive the 'A' licence, which i s needed for the voice (SSB) communications needed to establish national links on the 80 metre band and international links on the 20 metre band. In the UK there i s no such restriction: you can go straight t o a regular licence.'

Phillip is its 'patron'). But it does sell a variety of books and recorded courses for the beginner, in morse code and electronics. Short Wave Magazine, 34 High Street, Welw Hens, AL6 9EQ. 'Short Wave Maaazine' tries to be an alternative t o the RSGB -within limits and sells most of the same material. For example: Short Wave Magazine R.A.E. Questions and Answers 1971-1975 (Â£2.10 Guide to Amateur Radio (RSGB) (E1.3C Ham Radio (A Beginners Guide! (Â£2.50 Morse Code for the Radio Amateur (RSGB) Ãˆ5p Radio Amateur Examination Manual (RSGB) (Â£1.30 Beginners Morse Code Course (Â£4.1 fro RSGBI (records)

Undercurrents 1f> :

--,

" Of course learning electronics and h e morse code can be a drag, but I &ink it's worth it. Instead of hanging wound the broadcast bands, wondering if anyone i s out there listening, and ;onstantly threatened by the Post Office, you can reach out legally on prearrangid schedules to stations not just throughout Britain, but throughout Europe, and in America, as well. Amateur equipment used to be expensive, but it doesn't have to be. Transistors and integrated circuits make it possible to build reliable low power (ices that can even be powered by ar or wind energy. David Gardner's circuits can be adapted to use the 2 metre band, and there are cheap 2 metre" available. .'-or people who want to use the lower frequency bands, and would like to build their own equipment, the British QRP

Club has a whole collection of data sheets for building small voice and morse transmitters and receivers. Of course hi&-oowered eaui~mentcosts ..... more; but this summer, when conditions weren't especially good, I made contact with stations in Italy, the Soviet Union, Austria, West Germany, and London, using just five watts on the unpredictable 10 metre band. The Radio Society for Great Britain -,offers study guides for the amateur licence, and various radio clubs offer courses in both electronics and the morse codes. With a 'G8' licence and a cheap 2 metre transceiveryou can use the repeater relay transmitters for regular urban networks - without knowing morse code: People around an urban area can use a repeater channel every week at the same time toJidd *the-& meetings. They could also monitor a given chmhet COB-

'WASTE NOT, WANT NOT' is one proverb that just does not apply in the packaging industry. Naturally, the more bottles, or cans, br packets, fou can sell, the more your firm prospers. If public-spiritedvolunteers . :tear up the litter you've manufactured, so much the totter. After all, my tears you've shed for the environment were just so many crocodile :ears, weren't they? Or at least that seems to be the only coklusion :o be drawn from the behaviour of manufacturers of noh-returnable xmles and cans over the last few years. But the times may indeed be :hanging. Richard Bate, who has been scraoina awav the whitewash. weds all. Well, as m - zfSsinway.

tinually (with squelch circuits the receiver i s completely quiet when there's no signal on the channel) so that they can hear when a friend calls.

The people's airwaves In the next few years the Sunspot Cycle is going to make low power corn-' munication with North America much easier. When that time comes, we here in Europe could have networks already functioning ready to plug into global networks. Just because most o f what you now hear on the amateur bands is trivia is no reason to turn our backs on t h i s valuable communications tool. The airwaves belong t o the people, and the amateur bands are there for anyone who has enough desire to study UP to Pass the licence examination. George Wood (SM(?HN)

used to divert attention from the central issue of whether refillable or throwaway packaging is to be preferred for drinks, or indeed for many foods. This contrasts with the less contentious approach adopted in both Germany and Switzerland, from where the bottle bank idea was cwiedr Both countries have similar recycling schemes to that o f the British GMF, b u t on a far more comprehensive scalp

NEWSPAPER AR .ING the virtues o f ' ecently have sidetra he non-returnable bottle and can saga. These collection bins have been set up by the Glass Manufacturers' Federation (GMF)in Oxford, Barnsley, Scunfhorpe, Colwyn Bay and Chelmsford, nd the public encouraged to bring back mpty bottles and jars for remelting. he enthusiastic response has clearly ernonstrated the considerable public illingness to stem the tide o f waste ackaging. The warspublic approval has been weeded only by the rejoicing of the 'ass makers themselves, whose publicity aterial has verged on the lyrical. The iMF Director, Mr. Oliver 'we're all wironmentalists now' Normandale, reclaimed at the first launch: 'Hence>rthin Oxford there is no such thing a non-returnable bottle'. This, of Mirse, conveniently failed to draw the uciai distinction between the recycling f a container's raw materials, which te manufacturers promote, and the ir more efficient process of refilling. h y bother with melting a container, mpiy to make a new one? Moreover -

Encouraging a throwaway mentality bottles with deposits may also be dumped in the bins, along with the unwanted caps and metal sealing rings that are so awkward to remove from many bottles.

Dubious claims Fertile minds at the GMF have conceived some other dubious claims, notably that Local Authorities could gain Â£1 million a year if the scheme was adopted nationally, Unfortunately, this overlooks the enormity of the transport problem: collecting the bottles in many areas of the country;including much of southern England, would be prohibitively expensive. For every extra 10%of the virgin raw materials that are replaced by waste glass the industry is promised a 3% energy saving. By comparison, energy savings of perhaps 40% overall, depending on the bottle return rate, would result from a re-use system, and the benefits of recycling glass would s t i l l be possible on top o f that. Altogether it is most regrettable that t h i s harmless 'bottle bank'should be

The glass manufacturers' approach is as predictable as it is deplorable,and follows a series o f public relations exercises by the industry t o bolster the non-returnable ethic. The first of these came after the FOE dumped millions o f .bottles on Schweppes and other companie back in 1971, The industry's reaction was to focus attention exclusively on litter as the 'number one environmental problen to quote one advertisement. Considerable efforts were made to show that the problem was people acting irresponsibly, ' rather than the industry encouraging a 'throwaway' mentality. To this end, funds were injected into the Keep Britain Tidy Group on an unprecedented scale. Receipts from nongovernment sources, that had been stable at about Â£15,00since the founding o f the Group by the relevant industries i n 1968, suddenly leapt to Â£10,000 between 1970 and 1972. Donations todav are down at around the Â£70.00 0.a mark, which is a considerable decline; especially in inflationary times. The main contributors s t i l l include the Brewers Society, the Glass Manufacturers'

&ration. Metal Box and Cadburv bweppes: but the treatment of a' xthwhile charity as a political football s not gone unnoticed. A more appealing tactic has been to courage voluntary effort as a panacea r the problems created by packaging, Wever, it i s well recognised that these llections can do little more than scratch e surface. For example, enthusiasts who llected the very creditable quantity o f 00 refillable wine bottles, and a tonne recyclable glass per week would ndle roughly one part in 30,000 o f e nation's yearly output of glass conners. But, by encouraging t h i s sort of ing the manufacturers can be seen to doing something, without actually ving t o grapple with the root causes. iis diversion has trapped the government sn more than the packers. With aracterktic lack o f understanding the itional Anti-Waste Programme imagine' it: 'Voluntary groups have a vital role play in exploiting important sources useful waste' and that a voluntary de of packaging practice for the justry should cure remaining ills.

are as amusing as thev are varied. Originally IGs told that lit would be of no interest to you', but with different seasons came different stories, like 'it's not complete yet', a statement curiously in contrast to the view of the report's authors. More recently the delay has been attributed to 'the sheer workload o f analysing a mass of figures in avolume 'as fat as a telephone directory'.' In other words, an industry with a turnover of about Â£20million per annum is incapable o f analysing - i n over two years - a book of data for which its own member companies provided the figures. The report itself was completqd in twelve months by two researchers on a four figure budget. The latest comment from the GMF is that 'it is very doubtful that the industry would agree to release our energy data.

....Or ignore it

hrowing in the sponge With argument and counter-argument e debate on packaging has become ore involved in recent years, and speclist services have sprung up at various tels in-industry to deal with it. Most )table has been INCPEN (the dustry Committee for Packaging id the Environment) which represents, large cross-section o f pack* manucturers, fillers and retailers. As a iblic relations front it shields individ1companies: acting as a sponge for ivironmental criticism. INCPEN's erary output is distinguishable b y e glossy paper, not by the strength 'its logic, although it does have the Mrtesy to ignore alternative arguents rather than try to deal with em - at least on the non-returnable intainer issue. In short, criticism ts diverted to INCPEN where it :comes diffused (or defused). '

Thiswork fulfills the recommendations o f studies by both the British Tin Box Manufacturers Federation in 1973, and FOE in 1976; but now that the results are on the horizon, there has been a change o f heart in the industry. Regardless o f the outcome o f the studies, they now question whether any action on beverage packaging should be taken at all, as it accounts for such a small and selective portion o f thenation's fuel and materials bills. Nevertheless, faith i n the long-claimed economic benefits of one-use packaging appears t o be waning - indeed it was the environmentalistswho initial1 had to persuade the industry of the need for the economic studies! Disintegration o f the myths generated by advertising, and o f pure hope, is scarcely surprising. Some companies have now done their sums on the effect of changing back to returnables, and been surprised. For example, i n the USA Pepsi Cola have actually set up a factory in Vermont to make them as a result o f the legislation there, and even the Aluminium Company of America do not now object t o legislation making a deposit mandatory. Coupling t h i s experience with the determination of the EEC to exert 'control' over packaging, the myopic attitude o f the industry in this country comes close to being inexplicable. Only time will reveal the tricks still up their sleeve, but at least some future sparkle in the controversy is guaranteed when the outcome of WMAC's research is known in a year's time. Richard

the truth hurts .

On rare occasions. valuable intributions are made to the debate. i r i s Thomas's 'Material Gains' ~blishedby FOEin 1974 is one ;ample,and another isprobably nergy studies relating to glass co hers', completed by the Open oiversity for the GMF in 1975. i i s is only 'probably' valuable beca sn't been published yet. When first onsored it was billed as a major study the energy used in packaging th it its entire life, from extraction to sposal. It i s known to contain among her things, a comparison of the 10 oz *returnable beer bottle with its turnable equivalent The excuses for not publishing

which does for the government wh INCPEN does for industry. Three years of namby-pamby committee inactivity have failed to achieve anything like a resource policy. The Council has become a laughing stock, with environb mentalists, independent academics and even the trade press all expressing cynicism. Part o f the explanation is easily found in the composition of the various committees. Take the Packaging and Containers Working Group, for instance, in which packaging and associated interests outnumber all others by nine to five. Even the civil servants have shown signs o f frustration with the bias o f the Group's deliberations. The Working Group spent the great part of 1977 discussing how to spend Â£50,00 or so on research that could inform a decision on the returnable/ noil-returnable container issue. Work i! now under way on determining the total costs over their lifetimes, o f the various types o f beer and soft drink containers, comparing each in terms of energy and raw materials use, economic costs and so on.

... .Suppress it .. .. If the glass makers are worn revealing that some o f their factories, for instance, the United Glass works at New Cross i n London, are desperately inefficient users o f energy, they don't need t o - it is already quite well known. Maybe they are worried about revealingthat, compared with a nonreturnable bottle, a returnable one saves energy - as soon as it has been refilled a couple of times. Or maybe they have another excuse. With these distractions it is easy t blink and miss what should be the real centre of activity: the Waste Management &Mory Council (WMAC)

.. 4"

potential problem, yet largest inter-connected authority in the world, km o f 400 k V transmiss asover 2100 km at 27 132 kV. With a much density It i s more likely that more peo are living close t o transmission lines than in the United States. The state o f the art is at the moment primitive. Indeed it i s an open question whether any significant biological effect o f electric or magnetic E L F fields has yet been demonstrated. There is an influential school o f thought which suggests %hatnonf'-tf&gftJbfiefl:z hfnting moreover -that tbe'r6aion'fs Clause there are none. On the other hand there is a sizeable, but inconsistent, body of evidence which suggests otherwise. ,

-Elf in the USSR

The most startling claims for the direcf effects of high electric fields come from Russia. 37 out of 45 workers in a 500 k V substation showed symptoms such as headaches, sluggishness, fatigue and sleepiness a f t e r k r k i n g in the station for several months. Disruptions o f the digestive and cardiovascular systems were also mentioned as was 'sexual weakness' in about a third of the cases. Medical examinations resulted in a diagnosis of neural pathology in 28 cases. * Function disruption of-lhe central nervous system in?26c&@wasdiagnosed on the basisof instabilities in the pulse and 'arterial blood pressure, excessive perspira6on and fine tremors of the extended hand. More severe vasomotor and seere-. tory disorders were found in four cases and the majority showed irregularities in electrocardiogram readings. Other finding included six cases of digestive tract . diseases and changes in white and red -blood cell populations. RADIOACTIVITY has been having a thin time of it lately but Science has In consequence, the Soviet Union h not yet lost the ability to conjure up insidious threats to outrage the ecouniqug in the-worid3ntrod logical consciousness. Pat Covne reports on the latest fwourite for the - tions; placifgtime limits to .--. paranoia stakes - Maxwell's twin demons: extremely tow frequency above 5 kV/m and a total b electric and magnetic fields (ELF) in fields above 25 kVIm. Evidence from other countries however THE UNITED STATES i s as usual ahead The immediate stimulus is the rapid generallyfalls to support the Soviet results." of the field since'in the good old US any 5--Thj?Tnosf thorough was the nine-year expansion of the US high-voltage trans- : threat to the environment has got to mean mission network and increasing public" 'study of ten American linemen, who money for myriad academics and 'concern about the possible harmful repair and maintain high voltage trans- lawyers. And money there is. The Electric mission wires and are regularly exposed effects to people exposed to electric fields Power Research Institute (EPRI) and the to fields of around70 kV/m. Extensive generated by the lines. Hearings before -Energy Research and Development medical examinations at the Johns the New York State Public Service ComAdministration (ERDA) have announced Hopkins Hospital i n Baltimore failed tc mission on the proposed conrtruction o f find any significant changes i n blood that they will be funding research o n a 150 mile 765 kV line, which have been ELF biological effects to the tune of going on since 1975, have concentrated chemistry or blood counts, or in fact any other abnormalities. Other studies in - ' $4 million. . on health and safety. The possibility of . biological effects has also been a key The military are also in on the act.The West Germany, Canada, France, Italy and issue on a proposed 400 k V dc line in Britain have so far not found any effects . US Navy has been sponsoring research . Minnesota and North Dakota. since 1970 in conjunction with Project * of high fields in switching station ~orkere.~, In Britain, on the other hand, both Seafarer. This is a project to cemmuniThe only evidence supporting the Soviet i public awarenessand research into p o s -~ cate with submarines using ELF radio results comes from Spain, where five of ible effects seem to be virtually noneight workers transferring t o a new 50C waves, which requires an aerial sited existent. Neither the Electricity Council over several thousand square miles o f kV power station reported headache ! -a fatigue and loss o f anpetite. , -3 Wisconsin. nor the CEGB are concerned about any

:?&A

-4

. ,.. i dash of evidence is not quite it might seem. The American line.-

while experiencing rather larger :Ids than t h e Soviet workers, were exssed for much shorter times, typicalty i l y a few minutes, and may have gainI protection by the use of screens, conactive clothing and gloves. Furthermore I the samples were small and it is quesanable how much significance can be ton any o f the results.

nimal Studies If evidence of the effects of electric elds in man is confusing then on animals, here there have been many more experits, it is positively bewildering and at .:s downright contradictory. I n general iese experiments have been carried out ith small samples, which makes them atistically unreliable, and many remain iconfirmed by other experimenters. But, nong the more disturbing effects report-

Electric Fields

THE CURRENT flowing in a wire generates both an electric and a magnetic field around it. In a high voltage trsaamission line, which in Britain would be at 400,000 volts (400 kV) but elsewhere could be up to 1100 kV, the electric field near the ground would be ty faalty 8-15 kilovolts per meter (kV/ ~eld will be alternating at either m). 50cyclesper second (Europe) or 60 cycles (USA). (1 cycle per second is conventionally called one Hen, abbreviated Hz). The field induces an electric current of about 100-200 microamperes (1 microamp = 1 millionth of an amp) in someone standing directly underneath which is normally too small to be felt although it may produce a slight tingling of the skin. It is much toss than the Smilliamps or so which would be necessary for a painful shock a the 60 mA which could produce fiUibration of the heart. Fields necessary to produce either would tie so large that they would break down the insulation properties of ail and spark to ground. Electric fields produced by appliances in the home are usually small, ranging from about 2V/m for a light bulb to 250 V/m for an electric blanket.

Magnetic Fields ~

w ~ ~decrease ~ ain body r pweights and a corresponding sharp increase in early mortality in the second and third generation of mice bred in a vertical field o f 15kV/m (up to 58% at 35 days). With a horizontal field the effect was much less.

Bone tumours in 8 out of 24 rats which had one femur exposed to ELF and DC fields of about 10 kV/m. No tumours were found in the unexposed femurs. e ~ i ~ n i f i c achanges nt in eiectroencephalogram (EEG) and electrocardiogram ' (ECG) readings of mice exposed to 100 kV/m fields. I s t r i k i n g l y increased incidence of glaucoma in rats exoosed to vertical DC fields of between 2.8 and 19.7 kV/m, probably caused by exacerbation of a pre-existing conditioi>(uveitis). )Mutagenic effects on the male chromosome of the fruit fly Prosophila. (This has been the subject of controversy and at least one subsequent study failed to find any mutagenic effects). )Alteration of blood proteins, steroid levels and fall in body weights of rats exposed for 30 days in a 15 kV/m 60 Hz field. Strong evidence of effects on the nervous system and reactions of monkeys, with a peak effect at about 16 Hz extending out to at least 75 Hz.

lagnetic Effects Magnetic fields too may affect biolog-

al systems. Indeed there i s some evithat magnetic fields associated ith electric currents may be of greater wironmental importance than electric ;Ids; the human body is an electrical inductor and AC electric fields are erefore concentrated at the surface body while the magnetic permeaa f tissue i s almost that of free space !rice

With magnetic fields the situation is reversed. The field produced by high tension wires is only a few tenths of a gauss (G), comparable with the earth's natural field of about 0.5G. Domestic appliances on the other hand can produce quite high fields, up to 2SG for a hair dryer or solder gun. Other typical values would he 6-10G for a fluorescent desk lamp or an electric shaver, 1-SG for a colour TV or an electric drill down to less than 0.01G for a refrigerator. The human body is an electrical conductor and the ac current induced by an electric field flows almost entirely on the outside of the body. throueh the skin. Magnetic fields, on the other hand, penetrate the body and can induce currents which flow in closed circuits inside the body. A 1C magnetic field induces the same current as a 2.5 kV/m electric field - so it can be seen that domestic appliances can be equivalent in the^ current causing effects to transmission lines. The electrical pathways in the two cases however are different

and the magnetic field reaches all parts of the body. (See panel). Evidence of the biological effects of ELF magnetic fields is also scattered and unsatisfactory but among effects reported are: Temporary raising of serum triglyceride and pre-beta lipoprotein levels in men by exposure to a 45 H~ 1~ field. This may be significant since elevated lipid levels are probably connected with arteriosclerosis. Poorer performance in te5ts of speed and accuracy in memorising numbers after a 24 hour exposure to a 1G 45 Hz field. Reduced growth and altered biological rhythms in mice caused by low (1-4G) inhomogeneous DC fields with mortality at 5500G after exposure for 10 days. Weak hemorrhaging in the lungs and testicles o f guinea pigs, together with

damage to the peripheral circulatory system after exposure to a 20% 50 Hz field. Other parts of the body affected included the kidneys, liver, lymph nodes, bone marrow h d eyes. On the other hand there i s also some evidence that magnetic fields can increase resistance to tumours. Mice exposed to a 4000G field showed slower growth of implanted tumours than control, unexposed mice, and the tumours were eventually rejected.

Elfin Ignorance , A t the moment there appears to be little pattern emerging from the scattered experimental work done so far. However, in one of the very few reviews of the field Asher Sheppard and Merril Eisenbud of the Institute of Environmental Medicine at the New York University Medical Center state that 'the one firm conclusion that emerges from a review of existing literature i s that relatively weak electric or magnetic fields are capable of evoking neurophysiological effects'. Stating that there appear to be effects is of course a long way from finding a cause. Stress may be involved in some of these phenomena, especial? ly those related to changes in the blood and hormonal and steroid levels. The tiny electric currents induced in the body by ELF fields may also affect cell differentiation and tissue regeneration. It is well known for instance that bone is a piezo-electric substance and that the electric currents produced by mechanical stress are instrumental in bone growth. Beyond those two possibilities all else appears to be conjecture. The evidence is so sparse and inconsistent that anybody's guess is as good as anybody else's. Clearly the situation is unsatisfactory. ELF electric and magnetic fields are so pervasive in an industrial society that it i s vital that their biological and psychological effects (if any) be known. The clear inconsistencies in experimental data suggest that any effects are likely to be both complex and subtle. They may be synergistic, other outside factors combining with the electric and magnetic fields. Field orientation may be important; there is evidence, mentioned above, that vertical electric fields have a more drastic effect on mice than horizontal. Then there is the question of thresholds. Are there duration and/or intensity limits below which these electric and magentic fields do not affect biological systems? Shoul^ other governments follow the Russian lead and impose exposure limits? The answer i s that we just do not know. The only thing that is clear i s that we in Britain appear to be less concerned about these questions than almost anyPat Covne body else.

'-'-

It'sdifficult, at least as far as we at' the centre' are concerned, to judge flier it's been a success on either '

4E UNDERCURRENTS NETWORK, started two years aoo. now mists of some fifty contact people scattered aroundthe country. T aim of the network is to provide a contact point for Undercurrent* d e n wishing to communicate with others in their ama-and to tMi a the contact people have lists of addressaof local subscribers. If IU write to the contact penon (please-SAE) they *be able put you in touch with other peoplelivingnear you. OVER THE PAST YEAR there have Ă&#x201A;ÂĽeattempts - for example by Sandy id Hilary Morrisonin Staffordshire and sb Paton i n Cambridge t o convene eaders Meetings, and we receive a ickle o f local news from the qwmbers ..'the network, some o f which findsa place in the 'In The Making'column

-or in the Eddies section. We welcome more locak news in

channel o f m m u

l i s t of contacts below upda*--

BASQUES CO-OPTED Â¥irker-ownersthe Mondragon Achievement. Alastair Campbell et a/. Anglo-German undation, St. Stephen's House, Victoria Embankment, London SW1. Â£2.9 69 pp. TATTY BITS o f 'pirate' photocopy material have been circulating around the irker co-op/AT scene for a long time now, about a community in the Basque Iuntry o f Spain called Mondragon. This has now emerged as a posh publication by e Anglo-German Foundation for the study of Industrial Society. The authors are Lt. Col. Alastair Campchain o f communication provided b y a I o f ICOM, Charles Keen o f Barclays social council. ' ' ink, and two ex-financial journalists, iraldine Norman and Robert Oakeott. They describe how an area the e o f Devon i s run by worker co-ops th a highly efficient Bank that ganises finance and management ills. Local savings are used, and local >our and needs given priority. It i s osperous and efficient and has not ily survived but grown i n the midst the repressive Franco regime. It i s e largest machine tool supplier in lain and pays a higher rate o f interest an commerical banks. The ratio tween the highest and lowest paid arkers cannot be greater than 3:l. I n e rare event o f unemployment 80% wages are paid until work i t found. stirement wages are a 100% of the it wage paid, and workers can take I their capital with them (if they leave ;fore this for private industry they se part o f the capital). All workers contribute capital (Â£800 You mieht expect t h i s 'soviet-style' 1000) although this can come from be apropaganda pad o-nly economy ages as they are earned. We understand for advocates o f 'workers-management', om contacts that Mondragon has a libertarian communism, syndicalists, early socialist bias and this maybe anarchists and the more enlightened end plains why young people are happy of the straight left. I n fact, the most w o r k as professionals i n the manageunlikely assortment o f capitalists, liberals ent at lower rates than they could get and social democrats see Mondragon as the private sector (workers earn more a potential cure for the ailing capitalist ,an elsewhere). The structure o f the svstem. I n the Financial Times o f Dec. 2, Â¥ganisatiois interesting; decisions are under . the ~ - heading . ~ ~Soain \ co-ouerative ade only by those who work in a cobuffer between &ital and ~ a b o u r I, regardless o f capital held, on a 'oneChristopher Lorenz reports how Mo an one vote' basis: 'Control o f the dragon has aroused the interest o f Sir iterprise is vested in the workers as a Arnold Weinstock, managing director of lnction o f work rather than capital GEC, and several bankers. Peter Jay vnership The entire workforce. is a passionate advocate (see The Times ects the. control board. which passim), The Guardian (October 28) did eets once a month, has the power to a full-page spread by star reporter 're and fire the top executives. They in Richard Gott, who on the one hand ~rn appoint middle management and knocks the left and on the other rec in dismiss them. This latter arrangement ' mends readers t o turn t o the 'Small important in controlling the kind of Business; page (which has articles t o larchic ganging up o n lower-level warm the heart o f all worker co-operaceuctives foreseen b y the Webbs. In tives, like how t o become a millionaire, trie larger co-operatives there is a parallel

.. ..

how t o register yourself company to fiddle tax and similar gems). Joe Grimond gave a press conference on his three day visit t o Mondragon and plans to introduce the idea into Shetland. A speaker from Fife at the Leeds Co-op Conference reported keen interest in Mondragon amongst local Tones, Labour, Liberal, Nationalist and Communist Party dignitoriesl You might well say, that with friends like this. who needs enemies? The position of'the ~ u t h o r s of the report is clear. They say 'The conflict o f interest between the workforce and management, which arises in conditions o f conventional capitalism and is perpetuated under nationalisation, is n o w widely recognised as damaging to industrial efficiency, a disincentive to investment and a source o f infiationary pressures. A t national level this is now posing the dilemma o f choosing between the evil o f unemployment and the evil o f inflation, with efforts to quell the latter leading to diminished rewards for effort, skill and initiative'. 1 t i s also indicative that in describing the Co-op movement in the U K they completely ignore the alternative and collective developments like SUMA, the wholefood warehouse for the North of England which has a quarter million pound annual turnover, the Northern Wholefood Co-ops which has 3 0 affili ted groups and the hundreds o f collectives organising everything from magazines t o farms. The UK co-operatives referred t o in the report are 'common ownership companies' with conventional management structures. Capitalism has often proved i t s ability to adapt socialist developments t o i t s own needs and i s often ahead of 'revolutionaries'. Clearly, worker co-operatives c o u l d either help absorb unemployment and inflation and weaken Trade Union organisation in the interests o f large capital, or form the basis o f an alternative socialist economy. We have discussed this problem with Marta Pinheiro.(author o f the article on Portugal in this issue.). She described how in Mexico the government actively encourages worker co-ops (with cash) i n order t o mop up unemployment and mystifies with populist propaganda the control of the primary areas o f the ecnnomv hv the multi-national,

Undercurrents 26

orporations and their local allies. We need clarity in understandingthis %sue.On the one hand the Mondragon elopment i s a socialist experiment ch we need to support, and can learn rom. On the other, we need to see how his development can be co-opted and d for reactionary purposes. Marta -.nted out how easily workers and leasants can see through a thoroughly eactionary regime like the Colonels' lhile, whilst the populist Mexico fools nany. Clearly, a poktically conscious

. --.

'British Mondragon' would be sowing the seeds for dual-power and paving the way for socialism. Equally a naive movement would unwittingly shore-up a system that has long outgrown any contribution to civilisation. In fact Marx (or was it Lenin) thought it had positively grown rotten. Either way, Undercurrents and its readers need to study this contradiction, especially since thestraight left has so far ignored, or abhorred, such issues. o ht h a t

Community Spirits-- '

asic Communities- Towards an Alter~tiveSociety. David dark, Society for romotian o f Chrisitian Knowledge, 5.50. 329 pp. what ,community,? what, indwd, Â¥'basic' communities?The label i s getng close to becoming dysfunctional, in be way that labels have; and one wonders whether David Clark Would not have been wiser to start the other way round with the kind of discussion about the values towards which an alternative ~cietymight be striving with which he ids the book.

is* of coursel editorbyof'ONE 'Community'1 ieHe magazine sponsored for Christian Renewal'. So he is i n a uoi-que^-, position to produce this book, in which -'-he aims both to identify, analyse and *%ourage the work of those who are wg* in nwdinwmbns of i m m u n i t y ' for the sake of their bearing a new mode' church andsociew' On In his first.cha[iter, David Clark does s best to-clarify hisuse o f the concept uicommunity,'in a way which takes aCCWnt of both sociological and theologanda m p o n s He it as consisting in the sense of personal significance and interpersonal solidarity experienced by, its members: i.e. as fundamentally their own claim about a t they v e r t h e e s there are criteria about behaviour ('fruits') which can be used to evaluate the claim, as indeed David Clark does. It is in fact

mindthe Sex Pistols

here

---

1988: the new wave Punk Roots'Explosion. Caroline Coon. Orbach and Chambers Â£1.95 128 pp.

very sense of truly personal significance, 'THE HIPPY MO VEMENT was a faiiua together with the complementary and All the hippies around nowust represent inseparable possibility of greater intercomplete apathy. There'sa million good personal solidarity, which he sees as t h ~ rasonswhy the.thing failed, OK, ~ ~ t t h e . central value of an alternative form o f only thing we've got to live with is that It society. failed. At feast you tried. But I'm not His analysis therefore takes into interested in why It failed. I'll jeer at account avariety o f indicators o f such h~ppiesbecause that's hefpfut. They'll gowth, But he is also well aware that realize they 're stuck in a rut and maybe any valid work on 'models' for society they'llget out of it: Joe Strummer. The . must take account o f aspects of organisaClash. tion and structure within both small and 'They were so complacent. They let It

~~~~~~~~~~

- $ ~ $ ~ ~ ~ l ~ $ ~ ~ ~ ; ; dok time.-Yeah man, peace and rove: a1 style (hierarchical, cbarismatic,.'h~fia~hn,t let mything affect you. Let it walk _ .^ ' . "relations'etc.)' ' all over you but don't stop it'. We say - neG perspective~-supplythe iramebollocks! I f it offendsyou, stop it '. work within which he prod to de+ Johnny Rotten. Th-x Pistols. cribe and analyse, in varying degrees of 'Polltta, as the word describes itself, depth, over 150'biislc communities' - hi mans grey m m Tq,k which he includes both residentially carl m p o ~ ~ b &"@nces le - R ~ ~ ~dm,t~ & . porate pcommunities,), groups and think about that stuff Ifust think about networks, which have t h i s characteristic who's doing what to me and what I'm Of in going to do about If. That's what I call Clearly, some set of criteria was polities'. Joe Strummer. The dash. essential in order to allow any kind o f Caroline Coon, co-founder o f Release mlysis of what explorations amount and rock critic for the'Melody Maker has t o I n the event, this analysis emerges as . p^ together a glossy anthologyof punk useMmd balanced, and this is an im* Rock. It'sbiased. She has, in company mse feat, bearing mind the huge - * withjohn Peel, been converted tothe amount and variety of material with which N~~wve punks can do no wrong. ~ e r he is working. Nevertheless, there does enthusiasm i s contagious - if uncritical. remain a feeling o f breathlessness, and o f seminagts to convincf you that the* New Wave is the natural heir t o the '60's underground. patches do mt always mrry up. 'We've got another Underground a1 I s it that there is jbst too much to digest? last. waited seven years for $he quotes a young fan as saying. Well, mayber so. Although as one Punk Fanzine put it -, 'there have been more articles on punk .than records or gigs', the explosion of enthusiasm for the new music and style can't just be put down as a media hype. It has to beseen to be believed. And if ulation of more discan't - or won't - do that, then tfu'sj you ion is one of the book will give you a taste o f what's aims of the book. ity and dependence, and about imtJtutwn-

~~~~~~ gther hi*

-:.

-72

on.

;runwick. Joe Rogaly. Penguin 80p. SINCE AUGUST 1976, a small photoirocessing company i n the narrow treets near Dollis Hill tube station has )een the scene o f one o f the longest ind most important industrial struggle )f recent years. A good cheap book ibout Grunwick is much needed. Jnfortunately this is not it. Rogally does give an outline o f the acts that led t o the walkout: the ow wages, poor conditions and wnpulsory overtime experienced )y what was believed t o be a subserfient, predominantly Asian and Vest Indian workforce; and the uthoritarian and paranoiacally antiinion management. He also describes he history o f the company, and the oles o f the union, the NAFF, and he Brent Trades Council, and gives 1 good resume o f the legal machinaions surrounding the dispute. This i s as far as the book goes. Vhile he's happily joining together Iress cuttings he's on safe ground, >uton any other level the book i s a allure. He gives a pretence o f objectivity ind depth, but the assumptions and he superficiality become increasingly )bvious. While APEX, Ward and the qAFF are given space to express their iews, the strikers, the people at the ieart o f the dispute, are only heard i a the Scarman Tribunal. A few vords and phrases really give the ;ame away: the pickets are 'angry', he police are 'sometimes patient, ometimes rough'; class conflict 'is at he heart o f the British disease'; the xtra-parliamentary left is dismissed is 'lunatic fringe groups'; mass picketng is 'a farce'; the trades council Ecomes the 'Brent Connection'. Rogaly's motives are the key t o he book. He is attacking the 'New establishment', which t o him is the -abour government-TUC alliance vhich is turning Britain into a corporitist state. He is also seeking t o outlaw he closed shop, to support the private ector'and t o get a Bill o f Rights idministered by a Supreme Court, ncorporating legislation t o bring ndustrial disputes completely within he control o f the legal system. I n creating this bogey o f the 'new 'stablishment', the realities o f whose bower he doesn't investigate, Rogaly ompletely ignores the virtual castraion o f the TUC since 1974, by the ame Labour government t o which it s supposed t o be allied. Nor does he omprehend the separation between

the leaders o f both party and unions and sections o f their rank and file rters, o f which the Grunwick te i s a prime example. Bill o f Rights, i s simply a means tting a tame union movement, disputes settled in court, before a judge, reducing rank and file activity in the factories and the streets t o a bare minimum. But he fails t o even ask himself whether this would work in such an explosive situation as the

one at Grunwick in August 1976. This book denies the experiences o f the Grunwick strikers and ignores the questions that it poses. I t is little more than a shoddy vehicle for Rogaly's peculiar and at times completely incoherent ideas, aimed at makine the land safe for small private industry. Perhaps this i s only t o be expected from a writer on the Financial Times, but the Grunwick strikers deserve better. John Burkitt

The Soybean Grow and Cook Book R.G. Whisker & Pamela Dixon. Gerald Duckworth. Â£1.00 Bean Cuisine Beverly White. Routledge & Kegan Paul Â£2.50 'IT IS UNLIKELY that nearly eight hundred million Chinese are wrong', says Ray Whisker, referring t o the part played by the humble soy bean in the solution o f China's food problem. In 1968 he set o u t t o discover the possibilities o f cultivating the soy bean i n the unsuitable English climate. The story i s one o f success and this book contains basic instructions t o the ordinary gardener on how t o go about it and what t o expect. Complemented by a selection o f suitable recipes for using your soybeans once you have grown them, this book will be o f practical use t o those trying to move away from a meat-based diet.

Beverly White's book is subtitled 'a culinary guide t o the eco-gourmet' and is an attempt t o raise the humble bean, in all i t s many varieties, to a higher place on the nation's table. The book contains basic instructions for cooking beans (including how t o avoid flatulence - useful if you move in sensitive circles) and a wide variety o f recipes both plain and exotic with suggestions for whole menus. The recipes all use American measurements which can be confusing t o the English cook as n o t all the equivalents are given, and the suggested cooking times seemed t o me t o be vastly overestimated when I tried some o f the recipes. If you want t o know what t o d o with your beans however, this book is full o f good suggestions for exciting meals. Rosemary Randall

a.~^Â£-.-ff"

Medical Hubris: A Reply t o Ivan Illich, Horrobin, D.F., Eden Press, Montreal, pp.146, Can $9.00. Health, the Mass Media, and the National Health Service, Best, G., Dennis, J . and Draper, P., Unit for the Study of Health Policy,'Guy's Hospital Medical School, pp. 146, Â£2 THESE TWO BOOKS have i n common a concern with health, and one major erroneous premise. Dr. Horrobin purports to give a page-by-page refutation t o Ill ich's Medical Nemesis. In fact, apart from, for example, incorrectly stating that once its dangers were realised the use of chloramphenicol in medicalised countries was restricted to typhoid and that doctors are very much in favour o f breastfeeding, and misquoting Donne, what he does i s mostly t o retail the same anti-lllich arguments as have figured in medical journals for the past three years. Dr. Horrobin seems not fully to have grasped Illich's concept o f social iatrogenesis, or his attitude t o pain (which is true o f most doctors); and although doctors may criticise the medical profession in medical journals, the latter are not read by the general public. His book won't raise a ripple in Cuernavaca. Dr. Draper and his colleagues provide a critique o f the mass media, and in

The Candle Mystery

Now for the common error. Dr. Horrobin discusses Illich as he might a clinical report in the British Medical Journal, He has not grasped the fa that Illich writes by choice, not as research scientist, but as a seer/ prophet. That is why his diagn w much under the skin o f the

scientists: he saw farther than they are capable o f seeing. Above all, in this reviewer's opinion, he saw that the profession's malaise was but one aspect o f the deep sickness o f our western technological society, a sickness for which Illich au fond sees no remedy. Dr. Draper and his colleagues appear themselves t o sense that a similar fallacy impregnates their own book. They have little hope that the improvements they suggest for the mass media will be accepted; but they do not come out and say what would be true, that whu. is needed i s not some tinkering with the BBC and ITA, some injection o f government money into Fleet Street, but a radical rethinking o f the whole structure of western technological society. It i s only within the context o f the implied corresponding radical societal change that those changes in the rnodus operand! o f the mass media will be secured that they rightly think desirable. (In fact. o f course. in such a context the mass media might vanish altogether.) They can see i n relation t o an individual trying, say, t o give up smoking that he has great difficulty because o f the massive contrary pressures upon him; but they have not applied a similar argument to the mass media. They did, however, give me a new word, 'oligopolistic', which I hope t o throw at any oligopolist I happen t o spot in future. John S. Bradshaw

Tuning in to Nature. Philip S. Callahan Routledge and Kegan Paul. 240 pp. Â£4.95 AS TV AERIALS sprout more and more elements t o capture ever higher frequencies, they more and more resemble the elaborate antennae o f moths. Philip S. Callahan noticed this while he was stationed in Ireland as a radio technician during the war, but it was not until somi years later that he found that the feathery, visible antennae were simply supports for the real receptors which were as small as a few millionths o f a metre. Using his own brand o f lateral thinking, 'reverse bionics' (the study of technology as a guide to understanding nature) he reasoned that they would be tuned to a part o f the infra-red band, but at the time there was no way to generate just these frequencies and few instruments could even detect them. Substituting brainpower and painstaking experimentation for expensive analytic equipment (usually associated with impoverished British scientists), he went on t o demonstrate convincingly that insects do use modulated infra-red radiation to locate their mates and places t o lay their eggs.

The diagrams o f the field round a female moth show a pattern which guides its partner i n like an aircraft landing system. Candle flames and camp fires produce similar beacons, and some electronic lures are even more irresistibie. As the author says: There is one final practical advantage t o such an insect control device, in addition to its ability t o attract only the selected species to which i t is tuned: I t can be turned off when n o t in use. That is precisely what is wrong with insecticides they cannot be turned off! Callahan's enthusiasm for anything even remotely connected with his subject is both a strength and a weakness o f the book. The style is very easy t o read, but in his eagerness to get his ideas on paper he tends t o get things out of order and some of the photographs and diagrams have inadequate captions, so you have to do a lot o f page turning t o study the related text. It's worth it, though, and if you got a book token for Christmas this would be the ideal way t o use it. Let's hope botanists will be inspired by it to find o u t why plants have similar receptors Dave Kanner

particular their handling o f the health aspects o f three issues: the 1976 DHSS publication 'Prevention and Health: everybody's business' (that is, as one wag rightly put it, 'nobody's business'); the phasing out o f private beds from the DHS; and the Department of the Environment's 1976 consultative document, 'Transport Policy'. They find the mass media remiss in all three cases, and correctly so, even though their prose is o f the sociological kind. The message that health does not come from high technology (especially not from high-technology medicine), but from environmental change has not, they correctly indicate, got home. There is some analysis of how the mass media work, within what constraints, and with what virtues; and suggestions are made as t o how they might be improved t o alter their admittedly unsatisfactory treatment o f health matters.

TYGER Tl"-'he Woodburning Book, Practical Selfl~fficiency.Broad Leys Publishing Ã‡pp Â£.oo. 'he Woodburners Encyclopedia, Shel ton and Shapiro, A.B. Vermont Crossroads 'ress, $6.95. food Heat, Vivian, 1. Rodale Press, Â£5.75

I'VE BEEN thinking a lot about tigers ately. Those o f the Undercurrents' eadership who don't spent a large porion of their day talking and thinking bout the alternative society and how o straighten out the damaged hub o f he Elektro, but instead got on with the iaking and gardening whilst conversing {ith a two year old who i s pretending to ie a tiger may recognise the following onversation: Me, in poetic mood) 'Tiger, Tiger burning bright' Him, adamantly) 'No, brightly' Me, tentatively) 'In the forest of the night?' Him, more adamantly) 'No, in the middle o f the night'. have no comment t o add t o this grammaical correction o f Blake but it was at his moment that it suddenly came t o ie that in the never ending l i s t s o f availble wood stoves in both the U K and he USA I have been reading for this eview, there is n o model called 'The. iger'. What a hitherto missed opportun.y this is for middle-class artistically biasd advertising in a campaign t o link two scent revivals, that o f interest in Blake tith a like resurrection of interest in eating with a wood stove. The public iterest in wood stoves has increased ven faster than the rate at which the ~orld'sforests are felled. The profusion f literature now available for those tho contemplate heating with wood . a witness t o the popularity o f the ichnology which seems t o have taken particular hold with readers of the bily Telegraph earning more than 10,00O/annum. Such were the people t the exhibition of wood stoves held icently at the London Building :entre:'Well, you know how i t is, large armhouse in Sussex, just can't afford 3 heat i t any more'. I can recommend The Woodburning 'ook t o these folk, for what could be etter than to mull over a long list o f ossible moneysaving stoves, one or vo o f which are under Â£10 at the me o f publication, whilst leaning ack against the gas-fired radiator sipn g the first gin o f the evening. There a brief introduction t o the theory f wood-burning but the remainder a l i ~nf t available equipment, mostly

stoves with some fireplaces, ranges and boilers, with suppliers' or manu facturers' addresses and some prices and rated outputs. The latter are not all in consistent units for direct comparison and this gave the book an air o f having been assembled in a hurry, a feeling which i s augmented by the mixture o f photographic and drawn illustrations. A t the other extreme for gatherers of wood-burning information is the Woodburners Encyclopedia, whose first section on wood and stove theory is a long, slow, smouldering read, outlasting by days the brief flare o f the PSS booklet. However, the theory is followed by a similar list of appliances available in the USA, plus a series o f charts setting out the manufacturers' information in comparative form. It is a hard cover t o cover read but the facts on the theory o f combustion, chimneys, stove efficiency, fuel wooa and many others are all covered. molecule by molecule and kW by kW and the index is good. Although I have run our j d t u l by rule o f thumb for 4 years without any o f this knowledge, listening t o i t and learning what noise various conditions o f draught and burn make, it is fascinating to know what for instance, causes back-puffing - we once found out what were the visible facts o f this sort o f slow explosion and in retrospect comforting t o learn that very few accidents h a v i e v ~ r

resulted from it. The 'alternative science as set out in the Encyclopedia hasn't the levity o f some o f the New Alchemists' writing but is more in the style of traditional scientific text watered down for the lay freak. Unfortunately, this means that i t is not rigorously subheaded and subsectioned, leading to some long and often hard t o follow prose, but as a reference book i t must be recommenc ed. In the second section of the book, although the editor states that all the facts were obtained from the manufacturers and only those manufacturers who paid a fee could be illustrated, therefore giving an incomplete picture, a little thought could have avoided a statement such as: 'Btu rating; 5 kW'. However, perusal o f the apparently never ending tables did reveal a stove, new to the markfet, which emphasised the consumer appeal o f the whole subject: the Vermont Iron Stove Works are producing 'The Elm' with body finish given as 'black, with chromium trim'. Like the Woodburners Encyclopedia, Wood Heat is written by a person directly experienced in wood burning and his practical knowledge has led t o chapters on cutting timber and cooking over an open, space-heating fireplace. Although far less scientific in outlook than the Woodburners Encyclopedia, the practical grounding of the author gives clear and easy t o follow guidelines with a great deal o f emphasis placed on safe installations and running techniques. Where the author does not know how t o do a thing he says so and advises a reader similarly lacking in skill to consult an expert. There is a very good chapter on assessing an existing chimney for its suitability for use with a stove, with methods for repairing and improving such chimneys; most of the building details for stove installations described in the book refer to the typical wood-framed American house rather than the normal masonry constructio o f this country. Wood Heat has by fa1 the best pictures, as they are clear line drawings and a chatty and easy to read text. Unfortunately, the author is no adherent to alternative philosophy but rather clings to the sad ethic o f each for himself: 'Some experts are predicting times as hard as pioneer days ahead as the world runs short of everything you can think of except hungry people. But those of us with a few acres cleared, and a good store o f corn and bean seed, our iron pots, a stove and the wood to cook with will sail throuqh ', n r ^lose who wish to know the exact 41

Undercurrents26

emperature ot the tire from the colour >fthe flame seen every time the stove loor is opened then the Woodburners 'dopedia will give the answer together much practical detail. However, if )k i s needed as a guide t o installing, and harvesting the fuel for a wood tove, then Wood Heat i s an excellent nanual that will supply all the informaion required with a good emphasis on afety. Besides, I sympathise with the uthor as his children 'help' him split

and saw wood for the stove, thus more than doubling the need for concentration and care. Any wood stove, however, will be a living part o f the household and it i s right that children should be involved in the technology o f running it; which brings me back t o children and tigers and the vision of the two-toned striped 'Tyger' (registered trade mark) purring away warmly i n the night-filled sitting room. Brenda Vale

YOU SHALL BE A

CHILD

OF THE MOTHER AS OF OLD, AND YOUR FACE

WILL NOT

BE TURN

FROM V Woman Borne: Motherhood as xperience and Institution Adrienne ich; Virago; 318pp; Â£2.50 A M A N said to me that I should have hildren; that maybe I was afraid o f omeslicity? Me, domestic - what 'about iy mind? For solace I went to a

i e floors and the furniture; that she ad tried to be as self-sufficient as ossible for the last two years. GradualI, too, began t o put my energy into ~y home and into m y garden and one ay I realised that I had found my lace outside o f the patriarchy. And ien I had my baby! Adrienne Rich chose t o write a carned book on Motherhood as Experience and Institution and Virago "iose to publish it without a single holograph of mothers with their iildren - for whom? My baby i s now ve months old and it was, oh, such a niggle to wade my way through the otes at the bottom o f the pages, )rough the numbers telling o f the aoks she had read (and one cannot ~tbe impressed with the number). ich still partly believes in male thinkig (in the Sun God) t o have written ich a scholarly book. A woman who uly believes in herself as a woman ho knows that the way o f woman is Jr only way - would have written a mple, clear book and would still have lent four years writing it. And women ould read it and read it again until i e day they would understand the mnliritv of a sentence that could

perhaps change the meaning o f their??'. ..~ lives. Yet she cannot completely suppress Rich the poet and gives us this joyous vision of motherhood: 1 ' remember one summer, living in a friend's house in Vermont. My d was working abroad for weeks, and m y three sons ven and five years o l d - and for most o f that time by ourselves. Without a male adult in the house, without any reason for schedules, naps, regular mealtimes, or early bedtimes so the two parents could talk, we fell into what Ifelt to be a delicious and sinful rhythm. I t was a spell o f unusually hot, clear weather, and we ate nearly all our meals outdoors, hand-to-mouth; we lived half-naked, stayed up t o watch bats and stars and fireflies, read and told stories, slept late. Iwatched their slender little-boys' bodies grow brown, we washed in water warm from the garden hose lying in the sun, we lived like castaways o n some island o f mothers and children. A t night they fell asleep without murmur and Istayed up reading and writing as Ihad when a student, till the early morning hours. Iremember thinking: This is what living with children could be - without school hours, fixed routines, naps, the conflict o f being both mother and wife with n o room for being, simply myself. This i s why her book should be read. She has known the Earth Goddess.. Fiona Cantell

Colin Tudge is a Maoist, a gourm and science editor o f World Medicine, which despite being a free sheet paid for by drug ads is easily the best read among the thirty odd journals that we get. So I had high hopes o f his first book. Sadly, it is a disappointment, not so much an intellectual feast as a hodge podge o f ideas, ill-seasoned by a patronising and sexist style, viz. Chapter 6: What Kindfif Man are You?, and padded out with verbal polyfilla containing no intellectual nourishment at all. When will publishers learn that commissioning this kind o f pot-boiler from busy iourndists is a mistake? The pity.of il is that lurking in it are some modest and sensible, but given the status quo revolutionary, proposals for solving the problem o f world hunger: local selfsufficiency; more beans and less meat3easant cuisine instead o f steak bars; more allotments and less agribusiness; ;tc. However, anyone who wishes to nform themself about them would d( setter t o go to the original sources: Mell anby's Can Britain Feed Itself? [Merlin Press 1975); Blaxter's article af the same title in New Scientist, March 20 1975; Kropotkin's Fields, Factories and Workshops Tomorrow [Allen & Unwin 1975); and Best and Award's The Garden Controversy (Wye College 1956). It i s typical o f the book that this ieminal study is cited b u t no referenct :o it is given. Tudge entirely misses i t s Â¥elevanct o the politics o f land use in 3ritain and its value i n countering the ipurious arguments p u t forward by th.ipologists for the rural rich that their precious agricultural acres' are much :oo valuable to be used t o provide decent iomes with gardens for the urban poor. Nhen he finally, on the last page but me, outlines his faith in marxist centralsed planning (it is well known, o f course, tiat Soviet agriculture is one o f the iriumphs o f Socialism!) one does not know whether t o laugh or cry. Tudge thanks a host o f friends at the start o f t h i s book; he'd have been better served if one o f them had told him that more than good intentions and a file o f press cuttings are needed rn write a useful book. Chris Hutton Squire

current

ROUND UP The second number of Homegrown, tain's answer t o High Times, has peared (40 pp. 50p; Phoenix Distribuin). The cover makes a pleasing conrsation piece for your coffee table but e inside is a disappointment. The gutis cowards who edit it have suppressed 'eview of books on growing your own ipe (incitement, y'know); instead we ve articles in praise o f speed, cocaine, . Don't want t o frighten the advertisers, Sigmund Freud remarked, shit = sney. This i s not only wet but amounts fraud given the mag's title. They auld have called it Humbug. If you see pe as a commodity and want t o know w t o enrich yourself by cornering the irket in giant fag papers, then this i s i paper for you. Those who regard it as 'ree gift o f a benevolent creator should i d their bread t o Release for a sub t o ws Release(E2.50 for 4 issues; distr. by i PDC) to strength; the current issue in/Mar) features the background t o the ;ent unexpected retirement o f top cop r t Wickstead (though it must be said at this article is irritatingly oblique, no u b t t o keep the libel writs away). Also )m Release (1 Elgin Ave. W9) is the lat: o f their drug education pamphlets, ,rain & Opiates (1Op + sae); a clear d useful account that based on their tensive practical experience, it should compulsory reading for the media k who thoughtlessly perpetuate the k-myth o f the Big H without ever Bubling themselves by looking at the ts. Community Health Council activist ould get themselves a copy o f Health Hackney by the City and Hackney CHC 5p in stamps plus large sae from 210 ngsland Road, London E2 8EB), a guide the health service in the area from lortion to the Young People's Advisory inic, illustrated by photos by the Hacky Flahsers Collective and cartoons by 'lly Donnison. Lots o f people don't use e services they are entitled t o because ey don't know about them and it's en nobody's business to tell them; mey are o u t to change this. The CHCs are what i s left o f popular control o f the ...is; they have little executive power t they do have some money and the ,ht t o demand information; this exllent booklet shows what can be done th very little if the will is there. The Politics o f Technology (Boy le, iott & Roy, Longmans Â£4. 5 338 pp) 1 Set Book for the Open University's w Control o f Technology Course. Easily i best things in it are Colin Ward's pendix t o his edition o f Kropotkin's

Fields, Factories and Workshops Tomorrow arid Peter Harper's essay on Autonomy from Radical Technology. The rest is bloodless academese, well worth a miss, except for a fine piece o f purple prose from Tony Benn. The neo-marxist bias of the editors is clearly revealed by what they omit; nothing here about overmannine or 'employmentism', hardly even a mention o f automation or cut throat competition from the Third World. In the paper today one can read o f the scandal of the Polish ship deal, a year's work purchased for 8,000 men at a direct subsidy o f Â£4,00 a man, o f British Steel's plans t o shut part o f Port Talbot, o f how British Airways may be forced to buy British planes they don't want, o f a domestic android that may make servants redundant, and how natural gas may be a 'curse in disguise' for the Dutch by so hardening the guilder as t o price them out o f world markets. This is the messy reality o f technical progress (a term not used in this book; why not?) capitalism without technical progress would rapidly turn into a network o f cosy more-orless dozy co-ops o f the kind favoured by the editors of this book; a case o f wishful thinking perhaps? but the only way it can be studied is by looking in detail at particular cases. Rhetoric is no substitute for the kind o f detailed information regularly provided by, for example, the Financial Times or the specialist press. Not that the F T is without fault; it has a heavy-handed editor whose sacking o f Gordon Tether, author o f the long running Lombard column, has led t o almost equally lengthy hearings before an Employment Tribunal. Happily Tether has now published the pieces that the Editor spiked before he was sacked as a pamphlet (75p post free from the author at Hetheringstoke, Lawfords Hill Road, Worplesdon, Surrey). Apart from an above average number o f jabs at the EEC it's hard t o see why these particular columns should have been singled out for censorship. Perhaps some conspiracy theorist can explain? John Seymour's latest polemic (Bring Me My Bow, Faber & Faber Â£1.9 159 pp) i s similarly long on opinion and short on evidence, perhaps with some justification in his case as he's already written several very practical books and useful guides. The best thing in i t is John's plan for the conversion o f the Dartington estate to organic farming, though he doesn't say if it has been accepted. Perhaps the trustees are so busy trying t o keep the Vole alive they've no time or money for such a scheme. Yet more undiluted opinion from d ~ who the irrepressible ~ e d Goldsmith, has reprinted (by public demand no doubt!) a selection o f his editorials from

the Ecoloqist illustrated bv cartoons from ~ i c h a r dWillson (The Doomsday Fun Book, The Ecologist Press Â£2.4 86 pp). The cartoons are marvellous fun; the editorials less so. Teddy is convinced that we're damned i f we do, damned if we don't; all these pieces show is that like the Bourbons, in seven years he's learnt nothing and forgotten nothing. And now he's turning the Ecologist into two Ho hum. A relief t o turn t o The Declining Otter: A Guide t o its Conservation (Angela King et a/, FOE Otter Campaign, Yew Tree Cottage, Chaffcombe, Chard, Somerset 78p post free 63 pp) for a straightforward and unpretentious account o f the life and habits o f these rarely seen mammals. An order was made in November t o put the otter under the protection o f the Conservation o f Wild Creatures Act but FOE are now working for a Private Member's Bill (drafted, for some reason, by the Students' Union of Brighton Tech) to give otters the same protection as badgers and human beings (i.e. only the State will be allowed t o kill them). Anyone who would like to help should get this pamphlet and start lobbying.

ONLY' ROTTERS HUNT OTTERS A

The strange case of the hunt sabote car highlights the growing capacity o f computerized filing systems. I n this ca a police officer checking a car at a sen station on the M6 was told that the ov was 'anti blood sports'. When he heard later o f the desecration o f John Peel's grave he was able t o p u t two and two together unaided, and inform the appr priate force. What is disturbing about t masterly piece o f detection is how the membership list o f the Hunt Saboteurs Association got onto the files and why. tn the NCCL's publication Privacy, The Information Gatherers (Â£1.2 fro1 NCCL, 186 Kings Cross Rd, WCl), Patricia Hewitt explains i n grim detail how gossip, social workers' opinions a old school reports can get on file and t accessed b y almost anyone except you and me. Many o f these details could bi wrong, but until the NCCL's 'Right to Know' campaign succeeds i n getting a new law passed we won't know, and couldn't change them if we did. Chris Hutton Sql

COMMUNITY TECHNOLOGY WORKSHOP

SOME-PEOPLE-IN-LEICESTEI3 SOME-PEOPLE-IN-LEICESTER are looking for some more thoughtful people who are 'quietly committed to building tomorrow's world today-not only by their personal lifestvies but by helping t o set up cultural. financial and ideoloaical frameworks which a completely alternative society might use. 'Our starting point', they say, 'is two connected houses in Leicester which are already in use as a radical base. Both 'householders' are closely invoJved with several groups: with People in Common (a housing/livinglworking co-op based in Burnley); with the Parallel Cultures Group (an ideas group attempting t o spell out and explore the total theory of culture building); with the efforts now being made to set up alternative financial structures (including a buiiding society and a 'co-op of co-ops' on Land Trust principles); and with the gentle 'third way* radicalism now starting t o gain world-wide support.' Their local objective is a loose, scattered, mainly urban collective based on the three principles of (1) Common ownership (or rather stewardship), (2) Fairly shared effort and income, and (3) Some measure of sharedinvolvement with al. members of the group, Theyaim to become a local resource, cultural activities centre and t o have close links with those around them while ignoring the established institutions such as councils, trade unions etc. I f you are prepared t o make a longterm commitment to the East Midlands and agree with the ideas and activities describes above, please get in touch with: Some-People-In-Leicoster,83/85 Evinwton Road, Laicester.

DESIGNIFARMING CO-OP A group of designers are attempting to set up a rurally based design1 farming co-op. They want to attain a high degree of self-sufficiency in terms of food and enerav, t o explore and develop alternative technology. and incorporate these ideas into the property and farmngaspects, and t o establish a multidisciplinary team t o develop and work on manufacturing projects in the community's workshops. The type of property t h e y propose is either a farm or a small mill with peripheral buildings, and Provision for buiiding further units on the land-ranging from self-contamed flats to a degree of communliving but retaining the family unit. The parts of the country they are looking at are primarily the Wetsh Border areas. The group have produced a 25page outline brief on the project and would like t o hear from prospectjve members. Richard Chadwick, 62 A l l Saints Rd, Kings Heath, Birmingham.

IN THE MAKING 5, the 1978 edition of our 'Directory of Co-operative Projects' will be out very soon. It's bigger than

ITM 4, and contains articles, project entries, information, reviews, contacts and an index covering the last two years. There's loads of new entries and information, so it's well worth looking at even if you have already got a copy of ITM 4 or see the the ITM pages in Undercurrents. Among the articles in ITM 5 are two which describe what happened in two projects which went wrong, (Unit 58 and Thuleprint); two about working in collectives (Uhuru and Pulse), and another about the possibilitiesfor 'worthwhile work'. We've included a few of the many entries in ITM 5 on this page to give you a taste of what's going on, and, as before, we'll be publishing information about co-operative projects as soon as we receive it. So if there's a project you think we should know about, please write to us at the address below.

CRAFT V I L L A A NEWLY formed groupcalled 'The Association for the Develooment of a Cradt Village and centre for Charities' have a detailed proposal for setting up a new village at an old army camp near Oswestry. The camp covers a total of about 260 acres of wood and farmland, plus extensive outbuildings. Part of the site would be sub-let t o craftspeople, each having their own living accommodation, workshop, and share of retail shoo. noth her part would provide facil; ties for charities, preferably local

organisations. It has been suggested thatithe project should be set up as a housing co-operative andlor an industial co-operative. Alternatively it might consist of a federation of small co-operatives under the urnbrella of a charitable trust. They ahve had an encouraging response from craftspeople and charities, including the Centre for Alternative Technology. Anyone interested should write to: Park Hall Craft Village, 48 Abingdon Villas, London WB. (01-240 1154).

Despite a larger directory, and rising printin we have been able to keep the price of I T M as before. Subscribers receive copies of the I T M Directory plus updating supplements as soon as The rates are: Ordinary Subscript Donation Subscription (if you can afford it)

Â£ (US 84) Single copies of I T M 5 cost 60p plus 15p for post and packing. Back copies of I T M 4 and I T M 3 (including supplements) are available for 60o and 350 resoectivelv. dus 150 oost and packing. All mail to: I N THE MAKING, c/o Acorn, 84 Church Street. Wolverto Milton Keynes, Bucks. Â£

Overseas Rate

THE COMMUNITY Technology Workshop, being set up in Oxford, is looking for workers. Its aims are: to research, develop and produce AT; to teach skills; to run a tool library and supply technical help t o those parts of the comminity that need help. The workshop would be run as a non-profit co-op. People interested, especially women, need have no experience in workshops, only the desire t o learn, t o get on with many different people, and take over management of their own work, ridding themselves of normal work attitudes. This could not at first be a paying job; the group are in the process of raising money, but would later pay at negotiated rates. I f interested, contact: A h x i Clarke, Community Technology Workshop, 29 Casth Street, bxford. Tel. 48805.

STRATFORD CHRIS MATTINGLY WRITES: I am setting up a group at the moment with a view to purchasing a large house near Stratford-onAvon. suitable for an East Beraholt type community. i am a founder member of Postlip and have assisted several other groups in the formative stages. My two children are now veterans of communal living and are both useful members n their own right. I am a civil engineer by profession and have con: rerted and even built houses for m\ family before (and in the 18. months since) Postiip. I f the house is secured it is in 304- acres of water meadow and woodland, is of ectreme Victorian Gothic architecture and would, with the adjacent stable block, house 50 or more people and provide many of them with income bv wav of its existing use for jazz music, disco and restaurant. Its proximity to Stratford gives a wide scope for income, from billeting tourists, through theatre work and seasonal tourist services. to full-time employment in industry in a fairly prosperous area. Chris Mattingly, Barrow Hill Fami, Boddington, Nr Cheltenham, G l o

FAIR DEAL BRUCE BARNES, formerly of Kealkil, Nr Bantry, Co Cork, hopes to return t o Ireland for JuneAugust 78, with a travelling theatre, mime troupe, comedians, jugglers etc. So if there is anyone with van-type transport who would mjoy travelling around country fairs he would like to hear from them 'Maybe not making much bread, but still, it's a mawelloud May to spend three months, and there are no small theatre groups in the same field at the moment, io you'd be blessed with the aura ?f uniqueness'. Bruce Barnes, 28 Lennox Road, London N4.

Undercurrent

SMALL ADS .~ . < ~

WORK

Sell your weekend cottage here! Small Ads at special giveaway pi 2p per word; Box Nos. Sop. Copydate for No. 27 i s February 24 Please send copy & replies to Box Nos. to our London office.

- .~.:---~~-..<.* ,

e $~ . ~ . :..~ : -and T Afamily G u L T(2ukids) RAL engineer seek rurallsemi(27) 23 YEARflid ~ri&manwithf&mm fÃ§nbased community in ing background seeks knowledge of early spiingh.tmmez. Investment poislble if needed. Interests: AT. ex etfase and ~mmitmentto prohorticulture, DIY food (i.e. wine, vide a decent living for its members, honey, cheese, etc). Fran & Steve while not being destructively exploltative of either its members or nature wmis. BOX FSW. inasfar as this is possible. I share the & smallholders' 'organic' sentiments b u t WE A R E believe relatively big farms are here with (3)'OrÂ¥ and Jacob (Or join) a t o stay, for which 'organic' alternatives and we plan community based a Perare only now being tried - and then forming Iockbend. We like only from a position of economic t o hear from YOU if you're interestsbe%tj,, please me your ed or involved in a similar venture. Box AT. 27 Grove Road. Fishponds, Bristol BS16 2BJ. Tel. Bristol CO-OPERATIVELY RUN vegetarian wholefood restaurant needs people 653159. able t o offer long term commitMETALIWOOD working, farriery, ment. Experience in wholefood cooker re uked, ~ ~ ~ weaving, ~ building, ~ mechanics. ~ ~A d person having one or more of available (short term). Aardvark ~ ~ ~ ~ o Restaurant, 108 Fishergate, York. group near Carmarthen, S. Wales. Together with a cottage, stables, other outbuildings and 1 0 acres there is an old mill building & water wheel which when renovated could provide the basis f o r a ISOLATED 4rural industrial co-operative. 3 acres of land Please write to: Maesdulais beautiful Scottish borders country. Factory, Portbyrbyd, Carmarthen, Completely renovated from derelict in over last 2 years. Mains electricity, D ~ f e d . w~rkshop,greenhouse. outbuildings THE TEACHERS community is include large polytehene geodesic heavily educationally and dome. Fertile garden, land recently oriented. We are fenced & drained. Suit a self-sufficien- pragmatic, avoid political and cy freak with around $12,500 religious dogma and are nonminimum f o r a quick sale. Write t o -,.iage based, we have a damn R. Crabtree, Wolfhopelee, Bongood idea of where we ai'e going, chester Bridge, Roxburghsbire. and how t o get there, and are "en' wary of ego trippers who TO R E N T Â£20 per year, water mill wisb t o reinvent the wheel and in southern spanish mountains and haven't the capacity. We are enough land f o r self-sufficiency & looking f o r those who actually more. Many olive trees, a few wish t o learn t o live successfulls bonds & walnuts. ~ ~rent 1 rebate 1 in an idealistic community on a possible for any improvements long term basis. NOT f o r academcarried out, inc. AT proiects. ics who wisb t o 'solve' the problem superb potential f o r solar & hydro of living effectively and amicably power. 2 week inspection flights together which we have already from Â£45For further info. ring solved. If you wish t o learn more Laughborough 8 4 3 214 after 6 pm about us you may send 20p + and ask for Roger or stamped addressed A5 envelope for a booklet giving more information, or write for other details t o 1 8 Garth Road, Bangor, North FAMILY preparing t o explore the Wales. ~ossibilities t o rural loca. .--~ - of -moving --~ tion plus a t least partial selfPUBLICATIONS sufficiency, would like t o discuss with others in Midlands area who CUT FUEL BILLS with the Woodhave already made such a move burning Book. Illustrated details or are working towards this end. of over 1 0 0 woodbeaters. cookers, Box HC. boilers in the UK. Finding, Preparing & storing wood. Â£1.1 from SACRAMENTAL APOSTOLATE. Small Scale Supplies, DePt. UC, Adveritser wishes t o found and Widdington, Saffron Walden, Essex. endow an Ecumenical community based on the belief that all life DAWN; an Irish journal of nonshould be sacramental, and based violence. Articles on nuclear power. on the Liturgy, and practising selfcommunity development. Ireland. sufficiency and protection of the Subscription Â£ f o r 1 2 issues (Â£3.5 environment. Based o n existing foreign) f r o m 3 3 1 Ormeau Road, bookselling and church furnishing Belfast 7, Northern Ireland. business and hoping t o go into THE FANATIC No.5: 'So far under agriculture and small scale manuground they're gonna get their feet facturing. Details f o r stamp from singed by magma' (Stewart Brand, N. Francis, Paragon Buildings, Co-evolution Quarterly). Â£1.2 29 Lower Brook St. Ipswich, from Open Head Press. 2 Blenheim Suffolk. Crescent, London W l l . KILWORTHY House Community. PEACE NEWS for non-violent Special person needed as a gardenrevolution. Reports, analysis, news er t o live in therapeutic communof non-violent action f o r social ity committed t o children in need change, building alternatives & of special care. 2 acres of resisting the megamachine. Covers developed organic garden with anti-militarism, sexual Politics, poultry & fish. Aim t o create small ecology. decentralisation. etc. mixed unit t o support 3 0 people, 15p fortnightly. Â£5.5 for a For further details write or phone year's sub. from 8 Kim Avenue, Kilworthy House, Tavistock, Nottingham. Devon. TeL Tavistock 2610. ~. -. . -. ... ,. :, ,

NUCLEAR POWER? NO THANKS: 32 page booklet giving the bones of the anti-nuclear argument & the possibilities f o r alternative energy sources is yours f o r 25p (19p each for 5 or more copies) from Cambridge FOE, 9 Norfolk St. Cambridge CB1 2LD. XS: The information exchange magpine. For current issue send 30P t o Alternative Title, 1 9 Martin Close, Whitwick. Leics. LE6 4DY. ENERGY FARMING: Most aglicultural land now supports livestock. Let's release it f o r 'energy farming' & make nuclear power unnecessary. Send 40p f o r leaflets & booklets with recipes, ideas and gardening ~ hintst f o r sustaining i ~ living. Vegan Society, DePt. F, 47 Highlands Road. Leatherhead, ~ ~ $ ~ ~ Surrey.

work a t 300 rpm. Detailed pIatU for comDlete mill with aovernaa? Â£2.50Rewound alternator & blades supplied Your a l t e r n a t t rewound. Send f o r details, p r i w -hst. Dept UC, 3 0 Stanley Road, Lincoln

ETCETERA PLANNING AID: Applications and appeals. TraditionalIsensible building design for newtextendedtrenovated houses, workshops, etc. For advice ring Gars Burton on Munderfield (Herefords). 617.

PHANTASTIC? 1.d like t o correspond with an American or Canadian fan of fantasy who likes Jobn Jakes, Karl Edward Wagner, REH Manly Wade Wellman, etc. Finlay, 2 5 Queen. Sk Stirling, Scotland.

orm man

EMPTY van. South Wales t o London monthly. Cheap trucking, phone Peter 01-385 2021. EDINBURGH First of May Booksbop & Meeting Place: socialist, feminist, anarchist, AT, Community Action books & pamphlets. Also coffee & a coal fire. Edinburgh Books Collective, 4 5 Niddry St, Edinburgh. tel 0 3 1 557 1348. Open 12-7 weekdays & 10-5 ~ Sat. Bookshop ~CORNER ~ HOUSE ~ ~ ~

specialises in radical/alternative education: 'How t o set up a free school' 40p (p+P 15p): 'Learning exchange. the idea $npractice' 35p (,P+P 1 5 ~ ) : duca'tion otherwise' 2 5 (P+P ~ 2p). 1 4 Endell St, London WC2; Ã‡C1 01-8369960. Fly in Amber is at 17 Fishergate Hill. Wholefoods, herbs, organic vegetables, books. (radical, alternative & feminist as well as food): lots of magazines & pamphlets.

ST REST ON'^

EPICYCLES ARE BACK!

WEEKEND courses ($10) in dyeing, w e o v i i i & . 'ipinning a\ lhf Kcnnct School o f Textile Crafts Ring Marlborough 53040 f o r details. ASTROLOGICAL birth charts & detailed character analysis Â£5 including future trends & potential Â£7Each person receives friendly individual attention: send date. time, birthplace t o Jobn WiUmott. Knockan, Bunessan, Mull, Argyll. NON-CHURCH-AFFILIATED readers are invited t o call 01-554 1 2 5 8 for a free copy of the book 'Introducing Quakers'. WALK into lost worlds and be refreshed. 'Head f o r the Hills' arrange expeditions in ten mysterious areas of Wales & England. Small groups, low cost, natural foods diet. Camp carried ahead by vehicle. 2 1 Pembroke Ave, Hove, Sussex (+ stamp). UNIQUE holiday on self-suffideXb s CY oriented organic smallholding with 77 acres of woodland nature reserve. Exmoor National Park, sea 4 miles. Seven camouflaged caravans. Modern toilets. Trout, dairy & horticultural produce available. Stamp for brochure. Cowley Wood, Pararacombe, N. Devon. Tel. Parracombe 200. NOTE f o r your diary: May 6 1 9 7 8 All day conference & exhibii.o- -~ n on eardenine. -- organic -- -, health & nutrition and self-sufficiency. Lawrence & cherry Hills, ~ a t i e Thear. Whitchurch, Hunts. Details later o r from Wright, Larksborough Farm. Whitchurch. Hants. (sae ~

Comet north of ecliptic. This varies with comets, b u t is always north of the ecliptic.

While t h e siudy of that their aphelion is south of the sclwtic.. their true motion is ignored. In fact, any approaching :omet is attracted towards the ~ o i nwhere t it will b e at perihelion. As the solar system moves south, perihelion takes place l o r t h of t h e ecliptic. After this the comet is again pulled southwards. Note t h a t the orbits of planets with greater eccentricity ire more inclined o n Venus's orbital plane, which seems almosi perpendicular t o t h e Sun's motion, as t h e spiral followed by Venus has little eccentricity. The simple Godartexperimen with photoelectric cells also show the southward motion of c u r galaxy. Details from: R Godart, Georges-Henri 54, 1200 Brussels, Belgium.

Despite the sterling efforts of our seven distributors it is still difficult to find Undercurrents in newsagents and bookshops. The only way to make absolutely certain of your copy is to tSke out a subsription, which will bring each new edition fresh from the presses to your door, every two months, custom-wrappedin a personally addressed envelop. (Yes, we've finally made enough bread to do away with those chewed-pp wrappers!) One way you could help our cash-flow, as well as acquiring an inftation-proof asset, would be to take out a sub for more than one year. A4 a special inducement we're offering two free back issues to anyone who subscribes for two years, and three to anyone who subscribes for three years, and so on. The price of a two- or three-year sub i hown below.

SUBSCRIPTION RATES.. . . . . . .

k3.00 Â£3.6 US 29.00

*,.I

blfdGLE COW RATES

.I.

,...................

a chequelpostal orderlinternational money order for ... out this form and send lt to Undenurrents Subscriptions, 12

',1-lose

Â£6.0 Â£6.3 Â£6.9

cost one-sixth of the subscription rate. Back numbers will be supplied world-wide surface mail at our spteial cut-price rate. (See back cover for details.)

like a subscription to beginning with issue

Â£5.4(

Airmail: Europe Zone A (Middle East, North Africa) Zone B (Africa, Asia) Zone C (Australia, Japan, Latin America)

years

,'.,..,...

like my subscription bers indicated in the panel. ropriate .(please state amount). Dursley, Gloucestershire, England.

BACK ISSUES [l-7 and 11 *re out of print)

21 I

,. 1

' I S

---

em Beautifu ana oeu -oiuiiciency1'. now we broaden our focus. our January issue: 186 A. S. S. AWARDS Proceedings of the Anti-Science Society - MOW I BEAT THE SYSTEM y competition TBB THE RAT-RACE, W q ; : 1 Proposal for a practical, computerized,: democracy PROGRESS vs CIVILIZATION Current events compendium APPROPRIATE TECHNOLOGY Leopold Kobr illuminates tea philosophy SO MY FATHER SOLD THE COW Story of an American farmer's struggle against agri-business

Lifetime subscription only Â£100 For doubting Thomas's , one year's subscription only Â£3.5 for six issues. ' And for registered pessimists, ie January issue f o r 5%

Resurgence, Pentre 1fan.Felindre Farchog, Crymych, Dyfed, U. K. . -.',

-1

;

4 L--m--p?Radical Technolo~v Available from: 12 South Street, Uley, Dursley, Gloucestershire.

~yGodfrey Boyle, Peter Hamper & Undercurrents; 304pp. A 4 illustrated; Â£4.2including p&p. A l l orders must be prepaid. Bulk order discount for 10 or more copies: Â£3.70 'For people who still think about the future i n terms o f mega-machines and all-powerful bureaucracies, Radical Technology Alvin Toffler will be an eye-opener. There is an alternative. Radical Technology offers a fresh way t o think about tomorrow.'

'Practical Methane

b y L John Fry. Â£3.5 including p&p. This is generally acknowledged t o be the best book o n small-scale methane plants yet written. As the result o f an arrangenent with the publisher, the book i s available t o Undercurrents readers at this special price. Contents includes Building a vertical drum digester; a top-loader digester; a full-scale digester; scum accumulation; gas holders; biology o f digestion; raw materials; use o f gas and sludge; safety precaution; glossary and bibliography. Anyone interested i n the conversion o f organic waste into a clean, useful fuel will find Practical Methane inval~~-'hlp

edited b y Herbert Girardet, 144pp illustrated, Â£1.4including p&p A manual o f radical land reform. Topics covered include food resources, self-sufficiency, enclosures, clearances and the Diggers, Highland landlords, lessons o f resettlement, land reform and revolution, new towns, new villages, and the revival o f the countryside. 'It is essential reading for readers o f Undercurrents and all those who wish t o understand the nature o f the :risk we are facing.'

-:"r^-"

BACK ISSUES

We like to think that Underc m nx periodic! after publication. The followhtg back4isuesaredl1 tvailabteat % retains its s' a format the bottom of page 48 far ordÃ§rt~ extra CODY. and i

molt ofiw& Sp for each

Undeicunfiil*HHealth boa Limit, to Hfd-=bus / Wbhi ofWf-Help/ ~ a b in Ã the Ward / Guide to Alternative Medicine 1 Findhorn Y Mionti Centre for AT URdeiamtnte20fifthAÃ‘ivdwybo Tony Berm on the m e n / F u m h : 'chemicals' or m k ? 1 Mike C o W J David Dickion I CTT intemiw 1 S d u Enerev Rtnort I Ptixsr The lasekt Counterculture / Motorway W o e u / Nudeu Policy / Orgone Energy 1 Free B i o i d a /Good ~ Squat Guide / Iron Age Farming 1 Liurieflon Girdening /Print / Sill* S h i -

hex. Muadey/AT Round the WorIdlBufldinf With Natural E-/ faMktfon DIY InÃ§ul~tion/Ain Indii/Bruhi on BRAD/AT & Induslry