UC38 February-March 1980 by Christopher Squire

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Undercurrents 38 February-March 1980 Contents

1 Eddies: News from Everywhere 8 What’s When & What’s What 10 Plan Without Atomcraft - John Nixon: A lesson from Denmark in nuclear resistance 12 Building the Anti Nuclear Campaign - Tony Webb 14 Seabrook Saga - WISE: US action against nuclear power 16 It’s All Space Occupied - Dave Elliott: Anti-nuclear guerrilla tactics 18 Short History of the English Earthquake - John Fletcher 20 Inter-City Drain - Hackney Anti-Nuke Group: Nuclear waste through the centre of London 21 The Russians and Nikola Tesla - Anon: Soviet death ray shock horror report 25 The Cosmic Drummer - Robert Beck: What earth brain waves can do for you 28 The Liberty Machine - Tom Athanasiou: Frankenstein’s servile monster 32 Animals or Ethics - Maria Hanson philosophises 33 Oil Crisis - Tanya Lawson: Some new fat facts 34 Land Decayed - Joe Francis: who is behind the ‘Land Decade Educational Council’? 37 Reviews 45 Letters 46 Books & Back Issues 47 Small Ads 48 Masthead __________________________________________________________________________________ Published every two months by Undercurrents Ltd, 27 Clerkenwell Close, London EC1R OAT. Full details of editorial meetings, distribution etc. are on page 48. ISSN 0306 392 __________________________________________________________________________________

MARGARET THATCHER solved her Christmas gift problem this year by giving her friends I 0 new nuclear reactors, probably RVRs. 3ut the bill will be paid by the rest of us-to the tune of around G!O,OCOm over the next decade (that's about four timas what was m n t on rescuing Concorde, British s<1and others Leyland, Rolls ~ b ~ c British e, burnt by the white heat of technological revolution over the past decade. The Tory plans, announced by Energy Secretary David Howell in Parliament on December 18th, s w l d mean that by the year 2000 we would get about 30%of our electricity from a total of 22 gigawatts of installed nucl&r capacity-ad ~robablvmore than this if this I 0 year programme, kmtn&cing in 1982, were to be followed by a further expansion in 1992. The basing of the programme

. on PWRs (Pressurised Water .Reactors, the type widely used in the US, including at Harristurg) may be important for environmental groups. k i t e the ~romisethat saf& would be of overriding importance', it seems unlikely that adverse safety reports wid make the Tories abandon the PWR. They would more likely ask for more safety measurns M i l e denying anti-nuclear groups access t o safety information. This is foreshadowed in Cabinet committee minuies leekad t o the Guardian, in which Tory ministers agreed that to avoid anti-nuclear protest ob* aructing the programme, a 'low profile' approach would be adoptad. A separately leaked cabinet paper advocated the 'tiesensftising' (copyright R. Nixon) of decision-makingto the influence of environmental pressure groups The leaked Cabinet ccinmhtq tee minutes also give some clues as to why the Tories feel it nacessary t o splash out on nuclear power, given the 'need' tocut back on education, housing, health and other *ices. 'A nuclear programme w l d have the d e n t a g e of. removing e submntial portion

the dangers of disruption by industrial x t i o n by coal miners or transport workers'.

cannot be earmarked in dvance -projects have to be considered one at a time-and other EEC countries (present and future) might oppose Britain grabbing ell the availeble nucclear funds. Still, a solution b a d on more Euremm loens t o the UK would find h o u r with Maggie htwsalf, with a German government keen m find a hawily nuclear country as propaganda against its strong anti-nuclear movement, and with France (though the price here may be tha adoption here of French tebhnobgywhich won't please the British nuclear industry). Meanwhile, what of the opposition? Ten days before the announcement of the new programme, a torchlight procession t w k place in London. The demonstratmn took the form of a funeral, with coffin, pallbearers and about 400 demonstrators dressed in black. Other demonstrations took Place in Norwich (Father Christmases leafletted Christmas shoppers), Birmingham, Bangor, Carlisle, Brighton and Edinburgh. And a 'March for a Non-Nuclear Future

Brussels sprouts But where is E20,OOOm coming fram? Sources in Brussels suggest that the nuclear programme may be us& t o solve the EEC budget problem over which Thatcher created so much bad feeling at the recent Dublin summit. An increased use of Euratom loans which are available for nuclear dwelopments anywhere in the community, could pay for the nuclear power programme and so help balance the British contribution to the EEC. Up t o now, much of the EEC arwment has centred around the Common &ricultural Policy. But changes in that will take years t o occur, since reforms will offend either British or French! opinion. A lot of money is availablevia Euratom, since the European Investment Bank is stepping up i t s energy lending (already loans have covered the new coal-fired Drax power station and the Hartlepml and Heysham nuclear stations), and widening its criteria so that other parts of the nuclear fuel cycle are eligible for grants. There would be problems,

argument academically but I in debating terms, especially on the question of need. So: will tho environmental cavalry be able to gather its forces t-ther in time m gallop to the rescue, scoop Britannia from the clutches of Maggie end the nuclear gang, and ride off towards the sun (and wind and waves)? Don't miss the next exciting instalment . .

Pretty poll? NATIONAL OPINION Polls hm8 b w n carrying out a poll o n nudmr aww. It has b w n asking the public t h e f o l b w i w questions: Do you agree or d i q r e e with these statements: 1. Ample electricity supplies are vital for the wuntrv's prosperity? 2. Nuclear power isgoing to be needed t o keep our factories, homes and transport running? 3. Nuclear power mtions haw a very g m d safety recud. 4. No more nuclear power stations should be built. These questbns are a model of how t o nudge-nudge respendents into saying what you want them to say. Practically everyone would agree with the first question and having done so would find it diff~cultto change direction and say No to questions 2 and 3. Then he or she f inds it almost impossible t o agree with question 4. Conclusion reached by the pollsters: The public m n t s more nuclear power stat~onsl One could m u s e oneself turning the questions around. Thus, No. 2 could read: We have managed for centuries t o run our factories, homes and transport without nuclear power so do w really need it now? And then: Nuclear p o w stations are unreliable, expensive, inefficient and keep on leaking radiation? A t that point, the answer t o question 4 becomes obvious: Yes. Now whower can have commissioned such a loaded questionnaire? Acmrding t o Tribune the NOP's climt is none other than the Electricity Council. It will be worth watching to see what use is mede of the

is planned for central London on March S t h , the first anniversary of the Harrisburg incident. The Anti-Nuclear Campaign, whose formation is reported elsewhere, is growing fast. But the anti-nuclear case has not really got across t o the public yet-partly due to anti-nuclear cnmpaigners' presentation of their case (a 90 minute TV debate on the new nuclear programme, between Friends of the .Earth campaigm ers and a pro-nuclear panel including a junior energy minister, showed this; the

Undercurrents 38

1 men bailermakam. miners. end Ian

like with like, or do w link our m centfali8d wdmr -sition ~ ~ a w i d e r f i i k a g a i m t, cWwlimibn j wh~le?!%. , d ~ ~ l t g r . m : b u t , t h * $, . ~: 4 probably no'satisfyingmm. ~. :: like thewtleman d m thrhtened to ~ u n c h the msa

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meeting of a cover-up on the results of the Caithness test. bores, completed last Spring, bt A PLEA TO postpone a public an impromptu vote calling for a enquiry into nuclear waste postponement o f the inquiry wi test.bores propossd f o r Loch ovw-ruled by the Reporter, Mr Doon, Ayrshirn, has been t u r d William Campbell. The down b y the Government. Government's rejection o f The plea, from SCRAM, SCRAM'S plea was announced b followed a stormy pre-enquiry Scottish Secretary of State meeting in Ayr where objectors George Younger who before the asked for tima to assess the election was o n the anti.dumpiw implications o f the recent platfmm himself. The inquirv is earthquake. The Atomic Energv scheduled -~ - t o open on Tuesda!' -. Authority were also amused at the 19 February.

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Solar courted Invisible radiators OFFICIALS of the CEGB and Taylor Woodrow Corstruction C o m p n y at the B site of Heysham nucleer pow- station weragkenan u ~ x p e c t and d unwanted Christmas present on Deemb- 14th. The Invisible Radiators delivered their irksome present on Friday night amidst a snow storm, no site lighting and no security. The group's main tafgets were the surveying stations dotted around the site. These are usually white triangular concrete pillars with a bass plate set in the top. There were three at Heysham. Each survey point wasgivfn Ihearaldite, steel wool and concrete treatment, the threaded hole for mounting a : theodolite being filled with araldite, steel wool being embedded i n the araldite and then the whole lot being capped with concrete, complete with the words 'No N u k s ' trowelled into the finish! The object was to halt the surveying work at least temporarily and with some luck to make it necessary t o resurvey the whole site. The threads in the survey points need only be diwlaced by a millimetre or two to make them useless, and i t must be difficult to remove our cappiws without causing =me damage. The action was rreated as an act of petty vandalism in local papers and CEGB officials

were more interest& ln commenting on the flooding of the local golf course due to pumps being disconnected. Apparently t w o o f the pumps on the B site at Heysham also drain the golf course, as site work hasdisrupted normal drainage channels With the prospect o f a lot more nuclear construction sites b e i q foisted upon us In the next few years the scope for actions of this kind will obviously increase as timegoes by. Public inquiries and symbolic actions there must certainly be but with a government which isobviously committed to the expansion of nuclear power and prwared to play low profile politics the time has arrived when many opponents of nuclear power feel that i t is necessary to hamper the expansion in as many direct ways as possible. Actions agalnst the construction phase have endless possibilities, are non-violent, if surrept~tious,and have the advantage that they must inevitably add t o the cost and make the alreadv shaky economics of nuclear p o w r that much more unattractive-what more can one ask of an action? -The Invisible Radiators

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This 'Solar Sauna' or 'Solar A m n f i i e s Modula' combinms solar . .greenhouse, solarium, California hot t u b and sum, alonq wtth generousdesk.spaca For the AT, D I Y enthusiast h o has warvthiw, and lots of money.

PRIVATE DEVELOPERS have been fairly slow t o get in o n the mlar power market. Of the original 70 or more m a l l firms that s6l up t w o years ago t o sell solar mllectors, only 60 are still trading-although annual UK turtwver was still between Â£5-Â£ millmn last

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A recent development is the move towards provdifK housesfor =le pioneered by b i n g and Calor, and supported by the Department of E~~~~~~~ E~~~~ T ~

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Support Unit. NinedetachEd houses in Great Linford, Milton Keynes, are currently being offered for safe by Tavlors, a local a9ent. Solar Court, as the development is called, consists o f three mnven~ionalgas heated houses plus houses with solar collectors for space and water heating-backed UP with gas. Three of these units are equipped w ~ t h20 square metre solar co~bctors,together with heat pump systems. The other three have 4WUare metre co~~ectors, PIUS~ heat recovery ~ ~ facilities. The usual anodyne prose of the agents takes o n a new twi-t. ''Thi; unique development is a bold, wsitive step towards and harnessing a m a l l portion of the abundant energy provided by Dur sun . . . Solar Cnurt is a clear step towards the twenty-first century and provides an excellent location for your new home." Assuming, that is. that you can raise a mortoag@l

10coolies in China VHILST PREMIER H U A was visiting Britain recently, the Chinese rice Premier Deng was meeting a high level, multidisciplinav lritish ddegation i n China, Included were David Attanborough o f IBC fame, L o r d Young of Dartington and the writer and Film lirector Felix Greena workers t o strike if he were Excluded was Mike Cooley sacked, for this form o f f Lucas Aerospace Combine 'absence without leave'.' brporate Plan fame. The The Company's formal L%inese were keen t o include position was stated in writing Coolev, v h o is a leading radical b y Geoff Coop, who advised technologist, and an authority Cooley he could n o t go because o n the impact of advanced "of the m r k l o a d situation" at technology on society. He and the plant where he works. This his colleagues have designed a the shop stewards found very range of energvconserving, strange indeed, since i n the cologically desirable equipment same plant, Lucas have ~ l u d i n g t r a n s p o r systems. t attempted t o starve the The trouble is, that Cooley Combine's Secretary Ernie mrks for the multinational Scarbrow, of any work at all .ucas, and is a leading member over the past t w o years i n f the Combine Shop Stewards what his colleagues see as a :ommittee which initiated the primitive attempt t o drive h i m amous Corporate Plan for out. socially useful production as an The Company's refusal is all alternative t o unemployment. the more blatant as Scott, o n During the past two years, his return from China reported Lucas have warned Cooley that "I was able t o arrange for it will take "whatever steps are Chinese participation in a series necessary" if he continues t o of technical symposia for which work o n the Plan "even unpaid". three separate groups of British Lucas, which is vigorously Engineers will travel out there ttempting t o expand its trade over the next few months". His ~ i t hChina (E8 million over the most lasting impression was "of ast 8 years), sent its Chairman a hospitable people o f the i r Bernard Scott there earlier highest integrity". i i s year t o "cement the many It will now be interesting to ?lationships already established see what the Chinese assessment lith the Chinese Government is of the integrity of Lucas, and and Industry Officials" and t o if they will consider it t o be a "confirm our assessments of suitable trading partner. the opportunities for Lucas now Stop Press: Ernie Scarbrow has and in the future". Clearly, n o w been sacked, for "failing Lucas didn't want any to accept promotion". The technological boatrocking with promotion offer was made to:o the radical Cooley letting o f f remove h i m from his present about energy wasting, throw position i n 4UEW.TA.S a t away products when he met Willesden. top level Chinese officials. So, i n spite o f informal approaches t o Sir Bernard from the delegation's organisers, Lucas refused t o allow Cooley the three weeks o f f even at his own expense, and he could hardly expect his fellow

CAITS are appealing for funds t o develop the Lucas stewards' roadtrail vehicle. Donations t o : CAITSINELP, Road-Rail Fund, North East London Polytechnic, Longbridge Road, Dagenham,

A railbus developed b y CS Ashby o f Hampsh~re.The Lucas RoadRaiI vehicle will be similar. b u t able t o r u n o n the road as wdl.

245T I S A herbicide, at present used b y the Forestry C o m m i w ion to defoliate land. One of its wmponents is dioxin, which is highly dangerous i n any quantity. It was u d b y American forces i n Vietnam as a defoliant Since itsusa there ten years ago, it has provkd t o be the cause of many veterans' wives having mi* carriages, or g ~ i n b gi r t h t o deformed babies Recently its use has been banned o r limited i n the USA, Norway, Sweden and France. It was also widely used i n areas such as Alsea in Orewn. The spontaneous abortion index for that area peaked dramatically 3 months after spraying, from 4 6 per 1000 births in the control area t o 130 per 1000 births in Alsea. I n October 1977, a farmer i n Somerset, Mr Geoffrey Hellier, had some land adjoining his farm. sprayed w i t h 245-T b y the Forestry Cammission. Mr Hellier states that he went down t o look at his sheep and saw what appeared t o be a cloud o f smoke drifting across the field containing the sheep. The 'smoke' was being sprayed b y a man covered head t o foot in protective clothing. Since he never used chemical sprays o f any kind, he was going t o go over and object b u t he was p r e vented from doing so b y a group of men who warned h ~ m n o t t o approach as the chemical was highly dangerous. He was later t o l d that it was Silvapron T i n which the active ingredient was 245-T. He moved the sheep t o another field the same day, and watched them closely, b u t there seemed t o be no ill effects. However, just before lambing which was due in March, 19 ewes aborted. Later live lambs were born, b u t usually in couples with one dead one. A few weeks later the lambs began t o exhibit peculiar symptoms, they had difficulty i n walking, their back legs began t o give under them and they did not p u t o n any weight. I n late May they began t o die. Altogether Mr Hellier lost 29 ewes, 59 lambs and a ram. He contacted a veterinary surgeon v h o agreed t o visit, but never arrived. The he had a postmortem done o n one of the sheep b y a veterinary research centre i n Berkshire r u n b y the Ministry of Agriculture, but received no report o n it. A l l his efforts t o dixover the cause o f his sheep dying were unsuccessful. He concluded that there was

some Klnd ot ortlc#alcover-UD w i n g on. Since then, Tony Charles, a member o f the local Ecology Party, has had other cases reported t o him, which have had similar results. A farmer who used the spray had 18 calves aborted. Another lost 17 ewes, and similarly, having sent a carcass t o the Min of Ag for 2 post-mortem, received no report. Several wives o f Forestry Cor mission workers, whose husbands were involved in the spraying, have since had miscarriages. Officially it is recommended that no children or pets etc. should be allowed onto sprayed land until 1 4 days after spraying. No warning was ever given t o any o f the p m p l e concerned. Lewes ~ i i t r i c Council t have admitted t o spraying 245-T o n one of their recreation grounds. No warnipg was given and children were playing o n i t the following day, Since then there has been a high incidence o f rashes o n dogs and horses that use the park and eczema o n the stomachs of small animals. Trees look as though they have been burnt an( local people have suffered from sore throats and sneezing (the sales of throat pastilles at the local chemist shot u p by over lOO%.l One difficulty i n gathering information is the reluctance o n the part of some people t o come fmward with their stories. Employees of the Forestry Commission are afraid for their jobs (and their tithe cottages) i f they speak out. Farmers are worried that if it becomes publicly known that they have lost animals they will acquire a bad name, and will be unable t o sell any o f their livestock and probably go bankrupt. There are as yet no official proposals t o ban 245-T i n this country: it requires public pressure against a herbicide industry worth E l 2 million U k alone. A safe herbicide v cost a great deal more, so is unlikely t o be approved by Thatcher's cabinet of former businessmen. It is worth mentioning that dubious chemicals produced in the west, if their market is shrinking, are usually dumped on Third World cuuntries.

Laurieston stovemakers

HmBomb secrecy

T H E H-BOMB w o d u o n Uie energy released b y the fusing togethw of two ixaoom of M r m e n . The soft X-raw and mmma r a w from explosion, i e refl&tad b y the bomb m a l l &m the * h e r , w i n g o n t o the fusion fuel, so creating b y radiation pressure t h e ~ e d i b l e m n d i t i o n ns d o d for fusion, i n which gaaescan be as ' h v y a s . I d and t o m p m m r e s are maasred i n millions of dogre& T o further inmwsa the power of the bomb and t o produce more lath01 radioactive fall-out, t h e bomb casing is made of uranium, which acts as a second h w e atom bomb t r i m --w e d off b y ths fusion reaction. i n its protection of the press This 'secret' o ~. . ~ ..- f the H-bomb . from censorship. was detailed i n an article b y B u t what exactly is the threat Howard Morland i n an American posed b v Morland's article? A magazine The Progressive. His foreign nation posessing the information was gathered from technical and industrial publicly eccessible books and experience necessary t o produce articles, and from visits t o an II-bomb would be able t o several H-bomb establishments. dixover f o r itself e x t r m e l y Only once was he denied an quickly the wncepts presented answer t o a question o n g r o u d s i n Morland's article as,similar of secrecy. information is readily wailable The publication of the t o any trained physicist. There ~ t i c l e ,however, was no simple is w e n a diawam in the matter, since the US government Encyclopaedia Americana claimed it contained restricted showing the essential w r k i n g s date. The restricted data clause . of the bomb. of the U S Atomic Energy A c t . , The government's concern classifies as secret all data to suppress the article has little with national security. It hasmore t o do w i t h concealing energy r e s m r s ) except material as much from the public as which has been specificallv .~lassified.The wvernment possible, so as t o ensure that national nuclear policy runs w l d n o t define exactly what smoothly o n the decisions of a Instituted restricted data in the

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'.THE ONLY A T wursa that gives you an e w l q i c a l l y mund product at the end o f it" K h o w Laurioston Hall's Dave Trwnw desuibd their recent cour~ i n s t w e m k i n g r u n by h i m and Linda mlla. A l l elwen wursa members, many of whom had m prwious m m l w r k i w experience, w m p l e t d their stwea i n the six daya avaibabla

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r t i a e as this would itself ontravene the A C ~ , but offered p,rite it instead, When The ,essive refused the offer, Dvernment instituted court ~edi ngs t o prevent ublkatio",on the grounds that a t would greatly impair the ecuritv of the USA by ~uclearweapons more readily vailable t o foreign 'irresponsible' ~ations.One wonders what think nakesthe us government 1 ismore arewonsib~e,than any ~ t h e rAfter l seven months, the averment dropped he case, probably realizing it m u l d b e ~ r c e tdo concede The kweaib&s case that the estricted data clause ontravened the US constitution

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knowlidgeable elite, without public interference or Protest. I n Howard Morland's words, "The m y t h of secrecy i S used t o create an atmosphere i n which public debate is stifled and public criticism o f the weapons system is suppress9d." Anyone who wants t o be involved i n a nuclear debate finds themselves in some curious 'catch 22' situations. The declassification guidelines for restricted data are themselves classified; the only WaV t o di=over whether

The conference, called by the International Cannabis Alliancefor Reform (ICAR), will draw together represent. atives from 16 nations to share informatmn and tacticson legalisation campaigns. Subjects mvered will include help for cannabis prisoners (presented b y Tim D a v e , who was imprisoned in Turkey in the early seventies), medical issues, intwnational drug w l i c y . and the view from cannabisproducing wuntries. ICAR, which mas founded i n 1978, ~ e c i f i c a l l yaims t o get cannabis removed from the U N Sngle Convention on Narcotic Drugs. Further informationon the conference, which will be o n 8-10 Femuary, can be wined from the Legalise Cannabis Campaign, 2 Blenheim Crescent, London Wll 101-T27 8805).

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T H E F I R S intwnatmnal annabis l q a l i m t i o n c o n f e r e m is b e i w held i n Amsterdam i n early February. themselves.

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the public and press had accepted this state of affairs more or less uncritically; since the case it is hoped that more nuclear issues will become open t o public scrutiny. any information is o f f limits is The H-bomb 'secrets' had t o t o submit it t o the government be published, not t o help anyone first. A n d n o t Only does the build a bomb, but t o expose the government refuse t o answer restricted data clauss for what questionson ~ I a ~ s i f i e d ~ a t e r i a l , it m s , and t o encourage the it can also classify the questions challecging of nuclear policies,

If there is a demand, they are willing t o r u n another 'selfmanaged sweatshop' i n May so anyone who would like t o take thisopportunity t o build thamsdf a stove should write with S4E t o Laurieston n a i l , cast10 DOU~I~S, Kircudbrights, without delay. A t least the bedrooms won't b~ f m i w w l d then1

Also, an understanding of the basic concepts is vital for the understanding of the vast industrial system which the continues t o produce them at the ,ate of three a week, B i l l Fletman Kathryn Harriss FACT: The Only enquiry received b y The Progressive about its story came from the Pakistan embasy.

Undercurrents 38 Norman Fowler has consistently denied this-almost the only I choice they have is t o pump in more money now. I n a timely move Sid Weighell, the NUR General Secretary, has said he believes BR t o be honest and will not take industrial action over the lack of bonus. This has given the Government a short breathing space. But Marsham Street seems only t o want t o sit on its hands and say nuffin'.

TRANSPORT MINISTER Norman Fowler may have announced that there will b e n o rail cuts, b u t the Department of Transport wil I have t o w o k at the speed it normally reserves for pushing motorways through Areas o f Outstanding Natural Beauty if it wants t o keep a railway system of any significance i n Britain. The Government has always been clear about what it doesn't want BR to do. Back in November a leaked report in the Guardian showed that plans t o close 900 miles of rural branch lines had followed secret talks between BR and DTp. This was angrily denounced by Norman Fowler (although tactfully admitted b y British Rail) but further disclosures in the Guardian andTwith the Minister losing his temper into the bargain-on BBC's Going Places, showed that Fowler was well aware of the proposals, and forced him t o write t o Sir Peter Parker t o veto, in advance, any closure plans. A t almost the same time the junior Transport Minister, Kenneth Clarke, promised that the Government would d o its best t o stop fare increases being unduly directed-as BR would like t o do-towards the South East commuter services. Thus, at one (or t w o stroke(s1 British Rail has oeen deprived of the t w o areas it sees as most promising for reducing expenditure and increasing income. But the crunch has now come with British Rail running out of money sufficiently t o be forced t o delay paying an agreed bonus t o railwaymen and t o delay maintenance on 36 miles of railway track. There is now urgent need for actionand largely b y the Government. Unless they want t o see the railways deteriorate-and

Bike ban

Gas works Our scatological correspondent writes: The University o f British Columbia has received a 836,000 grant from the Canadian government t o study the development of gadess beans. Dr. Brent Skura, director of the project, says beans could greatly relieve the world's hunger problem and deflate the rising cost of food, b u t 'they'll never catch on unless a way can be found t o l i m i t beangenerated intestinal gas.' However, Dr Colin Reif of the Seattle-Tacoma Institute of Nutritional Kudos counters

A SUDDEN B A N b y B R o n the carriage o f bikes o n London commuter.trainsduring t h e rush hours has brought floods of protestsfrom cyclists. BR claim that the ban is necessary because of 'delays caused b y cycles being RECENT in " lifted o n and off trains' and being Hansard, the British Medical wheeled o n crowded platforms. BLIt Journal, compared with D a p t no evidence has been offered t o of Tradeand Industry f i g u r Ă&#x192; support these assertions, and show an alarming increase i n t h e many London workers have been use of drugs i n prisons. Whereas h i t b y the ban. since 1972 the prison inmate Some demonstrated b y population has increased b y chaining their bikes t o railings only 9%, the use of drugs has outside BR's Ha. Free carriage increased b y 250%. of bikes o n trains was only So what isgoing on? I t introduced last year, following a would seem that, if y o u are sustained campaign b y Friends unlucky or imprudent enough o f the Earth and cycling t o fall foul of the law, chances groups. But BR seems t o have are that you may end u p being ignored this demand, and is 'suppressed' by the use o f still designing new trains o n trarmuihzers. if vou don't toe which there will be no room for bikes; already the High-speed trains and new suburban trains cannot take them. So that though - the new restriction will be The all-American male is o n reviewed, the long-term future the way out Testifying before of bikes b y rail looks grim unless the US Congress Select CommitBR can be persuaded t o design tee o n Population, feminist for bikes. Already rumours are Barbara Seaman (sic) said 'I'm circulating about a complete sorry, gentlemen, if this offends ban being imposed (at least any o f your egos, (but) before, bicycles could be condoms should be marketed i n carried for half price). three sizes, because the failures I f you want t o protest, write tend t o occur at the extreme t o your local MP and t o Sir ends of the scale. I n men who Peter Parker, Chairman of British are petite, they fall off, and Rail, 222 Marylebone Road, i n men w h o are extra wellLondon NW1. Petitions endowed, they burst. Women against the ban are available buy brassiers i n A, B and C from the London Cycling cups and panty hose i n different Campaign, 48 William I V Street, sizn. and I think i f it would London WC2 (01-739 6032).

this claim. He believes that lack of time, salt or water in cooking, failure t o chew properly and weak intestines are as much t o blame for gas as is the maligned bean.

Drugged -- porridge ? STATISTICSG~~~~ .

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thestate line. Known in the trade'as the 'cosh treatment' (much less detectable than the primitive truncheon), drugs such as samontil are used. I n one case a prisoner, complaini n g o f earache was given this drug, which is a heavy tranquilizer NOT a pain reliever, and of no benefit t o the patient, o n l y of benefit t o the prison authorities-an obvious breaking o f the Hippocratic Oath. It would seem that, once o n the other side, one can become something considerably less than a full

he~p condom efficiency, we should package them i n different sizes and maybe label them jumbo, colossal and super-co lossal so that men don't have t o go and ask for the small.' Meanwhile, in Florida, research on college students has shown a sharp decline in sperm count and potential fertility, and i n fact 23% of the 132 volunteers were sHown t o be functionally sterile. Florida chemists blame pollution, particularly the group o f toxic chemicals known as PCBs, which though n o w banned, is still present in the environment.

Undercurrents 38

Buzz for L E I S demonstrations at the 1970 TEN YEARS AGO a group of annual meeting of the staid xientists, originally fighting British Association for the chemical q d biological Advancement of Science, warfare, m l for the first time compiling a pamphlet on u the British Society for repression and riot control Social Raspomibiiity in Science which led to the book The (BSSRSI. Technology o f Political Control, Now the society has rung in and attempting to set up a i t s first decade. To celebrate mobile pollution laboratory. ach,l&ingsuch an advanced Though the latter effort age, about 200 people charged failed i t established invaluable with goodwill assembled at the links with trade unions, which London School of Economic's have sparked some of BSSRS' New Theatre to review BSSRS BRAZIL: A peaceful nuclear most successful work, such as past and point out possible bomb? On October 30 the the Hazards Bulletin. future goals. Brazilian Government Today, said ~ o r o t h y ' Four speakers, introduced announced its intention t o Griffiths, the society has ~~'BSSR President S and Nobel make the leap from nuclear basically splitin two directions; prize-winner Maurice Wilkins, power t b nuclear bombs. But groups with a practical bent, outlined radical science's ', wait1 These bombs will only such as Hazards, Agricapital, history. Dr. Joseph Needhzin, beused for peaceful purposes, and Microprocessors, and probably the last prominent like construction projects (roads theoretical groups such as Race survivor of the first, vanished through the jungle, harbours and IQ, Sociobiology and radical science movement of the etc.). Brazil isalso selling Radical Statistics. 1930's. offered personal .r nuclear technology to Iraq, She found the women's anecdotes of his contemporaries, without asking the Germans movement had provided BSSRS such as J.B.S. Haldance and. who sold it t o Brazil in the with 'an enormous source of Hyman Levy, interspersedwjth ,. first place. strength', alerting women and gibes at that ere's political; m e n t o science's racist, sexist, EUROPE: Is there nothing atmosphere. class-based hierarchy. European governments won't .'Science' and 'progress%i&& For the final instalmant do t o prop u p failing economies? still synonymous then. Jonathan Mike Cooley drew on his long Nasty rumours are circulating Rosenhead, one of BSSRS' association with the Lucas in Greece end Turkey that tile founders, traced the growth of Aerospace Workers' Alternative price of entry t o the EEC (fan the radical science movement Corporate Plan. He pleaded for Greece) and aid (for Turkey) is from the 30's through science's a humane, creative linkage of importsof North Sea Oil (from brief period of godhead in the machinetechnology with human Britain) and nuclear power (from 50's and early 60's. to BSSRS intellimnce. rather than the ~France and West Germany). "~~~. birth: Greece in particular is expected A t first the society held fH i Brem<w*l from a" job f political p - ; e f the opportunity f o r e x k i s i n g ~ to go nuclear following the itself apart from signing of secret treaties with acitivity, asserting instead its K?;dludgem?nt andthought. EEC countries. 'objective' professional duty to i" --y, &s For further information correct science's 'abuses'. G..~+' LONDON: Adding insult t o about BSSRS, contact BSSRS But BSSRS soon committed;-+ injury, it now seems that the streetLondon such political acts as staginamijtfw at 9 office block being built o n the W1V 3DG. Tal: 01-437 2728. (but strongly received] . . site of Covent Garden's community Garden (UC37) is a speculative one, and likely to hnlth'and c ~ ilibortias l Thav'ra remain empty for some time. for funds to k ~ p Â¥~pnlin ----going- IfYo" Mnt t o c o n t r h t * RELEASE, the a&iHÃˆ/aÃ§istan LONDON: Community Action (ifyou're o m of 'he 175,000 j, brok. cutsin staff vie*, Groups have won their fight moole Release has helpad in the and m i c a w e being mad*. against Southwark Council, which past, you should) send t o and it bob as ifthis unique has now formally abandoned Ebin organisation nuy go out of plans to build a multi-million businem eftnr vaars- of heloinn London W9 -' ~- 12 pound town hall. But the local ~solve problems such as overdose& campaigners point out that the I bidtrips. withdrawals. battered TShirts with real problems of council wive& suickjas, missing per9or.s. accommodation have not been Phil Evans wictimns, immigration problems. tackled, so the plan could resurface. And thecentre of Peckham is still threatened by a GLC road scheme (part of a revived 'motorway box' in disguise) and a multi-storey

TORNESS: Various actions are being co@sidered. A w o h n l y . occupation or pther action is one possibi1ity;organised actioq, by affinity groups is another, , Contact SCRAM at 2aAinslie , . ~ Place, Edinburgh: 031-225 7752. Meanwhile, aScottish pro-nuclear campaign is getting off the ground. It's organised by a Mr. Monteith.'who ran the antidevolution campaign and betithat 'SCRAM are getting a w with murder'. The backers include defeated Tory Teddy Taylor.

USA: They do that sort of thing better in the US. The nuclear industry has just launched a S 1.6m media blitz to repair its image after Harrisburg. NEED (Nuclear Energy Education Day) will include a mass jog for nuclear power, and two experts will follow Tom Hayden and Jane Fonda around t o refute their arguments.

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SWEDEN: With a referendum on nuclwr power pending, opponents f ea- Government rigging. Either two 'yes'options will be provided, so that two 'Yes' campaigns can get state financed, or there will be two 'no' options, splitting the antivote. IRELAND (County Donagal): The campaign against uranium mining is nowin full swing. Local people are reportedly up in arms, discussing ways of stopping the mining rather than whether it should be stopped. However, local campaigners report the same problems as people in the Orkneys face (see UC37, letters); people still lay they're anti-uranium, not anti-nuclear. However, the local press always print anti-nuclear letters, so there's hope yet. LONDON: Is God really on the sideof the anti-abortionists? John Corrie MP, theoriginal qmnsor of the anti-abortion bill (nowall too likely to gm through) has got mumps, which has made him sterile. Final

undercurrents sa

PIE IN THE SKY, aco-operative wholefood cafe in Bristol want more co-operative members to aid expansion. There is wen the Possibility of a small wagel Details from Pie in the Sky, Totterdown Centre, 140 Wells Road, Bristol4. Tel- 776289 or 426203, evenings.

ALTERNATIVE RESEARCH i s a proposal to provide cheap campaign research for pressur groups by using student labou and encouraging closer communication between campaigners and academic researchers. Research proposals or callers of help toiMigel Mortimer, Energy Workshop, Department of Physical Sciences, Sunderland Polytechnic, Chester Road, Sunderland SRl 3SD. Tel: (0783) 76191 ext 134.

WOMEN'S STUDIES INTERNATIONAL QUARTERLY are seeking articles for the 1981 issue on Women, Technology and Innovation. Send to Dale Spender, University of London Institute of Education, Bedford Way, London WC1. Forthcoming publications in 1980 include Women and the Media and Women i n Future Research.

COUNTRY COLLEGE has produced a book The Heat Retainino Greenhouse. containing ideas on extending the growing season for greenhouse crops into the winter season using solar energy alone. Copies at Â£1.5 from Country College, 11 Harmer Green Lane, Digswell, Welwyn, Herts.

THE WELLBEING CENTRE is looking for support in the form of money, skills, material, tools and advice, to expand their project of providing classes and workshops in alternative possibilities. Further details from Denise Pyle, Chy-an-Sol, Maynes Row, Tucking Mill, Cambourne, Cornwall.

Stop Nuclear Waste Transport Through London Badges available at 20p plus postage or Â£1.5 for ten from the London !gion Anti-Nuclear Alliance, a 6 Endsleigh St., London WC1. The Workers'Plans conference oruanlsed bv CAITS-the centre for ~lternativeIndustrial and Technological Systems-last November/was a great success It was attended by Shop Stewards from most of the firms that have produced alternative plans of proposalsLucas, Parson, Vickers and so on. Working groups looked at the options in power engineer car production, telecommunications, heavy engineering and health care. One result of the conference was a committment t o devel a network organisation to tr to co-ordinate the various plans and the related activities of the various shop stewards combine committees. Copies of the papers produced for the conference can be obtained from CAITS, NELP, Longbridge Road, Dagenham, Essex. A revised version of Dave Elliott's Enemy Options and Employment study is also available from CAITS. Price Â£2.50

INSTITUTE FOR FOOD AND DEVELOPMENT POLICY is a 'not-for-profit research, documentation, and education centre' focusing on food and agriculture. Publications include The A i d Debate, an assessment of the impact of the world Bank and foreign Investments in the third world, and What vwcan do, a study of how peoplecr" get involved in food related projects. Details from: Instit for Food and Development Policy, 2588 Mission Street, San Francisco, California ' 941 10.

The intellectual left in Britain IS going through one o f its petenmiel internal debates-this time concerning the relationships between science and.society. if, you want to indulge yourself iff. a feast of analysispurged of romadtic libertar~anism,havea look at the latest edition of Science Bulletin, the COMMUNIST PARTY Saience and Technology Journal (35p from 27 Bedford Street WC2). For an easier read look at Science for People 43/44 'Science under Capitalism', 75p from BSSRS, 9 Poland Street. Hard core enthusiasts should of course look at Radical S c i ~ Journal also from 9 Poland St. The big issue these days is whether all science is actually ideological or whether there is something called objective truth When and if the issue is resolved Undercurrents will ofv course pass on the word.

uicycies tsuiienn i s puoiished bi-monthly by FOE.Contains details and reports from the growing number of bike groups up and down the country. From Friends of the Earth Ltd., 9 Poland Street, 3DG.

INTERNATIONAL VOLUNTARY SERVICE is expanding its programmes of overseas volunteers to embrace Mozambique. In 1980 IVS hopes t o send t o Mozambique about 12 volunteers followed by another 12 in 1981. The total programme will level off at between 24 and 30 volunteers, all on 2 year contracts. Further information from Bernard Greaves, IVS, Ceresole House, 53 Regent Road, Leicester L E I 6YL. (Tel: (05331 541862).

Lower Shaw Farm, Shaw, Swindon, Wilts. Our Spring programme includes weekends on Alternative Medicine, Women's music and dance, Easter Craft Celebration, Growth Movement - a Critique. SAE for details. North London Anti-Nuclear Group have produced a booklet Nuclear Power - some plain facts. Copies at 20p each or 8 for Â£ from North London AntiNuclear Group, Earth Exchange, 213 Archway Road, London N6.

Apreliminary list of international contacts on alternative production and conversion i s available from Fremfiden i vare hender, Torggt 35, Oslo 1, Norway. Price Â£ (individuals), Â£1 (political organisations), Â£2 (other institutions).

Activists of the NATIONAL ABORIGINAL LIBERATION FRONT OF AUSTRALIA are starting the Aboriginal Information Centre in London to create an awareness of the problems and political struggle of Black Australians, and t& . raise political and financial support for land rights, selfdetermination and economic independence. Information, speakers and material for , articles are available from the centre (at present Box 19, 136 Kingsland High Street, London EB)

The AT boom continues. WARWICK UNIVERSITY have launched a new degree course in Engineering Design and , Appropriate Technology. The, course aims at 'producing 9 0 graduates for work.pH \n r y , c^, small firms, a l w m . 5 <,,,n a technology, and thiKfcworJd -(dTe development'.

Undercurrents 38 Euential reading for would-be graduate; from Warwick University and anyone else who thinks 'small is beautiful' can be =lied to units of capitalist production-ldin#ton Mu/ tinationals end Small Firms, Magic w M y t h ere two excellent mpons from ISLINGTON ECONOMY GROUP. The truth of inner city industrial decline it wailÃ§bl from Pe"! Brimson, 56 Cowley Road, London E11. Tel: 01-359 5402. Price Â£1 SUN POWER ECOLOGY CENTRE, 83 Blackstock Road, London N4, have produced a pamphlet The dangers of atomic t e transport throuoh London. Copies 15p each or 50p for five.

KNOW FUTURE PUBLICATIONS have published en Alternative Prospect for Prospsctive Students. A valuable pamphlet for enwonced students too. Copies 20p plus 10p p&p from Owe Spwner, c/o Student Community Action Resouras Programme, 1st floor, Bombay House. 59 Whitworth Street.

THE SOLAR GARDEN dncrlbes itself as 'the first t o intensive scientific appro* organic horticulture'. Published Â¥ a series of information sheets t o supplement any basic primer, it aims t o increase production by avoiding setbacks rather than curing them. Subscription Â£ from County College, 11 Harmer Green Lane, Digswell, Welwvn, Herts.

Participation i n Public Transport Plans, by John Abbiss and Les Lumidon. Published by the ' BEDFORD SQUARE PRESS of the National Council for Social Service in association with TRANSPORT 2000, it is available from bookshops for Â£1.2 or by post from Macdonald and Evans, Estwer Road, Plymouth, for Â£1.40 The Green Earth is a correipondence course from the NATIONAL EXTENSION COLLEGE. The full fee for the course i s Â£20which covers court* materiel end NEC tuition. The text in the form of a workbook is also available separately for Â£3.9 + 80p pap. Contact the National Extension College, 18 Brooklands Avenue, Cambridge CB2 2HN.

SCIENCE AND SOCIETY HISTORY WORKSHOP are meeting on 23/24 February. Contributions include: Early attempts at workers* control; Forcepsend Midwifery in the 19th Century; Domestic technology and the home. Tickets are Â£ wages, Â£ unwaged from Science end Society History Workshop, London University Extra-Mural (Room 266). 26 Russell Souare.

23 February, The Central Hall, Oldham, Manchester. Fee Â£2 details c/o SCAT, 31 Clerkenwell Close, London EC1. Tel: 01-253 3627 Housing-CuIs-Crisis-FiMttiack A national delegate conference,

A large rally t o focus the opposition t o Nuclear Power is being planned in Central London o n Saturday, 29 March, the first anniversary of the Harrisburg Accident. March to Trafalgar Square to arrive 2.30. For details contact FOE, 9 Poland Street, London, W1. Tel: 01-434 1684.

AQUARIAN FESTIVALa New-Age celebration, is at Battersea A n Centre, London SW11 on 16 and 17 March. Activities include speakers, an Authors' Table, dancing and drama followed by meditation and healing workshops. Enquiries t o Joan Andrews, 16a Franconia Road, London SW4.

The SOIL ASSOCIATION is holding an intensivecourse on the principles and practice of producing crops without fertilizers and sprays. It will be held at Shropshire Farm Institute Walford, Shrewbury, from ~unday.30March t i ~ h u r r i a y 3 April. For details, see to Kate Wattlers, The Soil Association, Walmut Tree Manor, Haughiey, Stowmarket, Suffolk.

Energy: The present crisis and the fuam la a course of lectures arranged by the POLYTECHNIC OF NORTH LONDON, with BRITISH PETROLEUM, the NATIONAL COAL BOARD and UKAEA. The ten-week course started on 23 January and cost Â£2 (to help pay for Nukes etc?) Of particular interest t o Undies readers are 12 March, The prospects for electricity and the need for nucleerpower, and on 19 March, Renewable Energy Resources, both being contributions from the UKAEA. The lectures are held in the Dept. of Geography and Geology, 383 Holloway Road, N7.

BIRMINGHAM FOEare organising a train from Brum to London for the Anti-Nuke demonstration on 29 March. For further details send sae t o FOEBrum Train, 54 Allison Street, Digbeth, Birmingham 5 with a rough idea of number of seats ifoossible olease.

Alternatives to Nuclear Power is a CONSERVATION SOCIETY conference. An impressive list of speakers (who's Dave Elliott?) are muting at Bath University on 12/13 April. Details are available from Consoc (Bath), c/o L Wolff, 44 ClevelandWalk, Bath, Avon BA2 6JT.

THE NURTON'S programme for 1980 includes: 15-17 February How t o live better o n 1-8 guide to nonconsuming (Possibilities for state funding?) 2-5 March The construction o f flat plate solar mllectors-for those without old Undies. 5-7 March Garden to ki(eftengrowing end preparing your own food. 7-9 M a r c h h w to start and run a small farm-a weekend considering the economic, organisationel and emotional issues of smallholding. Iwonder if it covers Common Agricultural Policy regulations? Further details from The Nurtons, Tintern, Nr Chepstow, Gwent NP6 7NX. For anyola thinking of en early holiday, PUERTAS ABIERTAS are holding en exhibition covering just about everything you read about in this magazine. From 29 March to 8 April. Details from 'Can Cauvia', Co. de Biniaraix, Seller (MallorenBaleares) Spain.

we are reliably Infwnndthat we were mistaken in our tan isaue when we told readers to contact Harry Frost for , information on the Parliamentary Liaison Group for Alternative Energy Strategies. He h a no connection with this group. which hddsmeetingson a m w -pol icy in the House of Commons. (Ask the Officer on Duty at St Stephen's Entrance for precisevenuel. Future d i ~ u s s i o n17 i Midi ~ i i w l Heat and Power- Vki? w Delusion? end 21 April Technology lid fhe RISw Price of Energy, both at 7 pm.

There is an Intsrnuibnat Exhibition of Sttf Sufficiency at Westminster Exhibition Centre, Royal Horticultural Halls, Vincent Square, London from 69 April. For further information write to the INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION OF SELF SUFFICIENCY LTD., 9 Pwk Place. Clifton, Bristol BS8 1JP.

Advance Warning. The next COMTEK will be in June 1901 in Milton Keynes, but not in the bowl1

pressure h a been brought to bear upon the Government that they cannot afford to &nore it, as the Swedish example only too well illustrates.

Informing about Atomkraft

Atomkraf t rHE DANISH anti-nuke organisation, OOA, have just launched a bold ampaign to inform everyone of Denmark's 2.3 million households of he alternatives to atomic power. John Nixon explains how it's all ~ i n done g and hopes that British anti-nuke campaigners can take dvantage of it., With the British Government's nnouncement to order the controverial PWR, Britishanti-nuke campaignrs are faced with their stiffest task to late. Now more than ever before is ffective and large scale organised resisance needed. It i s needed to shift the ~uclearpower issue from the fringes nto the centre of public debate. iuciear power must be made an issue hat people - ordinary people - talk bout for if we fail to&doso then we an,kiss goodbye to nuclear alternq ives and look forward instead to the lreaded reality of a brave new nuclear mrld. So, how can we do it?Well, naybe we can learn a l i t t l e from hat's been going on in Scand-inavia nd in Denmark particularly. In Denmark the majority of the opulation are against nuclear power; 7 Sweden it was enough to bring own their last government. Both ountries will hold, in the near future

a referendum over the subject. Thus nudear power in Scandinavia, unlike in Britain, is an issue of which all are aware. Furthermore whilst the Swedes already have nuclear power, including the now infamous nuke at Barseback on the Swedish coast - just 23 kilometres across the water from Copenhagen, Denmark is still without it, even thoqgh its introduction was first proposed by the government in i t s Energy Plan of June 1976. The main *ason for this i s the strong and continual public pressure against nuclear power which has made the issue such a political hot potato that successive governments have preferred to postpone the issue rather than face the mass wrath of the public. Although it might be argued that the Danish Government are more sympathetic to and are more easily swayed by public opinion than say ours is, it must also be argued that such a degree o -

SOhow has thls pressure been achieved? The answer lies to a large degree with the popular press. Denmark's-equivalent of the Daily Mirror, Ekstra Bladet has, in particular, maintained with typ~caltabloid gusto and zeal a relentless campaign against nuclear power and atomic weapons with Barseback being i t s biggest target, often with front page headlines and 'shock reports'. (If only we had that in Britain!). But the most important reason for this pressure is OOA, which, translated intp English means The Organisation for Information about Nuclear power. If you didn't get to read Lisbeth tinkls article adout OOA in Undies 19(Dec 76/Jan 77) then briefly said4 OOA began in t h e winter of 1973174(If you do know about us already then skip this section.) A t a press meeting in Copenhagen on the 31st January 1974 the organisation stepped forward publically for the first time, demanding a three year postponement of the atomkraft decision, which the electricity Beards and Riso were trying to rush through parliament at the tim on the grounds that a long l i s t o f , problkms surrounding atomkraf? and energy policy were unclarified. Resistance to a hasty decision spread quickly through the population and autcnomous local OOA groups (now numbering about 140) sprang up all over the country. Before this time, as , in Britain today>atomkraft was not a large topic of public debate.

Distribution Against a strong publi

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put out by the electricity boards, OOA managed to not only influence the decisions made by the government but also the whole population. In the summer of 1976, after W A ' s first l a r e scale mobilisation which consisted of distributing 80D,000 newspapers ail over t h e country 'and the collectiop of 170,000 signatures in only 6 weeks cmng for a postponement of the nuclear decision, an opinion poll published showed that there was for the first time a p6puIar majoriv rrgainst atomkraft. On the 10th August. that year t h e government suddenly announced that the decision be postponed for an indefinite period of time. Thus it backed down, public opinion had won the day. Since the postponement, OOA has continued informing about atomkraft by publishing regular journals including i t s magazine 'Atomkraft;.and books. It has tried to remain in a constant state o f alert in case'of a sudden governmental decision, running i n the meantime various smaller campaigns, e.g. against Barsback and has sought to co-operate with anti-nuke campaigners in othercountries. Organisationally speaking, 004 i s a broad based organisation, encompassing #// nuclear power critics, i.e. from dl political backgrounds. It is this broadness OOA feels that has given the organisation its strength and effectiveness; it has meant thatWA has been able to avoid party political dis~ussionswhich could have led to a possible splitting of the nuclear power resistance.

National meetings Structurally however, the organisation i s very loose, this i s so that as many people as possible can feel themselves responsible for, and have influence in, the work being done. Thus dne cannot become a member'of 's inspad with /r1 if one is ~ h d r feb ho chosen leader bQt instead, national meetings are held at least once every six months where

decisions are taken and plans laid, and an internal mazazine which comes OUK everv two weeh keeps everyone in touch in the meantime. Financially, OOA manages to stay afloat mainiy from voluntary contributions and gifts from private individuals including the 4000 strong Guarantee Fund. Contributors to the fund decide how much they will give and how often they will give it, e.g. every 3 or 6 months; in t h i s way OOA can help plan i t s budget better. So, that's who we are, now onto what we're up to at the moment -- the

Who's paying for it?

Danmark Uclei~Atomkraft At a press meeting in Copenhagen Qnthe 8th Noyember 1979 the 'Plan Without Atomkraft' campaign was officially launched with the publica'tion of a 12 page colour pamphlet cum newspaper called 'Danmark uden Atomkraft' (which you should be able to figure out by now!) and it is around this pamphlet that the campaign is centred and all hopes pinned. I won't go into details here about what it contains, coz that'll be like preaching to the converted, however I will say that they've made a bloody goou job of it, well laid out with colour pictures and graphics on every page - the thing is written in everyday language which i s clear, to the point, and which everybody can understand. rt brings home the point that there are other possibilities than atomkraft. There i s one page entitled 'There are 13 good reasons - at least LU jay no thanks to atomkraft,' another page on t5e use of other fossil fuels, coal, oil and natural gas, and a third page on the dangers of plutonium. The rest i s given over to explaining all the different forms of alternative energy that can be developed, sun, wind, and biogas plus a middle page spread which, with the aid of an excellent drawing, shows how, with a l i t t l e thought, energy consumption in the home can be halved without coming tB miss anything; a!l.in all it's a very professional looking document which should be a winner all the way.

'So far so good' you might be thinking, 'but who's paying for it and how is it going to be distributed to 2.3 million households?!That's a good question and it desewes a good answer, in a nutshell - to the first part, hopefully the general public, and to the second, US! t all a little bit risky, That ~ i g hsound and OOA openly admit they're sticking their neck out, but you don't go taking calculated risks if you don't think you're gonna win, do you?! ON the weekend of November I @ 11th just two days after its' release the pamphlet was delivered to 350,000 households in 20 boroughs all over the country with the aid of over 1000 activists. Those doing the delivering were members of the local groups plus those on the mobilisation list. . (This l i s t contains the names of over 10,000 people who are prepared to help out in time of need.) Furthermoreqrinted on thcback page of the pamphlet is an appeal, 'Give a tenner (10 kroner, approx. Ă&#x201A;ÂŁ1to Denmark without Atomkraft' and conveniently enclosed i s a giro card made out to OOA, that one can send the contribution in with. Considering that wages in Denmark are at least double that of England, 10 kroners isn't too much to part with (especially as a beer in a pub costs you nearly that much anyway!) so hopefully a lot of those 350,000 in the flrst wavb are going to cough up their tenner if not more. If they don't, then the cam.paign - doesn't go ah^ further, at least with the iamphlet aniway, . however local groups have also been organising other things too for the campaign, e.g. theatre,debatesl film evenings and exhibitions - nevertheless enough money should have bekn raised from the first wave to cover the , cost of the first edition - 500,000 copies. But we do!? expect to fail and the second -wave. ahother 20 odd broums, has alreacly been-planned, and the pamphlets ordered.

Idercurrents 38

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Well, that's the s$ry so far. It is >pedf u at apart from the a i m d, the cam'paign wit1 4x1epwre tha! the.ywly elected Energy Minister -.&e@cig %kmw n crats were re-elected a@h..iOctober 1979 - will present an-alternative energy plan ready for the refe'rendum that has bew&prepared by independent reseurckrs whd are themselves not coinmitt4 t o nucle?r power. Other+=-a ~ = hn t a i mi&* k ~ i g h t e d

We haven't got up to the Danish level o British environmentalists.have been split own particular ecological niche. Tony W the ANC will focus this common aspect

amounts o f time t o what have oft6 Colleagues from the movcftmnt'in Europe, A~lstraliaand the US often ask fiy the British Anti-Nuclear movement is so weak. It is not an easy question to answer. We have a $ .< :I; network of groups that extends i?:<$$ throughout most of the country. wef;:?$$ : .; *'!: have spent a lot of time building. ;.:;$$$ notable exceptions, failed to systematically those sections o f the.-: !? ~2 regional and national links. We have*.:!.;! number of well endowed national j ~ ~ <community . ~ , ~ ; which could be reached :>.!Fbodies involved in the campaign anc&y;::: through.such organisations as the :.~C%P;. churches, tenants associations, ,* -,,,',? we have what is prabably unims, youth 0rganisationgett:i , ...,* :j!,':, intellectual case against n There'sa :wtirld.uf di&&ce ,betwit%;->! of any country in the world and .' 1 organising a !die in' or petiticin in we have one of the weakest political the H i b SL and w s t e d c a l l hi* ~ movements an almost abjjct failutx ing an-mG+nm[eai c o n s t i r n & : wit&: !::'~ to mobilisc the broad mas of p b p l e in say, the trade unmn and labow .,. to press the anti-nuclear-demands. movement, and to date little has Wn done to bridge t h i s gap. ; - . -:I.:' Leave it to the experts For the concerned indiv.jdua1, ,. . choice has thus ofteo been .b,twefv '!::' One of the factors must surely buying into a whole environmefitd. .-ji be the way i n which we have allow-package - whales, recyuled.!iyg rolis :- :.< ed the debate to become bogged d o w and bicycles and all or.findin&:her/his in sterile debate amongst 'experts' way within the politics of aiirchism, our experts as much as theirs - to the feminism, environmtitalism, social@ point where most people feel unable and whatever.:.,Und&tindably the to do anything for lackof 'expertise'. public has f o i ~ p dthese internal diviIn part as a reaction to this and also as sions confusing t o say the 1east:lt i*. a result of the sense of futility in the primarily to provide a single referefie traditional 'lobby your MP' approach point.for the many anckinixeasing of some of the national pressure number of people who are conc&ne$ groups there has developed a split about the nuclear programme that d~ between the 'direct action'and lobbyANTI NUCLEAR CAMPAIGN ha* 4 ing' wings of the movement with little been formed. The objective will b t t co-ordinated action in between. I n brozden the base o f the 9isting addition the core o f the movement movement so as to provide an Metcame from and has remained associattive and~inthe widest sense 'pdticai, ed with, a very narrow section of the movement to oppose what many o f , community - the 'young"middle us see as a very real threat and one .. class'and 'educated' - and to a large which has increased .under the p r e w extent has not -aged to reach out beyond its consewatim/environmental- government. ist constituency. I n an attempt to find m e a w n Bringing the groups tagethe and democratic ways of working Various 'consenm' models have been Achieving the d w e e of ~ 6 4 avvlied. One unfoPtunate result of this necessary to-launchiuch a cam h'& been to alienate alarm number has nat been easv and has i m i W ~

towards other fossil fuels and playdown the pos$ibilitiesof energy saving and alternative energy sources. Finally, it is hoped that the campaign will fur* ther strengthen us and thus the antinuke lobby i n Denmark.The big ques.tion still remaining is, can we create a .similar ormisation with equal strength in Britain~?. Because we certainly need one. With the PWR order, Britain.along with France is going to be one of the hot spots o f the 198qs where the' nuclear power battle will be won or lost. We need strong organ: ised resistance for that task, and we need it noweand there's nobody going to do it but US. John Nixon FOI V h f a n g W . a b o u t t h Campaign , W'WA. JOhl N ~ O U St W A 'w* Gmppa, Skhdeqrade 26, '

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a national level what is beipg done locally. It can open up some new opportunities and it can help draw in new support and improve co-ordination within the movement. The launching of the campaign has already stimulated joint action in a number of towns. Public meetings are being called with the backing o f all the existing movement groups plus the trades unions, several of the political parties and in some cases j ~ i n t l ywith the C.N.D. This improved w r d i n a t i o n and increased support from groups not previously active against Nuclear Power will in no way restrict any group from doing its own thing either within or outside c&,the Anti-Nuclear Campaign.

ba#s the accommodation has not b&n too traurnatid (though I'm sure some would disagree) other5 are still w i n g the 'suck it and see' principle

and still more are sitting watching There are obviously some groups for whom any form o f centralism is anathema, We can only respectfully differ with them over our different ways of working and go our separate ways in the h q e that some of their more extreme, if principled criticisms, will be modified by experience. Far more of a problem has been the public criticism of some organisation, which seems to have been designed t o label the new Campaign for the benefit of the media in bogeyman terms. ..

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Anyone reading through the l i s t ;?c : . .*It is hcoming clear that $he Thatcher of members of the Anti-Nuclear Caw !'b,:.::leernment's plans for a crash propaign Steering Committee and the li*,. ~ . - 23tamtne of PVR's will be one o f the of people wbo spoke at the conferen& ' main focal points for opposition and will recognise that the Campaign has.;:..,),; one which will draw considerable,supindeed a very broad base of support ;;.;:.*' ,port from the trade Union and Labour both politically and geographically aW"' movement whose endorsement of the nuclear programme w& always condiintends to campaign against all aspects of nuclear power, unlike some organtional on adequate safety and public isations who have, on occasions, felt : consultation. Equally important will be the camunable to support the movement in its . paign around the hazards o f radiation opposition to enrichment or to test exposure. There is a move to raise the drilling for nuclear waste sites. For limits for the amount of radiation that the first time we have an uneauivocal the public and workers car^ be exposed to at a time when much svid~nce shows that these are already between 5 and 20 times too high on the Industry's own assessment of what is an acceptable risk. This is an issue that has united many people from both the pro and anti-nuclear camps and could open up a real debate on the hazards of nuclear p o w r as the wealth of evidence corns to light. During the next few months some 23 sites will be explored for dumping of nuclear waste. It is already ctear that the public enquiries will be a farce and offer little scope for local objectors to raise the real issues that concern them. Equally the increasing amount of traffic in nuclear waste has provided a focus for local opposition in areas where the issue had previously seemed remote. Already road routes have been changed in rewonse to local objections (it now goes along the M6 at 12 mph) and there has been a demonstration against rail transport of waste through London. demand to stop nuclear power in all its aspects as well i s pressing the alterRan of campaign native programme for both energy These issues plus the fact that many and jobs. of the AGR's are now nearing fuelling There has been a l o t of talk about stage, with some uncomfortably close autonomy of existing groups. In reality to large populations, will provide scope n o + q $ d ~igqoiwtioncan 'take over' for a vxiety of forms of public opposithe mov&$niF\t can 6omplement at '

tion. The campaign aims to link together these autonomous local campaigns and to complement them at a national level. Some key campaign dates w t ich ~ have emerged are March 29th for a mass march and rally in London. It is to be hoped that collaboration on this may do more to build unity between different movement organisations by actually working together than all the a d i s c u h n s successful and abortive have so far achieved. April 26th is also being canvassed as an international day of action. This will coincide with the largest ever march on Washington in the US and demonstrations throu&@ut Europe. So far p e North East groups plan to protest the Hartlepool site and discussions are underway in other areas. Whitsun is also the date chosen by colleagues in Europe for international actions and the movement is discussing which site would be suitable for a national rally/carnival. The Anti Nuclear&mpaign is like. ,' ly to be more successful t h other ~ Anti Nuclear organisations In atfracting money from the trade union movement but equally it i s important that other money i s raised if we are to mount an effective campaign on the many issues we are attacking. Affiliations from the many groups who have so far given tacit support to the Anti Nuclear Campaign will help in this but more important will ensure that it i s truly democratic and represenative of the movement. We are appealing also to the many individuals who support our aims to send donations and join existing or form new local Anti Nuclear groups so that there is campaign activity in every town and village in Britain. Given t h i s we should be able to build a really effective campaign with a good chance of stopping the nuclear programme.

Tony We&

about 6 am. When they arrived (7 am) at the fence surrounding the reactor site, they found National Guard and State Police officers (many with their identification numbers covered) stationed behind it approximately 20 meters apart. While drums and bagpipes played, some of the occupiers approached the fence and began cutting the rings that secured the fence t o the ; poles. (A decision had been taken to' damage property as little as possible, thus to try not to cut the fence itself.) Police immediately attacked, spraying mace from aerosol cans into the faces of persons cutting the wire at a very close range. Others were jabbed in the guts with police clubs to push them away from the fence. Some protected themselves from mace by holding plastic sheets in front of themselves.

the groups in the south who, after meeting Saturday night and Sunday morning, reached a consensus to try again, t h i s time in another place. At about 1 pm Sunday, 3 groups of 500-600 persons approached the fence. They had secured more wire cutters and ropes. In front were affinity groups with wire cutters, behind them groups with ropes and behind them people to pull the ropes.

Vicious They succeeded in taking down large sections of fence in about 1 minute. However police were also better organised (and more vicious) than they had been the day' before. They formed a shoulder-to-shoulder line and jabbed people back with their clubs and maced them. They especially sought out persons with wire cutters, dragged them behind the lines, beat them up, and arrested them. An apparent police tacticfwasnot to arrest people unless they could charge them with a serious crime (felony), and some police have been quoted as saying that they were not there to arrest people, but to beat them up. Police pushed occupiers back some 200 meters, where they (the occupiers) tried tq make a road block and s i t down behind it Police regrouped, came over the road block, maced sitting people, and continued to push them back.

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At one point people divided into two groups, one,with wire cutters, , the Other attempting to divert police attention. When someone did cut a hole in the fence police made it impossible to'get onto the site. Instead police moved out through the

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$ttempts.seemed disorgqised since many people faced policy vi6iepce fa the firsttimeahd didfiot know' how tp react. Also, c o m m u n i c ~ t i ~ n a@ decision making broke down . > etause some affinity groups were o~t,~ell,enough .prepared." . . . 'OnSaturday afternoon, demonstrators from northand south walked along the fence forming a human chain which linked the miin groups attempting occupation. , ,,

Wire cutters f e n c f o j o d - , ~.repelled e with r gas. Most of them then joined

A t around 3 pm on Sunday, some 1500 occupiers went to the main gate, where they joined with people who had been picketing there. Some people tried to chain themselves to the gate. Others sat down on the road with their backs to thegate. Police attacked with water hoses, mace and smoke bombs from behind the gate, although at that stage, the demonstrators never tried - to enter the site. This confrontation lasted several hours. Police then withdrew but remained guarding the entire 7 miles of fence surrounding the Seabrook site. Demonstrators remained at the main gate Sunday night and Monday.

National Guard On Sunday evening the police raided the camp of the occupiers from the north and took backpacks and tents. National Guard troops who became friendly with demonstratorsat another camp were replaced by State Policemen.

Local support Local support of the demonstrators was encouraging. A poll taken in Massachusetts and New Hampshire on Saturday showed 66% of the residents were not opposed to the Seabrook occupation. Local residents brought large amounts of food and dry clothing to demonstrators. When demonstrators came to a laundromat with a truckload of wet clothes, people there emptied the dryers to make room. Seabrook police were also sympathetic. Their authority had been taken away by the

Throughout Sunday and ~ o n d a ~ , some affinity groups continued to roam through the marshes and forests around the Seabrook site cutting holes in the fence. Several persons were seriously injured by police during these attempts. During the whole weekend, one affinity group cooked for all the rest, and another affinity group volunteered to guard the camps and belongings of occupiers. Participants said that although the site was not occupied, valuable lessons were learned about the logistics of occupation, decision making, affinity groups, preparatory training, and how . to deal with police violence. The Seabrook struggle had symbolic significance for the anti-nuclear movement worldwide. A clear victory at Seabrook would almost certainly bring the nuclear industry to a stand-still. The nuclear lobby is aware of t h i s too. For the time being the battle is undecided. Several hundred people still remain near Seabrook, and are planning a civil ' disobedience action at the headquarters' of the electric company which owns , Seabrook. I

This account is published courtesy of WISE, ;+ Contact: Coalition to Occupy Seabrook c/o 595 Mass. Avenue, Cambridge, Mass. 02139. tel. 617 661 6204.

. . , . . ..,, ., , are employed to say (although one : !. t can hope thty will decide t o dissent.: , at some stage). The reallmbalance . ' . .,-.is in the situation in which antinuclear activists are trying to intervene. '

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Cheap?

The whole momentum of th industrial system, backed by in national monooolv ca~italism. gether with government and trade union bureaucrats, is ranged against them. Challenge one part (nuclear) and the rest floods in to the defence, both in real terms (mutual aid) and in terms of the interlocking logic of industrial society. Statisticsare 'Inmy political life I have never known such a well organised scien quoted that tell us that on current tific, industrial and technical lobby as the nuclear power lobby' (Tony trends the population will 'need', Bonn in Parliament, 2 December 1977). say 500 mtce by 2000 AD. And of The nuclear devil has all the best tunes: but the anti-campaigners course if the current industrial should compose their own instead of playing variations, says Dave system is given its head then that Elliot. may be the case. 'Nuclear power is cheap' - well, given the fact that electricity prices are fixed politicalBut does it really address the main The efforts of a fairly small band of ly - not on an open market - that active anti-nuclear campaigners have over issues? Some people are against nukes may b? trie. Statistics tell us what because of the likely dangers to . the past few years, gone some way to is true of the status quo. Not what health and life if something Should go balancing the debate on nuclear power, could be true given some other not long since only a monologue by the wrong. But others are more concerned social and economic system - or UKAEA. But there have been social costs, with what might happen if the nuclear even just given a modification o f Tryins to argue technicalities with pro- dream succeeds. It's the goals - not the way technology i s (and has been) that are being the side-effects nuclear advocates is an exhausting developed. With something like questioned. business. I can think of several antiĂ&#x201A;ÂŁ2 bn spent on nuclear power in nuclear activists who have exhausted the UK over the past few decades, themselves i n recentyears in endless Social Justification it i s inevitably hard to clear the air debates and discussions with opponents Now you may say that some of the and ask - 'but what if we did it from the UKAEA, BNFL and the like. differently?' Private and institutional Working in your spare time on shoestring likely social and political outcomes of centralisation of connuclear power economic power - past capital inbudgets gradually takes its toll. And for trol, increased security measures and so vestments and the interests of people whose values are those of the on - are really side-effects - not goals. groups seeking their share in profitcounter culture, getting lock@ into Butequally there are those who, withing from future investments - prebureaucratic battles and academic hairout being unduly pessimistic, see these empts alternatives and defines what splitting is often more than depressing it's irrelevant. The real issues transcend outcomes as part of a general authoritar- is desirable and even what is possible. ian trend in modern industrial society, They define the agenda. the technicalities -although to get at Given this context the radical is while conspiracy theorists will argue them you usually have to know your in asposition o f real weakness. The that far from being accidental, they are way around the subject, in order to cxonly resources he or she can muster is .pose the values and assumptions behind consciously chosen by those who wish to protect their power. And as for some his or her imagination as to what could them. of the other social justifications for be. Something that can easily be dfs- . , nuclear power - 'vk will need it to fuel missed as utopian wishful thinking our materialism' - to challenge this is if not outright lunacy. Not surprisingly , Status Quo? tantamount to treason. It is an unmany people retreat from the fray into The problem is that the pro-nuclear challengable social goal. isolation - where they can indulge argument is based on a commitment to and maybe even in a limited way -the status quo. Nukes can keep things practice - their dreams. Or else faced running as they are, so they say, giving us Anti-nuclear Activists with the apparent truth of Marx's dicAny attempt by anti-nuclear activ'more of the same'. Now you may tum 'the ruling ideas are the ideas of choose to disagree - on technical ists to open up a debate on such issues the rulers', they may come to betieve grounds, talking about safety, environbrings them up against enormous the sifiaticnalist slogan 'All space is mental or economic problems. But that hurdles -after all they are challenging occupied by the enemy' -and opt, in the status quo. The polite debates way lies an endless chain of assertion, desperation and frustration for ' between pro's and anti's hide an enorcounter arguments, proofs, retreats and violence. mous imbalance o f power. It is not so on. Ma) be it is good to keep the ' , ,a "Pi really the individual well-supported pressure up, on such issues: it provides Alternative Strategies,.::. ., ::;; pro-nuclear pundits who are the copy for the media, acts as a recruiting problem: no doubt they are reasonroute for the anti-nuclear movement, But there may be more pitoductiws: able people, who believe in what they and may even lead to improved safety. alternatives. The hegemony of 'rul& ; ~ . t

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Undercurrents 38

iSfe.&ts~iiotcompl~te.Thespecific problems and contradictions that people experience i n their lives within the present system constantly provides the opportunity for the development of an alternative, radical consciousness and action. The nuclear issue amongst others seems currently to be radicalising many people. Now of course, isolated individuals stand little chance of fighting the entrenched pro-nuclear juggernaut. But organised, supportative groups can - whether in terms of 'developing effective critiques of nuclear power creating viable and convincing scenario, taking direct action against nukes where necessary, organising at the grass roots to win people away from the nuclear dream, or demonstrating practical alternatives at the community level.

Confrontations Personally, I feel that it i s becoming increasingly pointless to spend time getting sucked into 'technical' confrontations on energy policy. Leave that to the growing band of anti-nuclear professionals, who seem to like it. It's good that they do, because obviously there i s a need to

that our anti-experts will become the new alternative technocratic elite! For these reasons -and in particular because of the basic power imbalance that is hidden by the context of gentlemanly debates - I would have thought that our limited resources would be equally well spent on opening up a new flank. After all, given that we are weak and fighting a very powerful but centralised enemy, we ouqht to adopt a guerilla strategy hit and run, coming always from an unexpected angle. Don't try to confront them where they are strongest and best organised - draw o f f their resources on terrain that i s unusual to them. Now the problem with t h i s is that, if you get too 'far out' you can be ignored. To some extent you have to deal with contemporary issues as defined by the status quo. But you can try to do so in a way which challenges their assumptions, and widens the agenda. *~ .:, ..,. .,..-

Practical Alternatives

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So what does this all mean in practice? Well it could mean trying to argue not against nuclear power so

Scenario' operated this way - hence the hostility of officials to it. The CAITS 'Energy Options and Employment' report drew some eve heavier fire. (See Eddies). And at a different level", the response from 4 qaifadement to the Lucas -pace workers' alternative plan, indicated that it had hit them. NATTA hopes to continue the tradition. Optiiii; for a 'positive' stance his other, tactical advantages beyond widening the agenda - in terms of winning support. There are plenty of things to be 'against'. But that can seem negative and even paranoid. Most people want to believe there are desirable alternatives before they will commit themselves to challenging the ,. status quo. Obviously you have to avoid undue optimism - w e must not' overseft the alternatives. They have to be subjected to the same scrutiny ; as we have applied to nuclear power. ; But at least we can be on the offensive. Just,bow well defined we can make our alternative scenarios and propbsals - given our limited resources - i s another question. To some extent, adopting the guerilla approach, we can" manoeuvre the official agencies into' doing much of the work, while we rtidve to other ground -although o f course we have to try to make sure that they don't get i t wrong subsequently. We ' have to try to consolidate victories where possible - by subjecting sub sequent official developments to public accountability and social con- , trol. A tall order - but for example the last thing we wantis centralised AT ,...

The approach I have outlined obviojsly requires flexibility. There' , are lots of other possibilities beyond ' , ~ ' the ones I have 'mentioned - ranging. from demonstrating a public interest in 'voluntary simplicity', decentralisa-' ' tion and local control, to developing .*< more 'alternative plans' in industry. I'm not saying that issues such as radiation, storage, transport and safety are unimportant - they are .:-., vital in themselves and also as a recruiting 'entry point'. And it i s crucial to develop a strong trade . ,,; union position on nuclear safety . , backed up by public concern about the dangers of nuclear power. But I would hope that the aim would be to build on people's hopes ,as ..,:~2.;,,<.; well as on their fears. &+^ :;. ... " -..,. <..~,*:* ' Oavfrtiliott , '

keep the pressure up. But as I've already said there i s a danger that the debate will become impenetrable to outsiders - just as a dialogue amongst experts pro- and experts anti. On occasions this can be useful - in terms of 'sharpening' the anti-case and debunking the idea that there is a scientific consensus, and certainly it can at times radicalize the onlooking audience. Butin general winning this kind of deba*is of limited value - and#mmisalso the danger

much as for the alternatives - along the lines that, even i f nukes were clean, safe and cheap, the alternatives would be better, in terms of, say, matching energy and use needs, employment, security of supply (lots of small units are more reliable than big centralised units) and so on. That really throws them off balance - at least for a while, until they rush around collecting data to try to refute you. But it means that you are drawing them on and defining the agenda. In some

*For further details of NATTA, write. ,. to ATG, C/o Open University, Milton,, . . Keynes Bucks. , . .

Undercurrents 38

A history of the English O n ~ecember26th last year a small earthquake (Richter scale 5) hit the Carlisle area (not far from the Chaplecross nuclear plant) and was felt as far south as Kendal and Cumbria - the home of BNFL. No-one was hurt although considerable damage was done to property - remind in9 us that Britain is far from being safe from the caprices of nature. John Fletcher looks at the history of earthquakes in the UK and asks what problems these could present for our nuclear power plants . .

Much o f the nuclear industries claims to safety - so say nothing o f their nuclear reactors - rests on the belief that nuclear power stations are placed on geologically sound rock strata. I do not know anything about geology, but I have had a historical interest in earthquakes i n England from the earliest times up until 1750, especially in Somerset, and I have been surprised that, for example, 1 have come across descriptions - i n 1681 and 1748 - of earthquakes or strong tremors i n the immediate vicinity - Bridgewater - o f the Blackley Point A and B reactors, which, if a third reactor is added, is, I am lead t o believe, likely to become the most concentrated area o f nuclear power production i n the world.

974. Earthquake felt 'all over England.' (1) 'Violent'. (4) 1048. 'In this year there was a severe earthquake far and wide i n Britain.'

(2) Worcester and Derby being especialIv .. ~,mentioned. (1) , Wick (4). 1076. (1) 1081. Earthquake 'and terrible moans and groans from the bowels o f the earth (1). 1080. Earthquake all over England (1) (2) 'A great earthquake terrified all England with a horrible spectacle; for all the buildings were lifted up. and then again settled as before.'. (3) (4) 1110. ' A great earthquake' at shrewsbury. (4) Trent dry at Nottingham. 1119. 'A great earthquake was felt i n ~~~

1426. Earthquakes felt i n several parts of England. (1) 1551. Earthquake in Reigate, Croydon, and Dorking, so that pots and pans moved. (1) 1574. Earthauake felt at York. Worcest e r ~loucester,Bristol, Hereford. (7) 1580 April 6th Earthquake felt in 1158. Earthquake in many parts of London and rest o f England. Bells England. Thames ran dry at i n churches rang by themselves. London. (1) The gentlemen i n the Temple (law1165. Earthquake i n many parts o f yers) being at supper, were so much England. (1) scared by the shock that they ran 1179. A t Darlington i n Durham the from their tables and out of the Hall ground rose up and then crashed with the knives i n their hands. (1' dowii. (1) 1580. (1st o f May) Earthquake i n 1185. Earthquake in north o f Kent caused people t o rush to England. Church at Lincoln churches t o pray (1). shattered. (1 ) (4). 1665. Small earthquake near Oxforu. 1199. Earthquake i n Somerset, several people being thrown t o (1) 1667. Earthquake i n Staffordshire. 1) ground (1). 1678. Earthquake i n Staffordshire. (1) 1246. 'So great an earthquake in 1681. Eacthquake shook houses i n Englandas has ever been felt.' Somerset at Bridgewater, Taunton, (1) Several churches fell i n Kent. Wells, and 'other places'. (5) 1247: Earthquakes in many parts 1683. Sept. 17th, Earthquake i n Oxof England, especially in London foriishire. (1) by the banks o f the Thames, Oct. 9th. Earthquake i n Staffordwhere several houses fell down. shire and surrounding counties. (1) (1) (4). 1687. Earthquake in many parts of 1248. Earthquake i n Somerset, Britain. (7) damage to Wells Cathedral. (1) 1690. Earthquake at Bedford, Barn1250. Earthquake at St. Albans. (1) staple, Holyhead, Northampton1278. Earthquake in Somerset. shire (7). Church on Glastonbury Tor and 1703. Earthquake felt throughout the part o f Glastonbury Abbey thrown North. down. 1731. Earthquake in Northampton1316. 'A great earthquake' in England. shire. 1734. Earthquake in Sussex. (1 1382. A 'General earthquake' in England 1748. Earthquake i n Somerset and ' Devon. Many in Taunton rose - 'much damage' (1). from their beds terrified, ahd spent 1385. :Two earthquakes felt throughout nights in gardens. Many.walking a t ) England. (1)

some places here i n this country, but it was most severe in Gloucestershire. (2) 1132 (3). 'A great earthquake in many parts o f England.' (4) (1). 1142. Three rumbles felt at Lincoln.

Undercurrents 38 time of quake found great difficulty in staying upright. Many areas of the quake seems to have been from the South (English) Channel to the Severn, travelling roughly from the South East to the North West of Taunton, being felt also in Exeter and Crewkerne. (1). 1750. 8th Feb. earthquake in London. Several houses demolished. Terror widespread. March 8th. Earthquake in London. Several houses demolish ed. Terror. April 2nd. Earthquake,at Chester. Liverpool and Manchester (1). 1755. Possible earthquake at Whiston Cliffs in Black Hamilton mountains in Yorkshire (6) (A). 1771. Possible earthquake near source; of Tees, Wear and Tyne (6). 1773. Possible Earthquake - substantial earth tremor led to River Severn diverting i t s course - at Madeley/Buildwas on Severn (6) (C' 1884. Colchester earthquake. 4 killed. Richter S.S. Only ten miles from Magnox reactor at Bradwell. 1926. Hereford. Large quake but belov 5. {There are also references to earth tremors in the Mendips (Somerset) i 1890's and 1976). Most of the phenomenon described in this list would more probably be described today as earth tremors rither than earthquakes, but even so, presumably, what trembles today could quake tomorrow. It would be interesting to know what criteria the Atomic Energy Authority used to decide whether an area was geologically sound, and whether they in any way bothered to do any historical research on the subject. Presumably it would be best to draw them on this subject first, get an official statement, and then be able to counterblast them with some historical evidence, if t h i s contradicts their statemtnts. Knowing the AEA and their usual slipshod habits, most of their historical research i s likely to have been based on the premise 'Whoever heard of earthquakes in England?' John Fletcher references. (1) Zachary Grey. A Chronological and Historical Account of Earthquakes. (2) Anglo Saxon Chronicle (3) William of Malmesbuiy (4) Florence of Worcester'sChronicle (5) Andrew Paschal, rector of Chedzoy in letter to John Aubrey (6) Jehn Wedey's Jounnl. Diny of John Evelyn.

Cily drain Every week spent fuel from the nuclear power stations Sizewell, Bradwell and Dungeness is transported through London on British Rail. Hackney Ynti-Nuclear Group (HANG) explain 'the dangers involved.;

Where does it go and how often? There are two lines on which atomic waste is transported through London. The spent fuel from Sizewell and Bradwell comes into London at Stratford,

container per week i s sent from Dungeness and two containers per week travel along the North London .* Line. s

What is spent fuel?

from where it travels to Dalston Junction and along the North London Line through Hackney, Islington, Camden, and South Hampstead to Willesden Junction in West London. The waste from Dungeness passes through South London and Earls Court and meets the other line at Willesden. From there the spent fuel is sent to Windscale to be reprocessed. The waste i s transported in containers each o f which holds about 3 tons of spent fuel. On average about one

Nuclear power stations use uranium Ă&#x201A;ÂĽafuel. During the process of fission (= splitting the atom) heat is generated, while the Uranium is changed into other radioactive elements, so called fission products. Many of these fission products-aremuch more dangerous, poisonous and radioactive than Uranium'itself, but they are useless for generating power (apart from Plutonium, which can be used in Fast Breeder Reactors and for making bombs.) The 'spent fuel' or 'nuclear waste' of one reactor load consists of 43 different radioactive materials, 10 of which have very long half lives. The most dangerous fission products in the atomic waste are: Ruthenium (half life 1 year), Caesium (33 years), Strontium (28 years), Cerium (285 days), and Plutonium (24000 years). 1/30000000 gramme of ~ u t h e n i u k in the lung i s enough to kill a person through cancer. There are about 6 grammes of Ruthenium in one spent fuel container. Because Strontium has the same chemical qualities as Calcium, the body absorbs it and builds it into the bones, with the effect that the body eventually radiates from within. Plutonium also causes cancer. The Ruthenium in the spent fuel in one container alone has the radio-

Jndercurrents 3s activity o f 180,000 curies which is enough t o kill 180,000,000 people. l / l O O O Curie can already kill one person.

What do the containers look like? There are two containers t o shield the radiation from the spent fuel; an inner 'bottle' and an outer 'flask', both made out o f steel. Between the inner

Nuclear dustcart

bottie and the out&?flask is watcr for cooling purposes. The spent fuel rods are within the inner bottle, protected by a magnox cladding. Outside a small radiation sign i s exposed. Each container carries about 3 tons o f nuclear waste. Only recently members o f the Boilermakers Union criticised that the bottles were actually not built according to instructions. Apprentices carr~edout various jobs, shabby welding techniques were being used and welding seams were not checked with X-rays as i t i s done in other industries.

ed i n fires lasting up to 30 minutes. But already there have been accidents on BR with fires lasting for four hours and longer. Another danger is the vulnerability to terrorist attacks. Any modern antitank gun or missile could easily pierce the container.

What would be the effects of an accident? If, because o f an accident, only 10% o f the radioactive material were to be released, a fan-shaped area of 3 sq. miles would have t o be evacuated for five years. Whether the authorities would really take such a drastic measure or whether they would rather run the risk o f hundreds of slow deaths from cancer is still questionable. Ever) thing within 500 yards of the accident would be uninhabitable for 125 years and the land would be unfit for farming for 180 years. If all the nuclear waste in one container were to be split, a radius of 12 miles would have to be evacuated for up to 200 years. (That i s the major part o f Central London!)Vl ithin 3%

hair, nausea,

jig, diarrhoea,

Are Railway workers exposed to a special health hazard? The walls of the containers cannot totally shield o f f radiation from the fuel rods. Five feet away from an undamaged container the amount o f radiation from gamma-rays (comparable tc X-rays) i s still 10 milli remlhour, a ' dangerous dose if one i s exposed for too long. In the railway work1 manual workers are warned not t o work within 5 ft o f an atomic waste flask for longer than 3 hours. Work carried out nearer than 5 ft should not last longer than one hour. Workers should be equipped with film badges and dose meters, and should have regular blood checks; but they don't.

Stop Nuclea~Power now! Because o f the risks involved in every single step o f the nuclear fuel circle (mining, enrichment, power stations, transport, reprocessing, waste dumping), the whole nuclear power programme should be abandoned, and

What kind of accidents could occur? Since the nuclear waste transports travel 011regular BR lines, any 'normal' train accident might happen. There have already been at least two derailments o f trains carrying atomic waste. If a derailed container were h i t by a train coming from the opposite direction, i t might crack open. The flasks are only tested for crashes o f 30 miles per hour. But trains actually travel at a speed o f 80 or even 100 m/h. If the outer flask cracked, the cooling water would leak out and the heat radiated by the nuclear fuel could melt the magnox cladding (at only 650Â°C and eventually set itself on fire (at 1100Â°C) If an outside fire came on top o f that (say by a collision with a train carrying petrol or other highly inflammable chemicals), the danger of the spent fuel catching fire and the smoke with all i t s radioactive particles escaping into the open are very realistic indeed. The containers have only been test-

Pat Kinnerdw

Children playing near unattended nuclear waste containers in the rail yard at Southmhiste~

based on the present evacuation dose of 1.2 milli remlhour. People within 300 yards o f an accident would be affec.ted by radiation sickness (loss of

Hackney Anti-Nuclear Group I-nndnn - . .- -. . N. .A. 7.1w -- . 01-226 1799.

Undercurrents 38

The Russians DEATH RAYS, mind control and weather war; these are all applications of the Magnifying Transmitter of Nikola Tesla, the Serbian dkctrical genius who believed that his discoveries would make possible a world in which 'Humanity will be united, wars will be impossible, and peace will reign supreme'. A report on some nasty bits of Megatechnology that would dismay the visionary that fathered them. On October 14th, 1976 radio communications all over the world were disrupted by powerful radio waves emanating out o f Soviet Russia. Subsequently these signals reappeared, sometimes a very low frequency, sometimes a very high frequency and at irregular intervals for irregular lengths

ference, due they said to experiments they were conducting. Both amateur and professional radio communications personnel monitored these broadcasts, attempting t o identify their nature, origin and purpose. The defense and intelligence services of the United States were particularly concerned and by December o f I976 they had convinced themselves that the bursts came from powerful Soviet 'over-the-horizon radar signals'. This became the official explanation for a while and i t was very plausible.

Standing Waves

The transmitter a t Wardencliff, Long Island, New York, site of Tesla's proposed Radio City. The tower was to have been capped with a 100' diameter copper hemisphere as aerial; it would have ~ i v e nT e s h a world monopoly in radio 20 years before the start of regular broadcasting. Unfortunately, because of his refusal to exploit his many inventions commercially, he ran out o f money in I905 and the transmitter was never completed. The to\ver was demolished in 1917.

But then the nature o f the radiations changed dramatically. Very large standing electromagnetic waves were formed thousands of miles long, originating from below the ground and extending right up to the ionosphere. These standing waves varied between 4 pulses per second up to 26 pulses per second. Obviously, these could not be over-thehorizon radar signals; everyone had to rethink their ideas. Innumerable explanations were put forth on the Western side, but the only substantial advance made was to determine that the electromagnetic radiation originated from a single source near Riga in Latvia. After the Russians had been producing their very high powered, pulsed, low frequency, electro-magnetic standing waves, meteorological reports coming in to the National Centre o f Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado showed that a blocking mechanism was in effect along the west coast of North America. A t the same time and place, very large standing electro-magnetic waves were detected. These waves contained an enormous amount of electrical excitation, enough according to some

experts, to deflect the normal trade winds. While they lasted there was abnormal cold weather in Canada, with snow in Miami and floods in western Europe. After they were gone there was a very bad drought in the western part of the United States. On November 21, 1977 a vast electro magnetic standing wave was observed off the Pacific coast of the Americas stretching from Alaska to Chile. Satellite photographs taken at the same time show cloud banks over this stretch o f the ocean lying offshore over the whole of this distance) only gra~ingthe land mass at California.Mere the photographs showed what appeared to be a black line as though drawn by a ruler in the centre of the cloud mass. Close observation and measurement showed i t to be an opening in the clouds one mile wide and 200 miles long. This is a phenomenc~nthat has no parallel in past records. There was no known explanation.

Gyrating Tachyo~ls Although no scientific or lay predictions exist for such phenomena, retrospective correlation o f the observation with theory indicates that the occurrel of such a gap in the cloud bank is consistent with the theory of gyrating tachyons that has been advanced t o explain some o f the results obtained by Tesla. (Tesla specified a minimum o f 100 m i I 1 i ~volts n for the Tesla Magnifying Transmitter. Such a potential imparts a relativistic velocity to the individual electrons and through complex interactions of the several force fields creates electron-positron particle parts - the elusive tachyons.)

The standing waves with which the cloudbank OWthe Pacific coast was ,associated, persisted throughout December and into the new vear. It appeared t o be preventing the normal circulation of yeather from west to east, at least a~rossNorth America. On the Pacific side of the blockage the weather has been unusually dry A i l e the land side has experienced a record precipitation. With the normal circulation of the atmosphere blocked, the circumpolar vortex has wandered furthkr south than is normal at this time of the year and appears to be controlling nvrth American weather.

High altitude explosions There have been a series of mystertuus higt iltitude exp\osions al.ong the United %tes Atlantic Seaboard in kcember 1977. In a few cases they were accompanied by flashes of bright light, but there appears to be some uncertainty in the observationsas to whether the light'flashes coincided with the sounds heard. The US O f f i c ~ o Science f and Technology polled all the relevant government agencies as to whethe they were responsible for them. N could give any explanation and all denied responsibility. On December 27th, President Carter called for a full report. There is no evidena to link &ese exvlosions with the Soviet experiments i" electre , magnetic radiations, but there has been some speculation that they.may be an unpredicted and entirely accidental byvroduct of Soviet attemvts to set uv a itanding wive off the ~ i l a n t i coa4 c similar to that on the Pacific side. Apparently such explosions would not be inconsistent with the tachyon theory and, in particular, since the excess energy released in the formation of electron-positron pairs appears in the form of photons, the light flashes observed can be accounted for. This explanation at the moment i s extremely tenuous since there is no confirming evidence and the formation of electron-positron pairs is postulated to occur at the source of energy in the presence of the 100 million volt electrical potential. It is a situation in which one has to keep an opzn mind, particularly as mysterious explosions of the type referred to here are not new, There are bona ode records of them having occurred at infrequent intervals elsewhere in the United States over the past 200 years. Long-term observation of these fluctuations show that the beat is not steady but fluctuates erratically in both frequency and flux density. The overall pattern shows a remarkable

One hundred years ago

similarity to patterns produced by electrical activity of the human brain.

Gas shares ha& fallen nearly ten per

Earth magnetism

cent, this week, under the influence of hesh information as to M r Edison's experiments with the electric light. The Philadelphia correspondent of the Times has visited the inventor at Men10 Park, and has examined his inventions. I n a telegram published on Monday he decides in their favour, declaring that Mr. Edison has invented a lamp, casting a shiiling, which gives a 'mellow,' clear light, equal to that of sixteen candles, at one-fortieth of the price of gas. The correspondent saw sixty lamps burning, for seven hours. 'Mr Edhn's new system also furnishes electric power for s m d industries, such as running sewing machines; a detail about which we should liked to have heard ,more. I t may prove one day at least as important as the electric light.

Sensitive equipment set up in California to measure the low-frequency, low-level variations i n changes in the earth's magnetic field, recorded some very local changes in that field which coincided witfithe establishment of the standing wave off the Pacific coast. Thts anomaly appears to be very localised and allowing for the limitations o f the accuracy of measurement of equipment used, it was estimated to. be in the region of 40 miles in diameter. The measurements cannot be independ6ntly verified, which means that the results reported must, be treated with some caution.

Spectaror, 3 January 1880

Te- ....r.--..-...-. ing station at Cohrado Springs in 1899. Instead of a b U m n supporting hisantenna, as his patent Micates, he utilbed a large metal ball at the end of an 80-foot mast, as shown in this plate.

PICTURE CREDITS: Our thanks to Bob Rickard, Michael Martin, Pete Carbines and Richard Elen for help with picture rmarch. The pictures used are courtesy of: the CoEvolutim Uuartedy, the Nikola Tada Musaum, Belgrade; Wildwood Hwsa; and &e Wellcome Historical Medical Muwm.

Brain magnetism Among the 150 different applications outlined by Nikola Tesla, were the worldwide transmission of speech, the worldwide transmission of telegraph, the transmission of electrical power over great distances; the generation of death-rays; the generation of a curtain of charged particles; the ability to modify weather patterns; the generation of isolated electrical plasmas (i.e. Fireballs) and manmade lightning. Surprising as these may seem in their wide range, even more amazing is the claim by Tesla that any number of these phenomena could be achieved simultaneously and independently with one single equip ment installation. If true, it represents something close to the! ultimate in economic cost effective ness. In addition to all the foregoing, for more than 40 years reports have been written, experiments have been conducted and observations recorded, on the effects of electrical fields upon the mental faculties of human beings. It is well known that strong pulsating electrical fields pulsing within the frequency range of the alpha and/or beta rhythms of the human brain can interfere with the physiological functioning of the mind and produce devastating psychological effects in = most people. i

Tesla's Magnifying Transmitter I t is,kncwn that the Canadian govern ment is monitoring the Sov,iet $gnats? From those who have ,obsWikd @is3'''. data, it is assumed that-?: $ovi$t.&~$# in the process of dublicat~hgttleTet?$ MagnifyingTransmitter. In his US ,

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Undercurrents N I K O L A TESLA NIKOLA TESLA was born in Serbia in 1856. His father was an orthodox priest and his mother, although uneducated, was highly intelligent. Tesla was a dreamr with a poetic touch, nho as he matured, ccquirgd strong qualities of self-discipline. He attended the Technical Universiw at Graz, Austria and then in 1882, he went t o work in Paris for The Continental Edison Company. During his free perids he contrmted the first induction motor. He arrived in the United States in 1884 with four cents in his pocket and a few of his own pwms and calculations for a flying machine. He found employment with Thomas Edison, but as inventors they were too different. In 1885, George Westinghouse, head of the Westinghouse Electric Company in Pittsburgh bought the patent rights t o Tesla's polyphase system of alternating current dvnamos, transformers and motors and this started the great struggle between the direct current systems of Edison and the Tesla-Westinghousealternating current wproach. Westinghouse eventually won out. The Tesla coil which Tesla invented in 1891 i s widely used today in radio and television sets and other electronic equipment, In the period from 1899 t o 1900, Tesla stayed in Colorado Springs where he made one of his most important discoveries. This was terrestrial stationary waves. In this discovery, he proved that the earth could be used as a conductor and would be as rewc*isive as a tuning iork t o electrical vibrations of a certain pitch. He also lighted 200 lamps without wires from a distance of 25 miles and created man-made lightning producing falshes measuring 135 feet. He was very futuristic in his prophecies and like Darwin nf the same period he was ridiculed lor them. In 1900 he wrote:'In the near future we shall s e a great many new uses of electricity . . . we shall be able to disperse fogs by electric force andpomrful and penetrative rays. . . w'reles plants w'll be installed for the purpose of illuminating the oceans. . . picture transmission by ordinary telegraphic methods will soon be achieved. . another valuable novelty will be a typ6writer electrically operated by the human voice. . . we will have smoke annihilators, dust absorbers, sterilizers of water, air, food and clotbing . it will become next to impossible to contract disease germs and country folk w.11 go t o town t o rest and get well . . . 'If we use fuel to get ourpower, we are living on our capital and exhausting it ~ i d l y This . method is barbarous and wantonly wasteful and will have to be stopped in the interest of coming generations. The inevitable conclusion is that water p o w r is by far our most valuable resource. On this humanity must build its hopes for the future. With its full development and a perfect system of wireless transmission of the energy t o any distance man will be able to solve all the problems o f material existence. Distance, which is the chief impediment to human progress, will be completely annihilated in thought, word and action. H umaniw will be united, wars will be made impossible, and Peace w'll reign supreme.'

Tesla believed that the inexhaustible electrical energy of the earth's atmosphere could be directly channeled t o the consumer without wires or complex transmission systems. In layman's language, his approach was recently described by Anrija Puharich, in a paper entitled 'The fhysics of the Teda Magnifying Transmitter and the Transmission of Electrical t b w r Without Wins. ' 'The Tesla system can be described in simple layman's language. Betmen the surface of the earth, and the uppar atmosphere there existsen electrical potentid of some two billion volts. This vast reservoir of non-depletable electrical energy shows us the magnitude of its available power fleetingly through the 100 lightning bolts that strike the earth each second. Teda devised a system to tap this vast reservoir of energy. H e showed that i t is possible to oscillate this essentially static remrvoir of electricity in a manner that would release it forpracticalpower uses This is done by using electrical energy from an existing hydroelectric power source to oscillate the earth-atmosphere electrical reservoir at a specific frequency which we w'll call the tesla frequency. Tha earth's eleotrical atmowhare oscillating at the tesla frequency can be tapped at any point in the earth with a t u n e d p o w r receiver. Teda demonstrated this effect could be switched on. to illumination without any wire connections. The same technology can power automobiles, sh@s, airplanes, horns, factories and communication systems.' 'The Tesla system is clean because it draws on the natural supply of atmospheric electricity which is triggered by hydroelectric power. Tesla also worked out an economically feasible system of hydrolysis at hydroalectric power stations t o yield hydrogen and oxygen. The hydrogen can then ba used as a fuel in combination w'th atmospheric oxygen or in a fuel cell. Both methods yield clean energy. Tesla patented several solar energy collector devices which yield electrical power. These sources of e n e w plus the wireless transmission of electrical power constitute the fourpillars of the Teda world power system. These sources are not only clean, but renewable and non-depletable. ' Tesla had a great penchant for privacy. He lived very much by himself. For many years, he lived at the Waldorf Astoria in New York and dined alone in full evening dress at a table especially set aside for him. In his experimental facilities in the Rocky Mountains, he discovered many new principles of energy and transmission, most of which went to the grave with him

the United Kingdom as 'The Russiqi Woodpecker'. b) According t o reports on Russian transmissions issued by Borge Nielsen, Chief Engineer o f the Danish Postal and Telegraph Admini* tration, there are three not two sites for the so-called Tesla transmitters. If hlr Nielsen is correct, then it is possible that Kiev is the third station, i n which case the radio interference might not be radar originated but arise as harmonics o f the fundamental frequencies used t o set up the standing waves.

ELF

,,a

Item fou e Saviel draft agreement has t o be considered very seriously. There is a great deal o f accumulated information covering the effects o f extremely low-frequency (ELF) electro-magnetic field waves. These low-freque~cyfields have the capacity to penetrate buildings and living tissue, which means that they are potential biological stimuli (see Undercurrents 26 pp.36-7). Steel and copper screened rooms are designed to completely shut o f f all ma6a1etic, electrostatic and electromagnetic radiation, but afford no protection at all against ELF field waves. There is much experimental data showing that these fields can infIuence behaviour, ambulatory behaviour, oxygeq uptake, endocrine changes, cardiovascular functions, and blood clotting.

Whistlers However, there is a phenomenon of radio broadcasting that occurs in ,the high arctic and i n Antarctica, i n which radio waves appear t o be trapped between two layers o f ionisation i n the ionosphere and propagate over considerable distances, giving rise in the process to Doppler frequency changes that impart an audible tone to the received signal when demodulated. They are known as 'Whistlers'. Dr. Robert Halliwell at the US Antarctic research camp known as Siple Station has undertaken extensive experiments t o elucidate the behaviour and mechanisms o f 'Whistl2r<'. His results show fairly conclusively that radio waves can be magnified up to 1,000 times i n the ionosphere. Details o f his findings have been classified. Why?

Death rays The situation, however, i s n o t as one-sided as this report may indicate. The Governments o f the western powers are fully aware o f the Soviet operations and the interpretation that

an be nut uoon them. In the United itad the Defense ~ e p a b nhas t xen tryink to develop a death ray 'or more than a decade. I n thelast18 months considerable i d v a n w h a w been made add signiant rewits achieved-Sincethe lisclotflw that the Soviet scientists

iveryclosecorrelation between oatber and .(be earth's magnetic field n&.that.v&ations in the magnetic field, particularly those variations 'wsed.bythe eleven year sun spot :<, : (y'cle, have a direct effect uponthe. .,' . eather. on this planet. 71Ãˆre items associated with the ,. . . S A L T w t i a t i o n s are significant a d . interrelated. : -. (1)It is almost certain that it was , * e overwhelming desire of thesoviet . ,authorities in 19 6 to have the

TESLA'S CONCEPTIONOF THE EARTWAWOSPHEREAS A GIANT ELECTRICAL CAPACITOR

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becauw he had few collaboratorsand kept his secret; very much to hirntelf. His brain tended to function in three dimensional form andhe law thing**iy clearly m a vision. He had supersensow powers. These she reveals in his memoirs:7n #fy / MMpas? forty and carrying on my experimentsin Wondo, : / k o u l d ~ k& ~ r diftincifv tfltlnderclapsat a distance of 550 miles. The limit of wditipn for q rains assistants wm scarcely mom then '150miles. V f &. W$ m o m t h u s t f t w m o m i s n u t i w , y e t a t t h ~ t i m f I ~ a l . s o m t p w k ,. , hmrint w f t ~ Ã § ~ ~ h diifin'campvison wtth ttw WU-

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It w~ Teda who inventeda#Upersensitivireceiver to trackdqxriql

communnations and detectiort o f their experiments and thereby d i e closure o f their objectives to the westernpowers. The ends justified

(2) As part o f this crash program, the Soviet scientists set up much larger more powerful standing waves, boosting the power to 40 million kilowatts producing what they calculated t o be the optimum resonant frequency transmitted of 7 pulses per minute. The result was 'enormous standing waves o f an amplitude far greater than they had calculated. So large i n fact that they were thoroughly frightened an +shut down the equipment (3) During,the SALT renegotiations

and produced the tlrst man-made devii to detect radio signals coming from the Cosmos. And this 9.30 yean before a similar achievement at the Ball Laboratories. T U a died ap& man. In 1912 he was chosen to sh.ere the Nobel Prize in physics with â‚¬&i but he refund it. Tula contended that there wasa definite distinction betweentheinventorof uWful appliances end the discoverer of new prin'ciples. He msrded himself m adiscoverer end Ediwn as an inventor. When hfrdled, his estate comprised wme 100,000 documents written in four foreign language!and they included 13,718 pagesofbiographicalmatefiat, 75,000 pÃ§geof letters to 6,900correspondents, 34,551 'pages of scientific articles, notes, drifts, at%+ end patent*; all of Tula's diplomas, scientific honour!; and n e w ' . piper clippin$& park were 5,297 pagei of technical drawingsand plans and 1,OOO photbgrtphh' . . , . all housed at the Nikola Tesla Museum on proletarian Bri Them ws Street I n Belgrade, Yugodevia. In one of his papers he wrote:-. ... . , ; '

'Impottibt*~ituemfd, this planet m i t e i& vastextent, bshms Iikd cunduelor of limlMrfdinwnsiont. The tremendous sifnificsnce of this factin (ft* rmunfttfott offfn&t$~ la my m m had dm& Income quite dm to I?W, Mot only wu itpoftible to aend telegraphic messages to my distance witfiat ~ I Was. I -lsuS Ions ffo, but also to impress on the sntim globe tfr flintmoOu/Â¥tfOof (ft* h u m voica. Far mom significant His tbiliw to & d p o v i s r i n unlimitadamounts to almost m y wrmitlal . . dwithaltloo.' It VÃ toprovt t h i s point that Tetia lit a bank of two hundredcarbon filament'lamp*con~.ngabout 10 kilowatts, 26 miietfrom the experin!en+ nation@*$ Â¥n phyncal connection between them sbnwthing that has never ~,

one*be*n.rtp-tKt.;; ,

Undercurrents 3 -

t.Ã§(bfr*Kiet4.<~(~t-"whw';w-(Ãˆti<^l(y y 7 *. a d w suddenly r?qwwdAat the clauses that bannedthe useof artificial manipulation of weather patterns asa means of waging war be m o d i f i d t o include very specifically the use of electrical means of stimulating and modifying global and local weather patterns. On May 18th, 1977 with what appeared to be imprudent haste, the Soviet Government signed an agreement with the United States and 29 other countries promi ing never toattack each other by starting hn-nl#t? storms, ear: quakes ortidal wave3:The date ts significant because at that time the Soviets we@ desperately trying to disperse thejr standing waves by converting their transmitters at Riga and Gomel to send out giant pulses of very .highfrequency . , , energy. Therewas n.o apparent success and the waves continuedon . throughout May and into June. ,

The Cosmic Drum

MEDITATORS are tuned in to a 'cosmic drum*, an eight-cycle*radio wave airding the earth. Robert Beck describes how to (tetÃ‘ Iuse these earth- brainwaves. 9

STUDIES of the brainwaves (electro- or generated artificially to mimic the

Schumann signal. The experiments were dramatically successful. Some subjects were campletely entrained over the range 6 to, 14 Hz at a signal strength of about 10C nanoteslas. It took one t o four FcoQd! to lock them on and the effect ?I+ times lasted the whole ten second ' length o f the stimulus. One subject wa absolutely entrained even Insidea .-; triple-shielded magnetic and electro' static Faraday cage; the stimuluscame from a pocket-sized battery-powered device 12' away outside the shielded$ room. To control for such variables as suggestion or hypnosis we tried out the device on totally unaware subjects in local coffee shops. Anecdotal reports convinced us that a 100 mW transmittercould drastically alter the meod of unsuspecting persons. We rapiOIy ' abandoned these trials on ethical ! . f . ' . Â'¥' grounds. , . . ,' The frequency of Ihe ear* wave fluctuates with the c ~ c l e s dthe f day, the moon, sunspots A d the p l k ets. This suggests a physical basis M e well-documented correlations between these cycles and episodes of political unrest, mood alteration, etc. Andit opens the door to 'psionic warfare". ' the deliberate alteration of the mood of people far away without their know ledge or consent. For example, it may be that recent epidemics-of 'worry' insomnia i n the small hours are trigger- . ed by a 9 Hz drop-out in the earth brainwave.

encep'ialqraphs of EEGs) of a range of psychics, faith healers, meditators, etc, have shown that regardless of their ipiritual path or discipline of mind control, most of them showed a near EEG signature when in their 'working* state of consciousness. This was an This unsigned 'research report' waiprepared almost pure sine wave of up to 25 for a Montreal firm of fiockbpkars, and microvolts and 7.8 to 8 Hz. This is on came into our h* by a devious pith. We the borderline between the 'alpha' have n& been able to chwk out the feu and 'theta' states-of conscio,usness.' in it and we p i d be glad to hear from any the great differences in attiDespite Teda-watchers then may te among our tudes and practices among these , iÃ‘der who can help IU with US. subjects, they all 'march t o the beat Of the same cosmic drum'. We decided to test the theory that' this 'drummer' is the cavity waveThere are mnarkably few books about guide formed by the earth and the Tmla's life and cork. Ttw moÃˆ acontlble ionosphere. I n 1952 the physicist W . 0 ii frndlml GmiwÃ§ &hn 0'Neill (New Schuman showed that such a waveguide Y a k 1644) which i d t i l l in print and was pudished in England in 1968 at would resonate at a frequency within Â£3.95.lWeil knew Tola well-and g n u the range of human brain waves with a g6od Kcount of hit pereonal life. a peak at 8 Hz; the signals were first Technitally th6 book is leu tatisfactory detected in 1962 and were indeed ina it is written for a popular readership distinguishable from brainwaves; they and it h n no pictures, d i ~ r h s ~ p e c i f i i a were dubbed 'earth brainwaves'. tion< or r e t a m ~ m In it at all except Using a 'Schumann coil' like that one picture of Task. A more recent biooraphVL iahwlw used by the US National Bureau of in htttimd: the life of Nikola Teda by Standards in 1962, 1 built a low-noise I. Hunt & W. D r i e r (SageBooks, Owrnr, highly filtered amplifier which could Colorado 1964 is out of print. Accordrecord earth brain waves. Iused it to ing to (he ftEmluUon Quart*rty, it is nuke simultaneous EEG and ELF 'mil remrehed with a flood bibliography.' observations on some of the 'scnsitives' Someone should But out a pirate edition1 from n y first study. In a few instances N H ~ rfir ~ H -L fcvirtt. /tmntt, careful analysis showed episodes of Arttcla is a collection pbblished by the absolute entrainment. F t also pointed Teda M u ~ u mBMgreda , in 1856. It up some unexpected variables, such h a been reprinted, but on cheap paper m that the photos are ruined and even as lunar phase and time of day. ,

bran-',

the line drawing* are hard to decipher, ' by Health Research (PO Box 70, Mokdumna Hill, CA 95245, USA). It ii over 1,060 pages and cat8 B30.We haven't been able to see a copy of this w we can't say how much of it is useful ituff. The phenomenon of entrainment to ' earth Brainis treatad in Wkiw rhe wlhl Rndulumhq ltzhak Bentw W i Hour 1978 Â£5.80)an explorationof 'the Machantel of ,

-ntcioOBW*.

The Magic Circle Next we tried to amplify and display the earth brain wave to hitherto insensitive subjects t~ see whether they would become entrained. We used a 'magic circle' made of a 9' diameter coil of No. 28 magnet wire (about 100 turns) placed on the floor of the laboratory. This-gave a real-time replica of the earth brainwave sensed at a remote location to avoid feedback

For several years the Russians hav& been interfering with the world'gradio by making broadcasts over broad seg- ' ments of the spectrum, rangingupto. 28 MHz, at powers up to 40 MW,.Wey have given no explanation of their ,. - .: purpose, Voweverthe monitors of*:..

;

Our psychotronic correspondent writes: thi Vitasette transmits a low frequency magnet wave by inductive broadcasting. This unfamiliar type of radio may be demonstre b y a simple experiment: connect a 30-40 n coil wound round a ferrite rod t o the oum of a hifi amplifier i n series with,an 8ohm resistor and pump music through it; the low resulting low frequency broadcast can be detected by an ammeter connected t o the pick-up of a cassette recorder, using anothe ferrite rod as aerial.

Canadian Department ui I ans sport have established that the soectrum analysis o f t h e signals appears t o be higher harmonics o f a fundamental frequency o f 6.67 Hz and that they are modulated with pulses o f repeating at 5 to 1 5 Hz. The Canadians also report alarming mood-alteration! i n certain area, such as the city of Timmins, Ontario; observers believe that this can be linked tQ.@ Russian ~

.. .~.

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To test t h i s hypothesis; a numoer . ~fremote directional ELF sensors "would be needed; they could establi;' by triangulation the source of the man-made ELF.

How t o entrain your brain

A MAGNETIC oscillator sat t o i r e v l y low frequency' (ELF) will rain' (cause t o oscillate in p h i s ) arainwaves of most humans and als nearby. The field intensity nÃ‘de is leu than 100 nanofdas 11 t d a 1 Weberlmetre?) and the frequency is in the range 3 t o 20 Hz. If thefrequency is 6.67 Hz or leu unplÃ§uansymptoms occur: fear, q a u ~ headaches, , insomnia, etc. Frequencies above 7.6 Hz, i n contrast, we calming and relaxing and produce effects which mimic meditative states of consciousness. Coherent ELF transmissions have dle curious properly, unique i n the

A forgotten curiosity of radio

the 'Luxembourg effect', discova 1938, makes it possible for a rel low-power transmitter t o 'piggy a p m x h t i n g radio-frequency ( w u r m and use it t o disturb the ionoH e m ai m y desired frequency. Experimental Procedure* A SENSITIVE human subject is wired to an isolated battery powered EEG amplifier; the output is recorded on magnetic tape. The output of the schumann coil, which must also be electrically isolated, is also recorded. The coil has 50 to 250 thousand turns of No. 38 magnet wire wound on a mu-metal core. It is oriented to magnetic N and connected to a separate amplifier with a 2-40 Hz bandpass, a noise figure that can see 0.1 mV at 10 k Ohms, and 100 db rejection of frequencies above 60 Hz. Lock-ons can easily be observed by displaying the two records on a dual trace scope.

The earth and the ionosphere constitute a huge capacitor; the potential voltageacross the distance between them is about 16 million volts, ie. 200 voIts/mette.

-B^

.%ki If the Soviets are t o blame, the question arises as to why they are doing it: if it is only an unintended side effect of their experiments with local they up ":.?i''*i ;. .

Countermeasures :; .. :, .;?~. One way o f protectingoneself against hostile signals is t o carry a personal low-powered magnetic oscillator broadcasting on beneficial frequencies. The Vitasette, now being tested in Germany, is no bigger than a cigarette lighter and has a claimed battery-life o f two years. It can transmit spike-wave pulses in the range 1.25 to 19 Hz when a highpermeability mu-metal core is driven beyond saturation with a single transistor and coil. The effective range is said t o be about 1 m. The brain appears t o 'latch' t o the highest amplitude , , . pulses and t o reject background noise and pulses o f lower intensity. Such devices could obviously be of value i n treating a range o f apparently psychological disorders. Robert Beck EDITOR'S NOTE: this,is ao/Ãˆci by one of our staff writers of Extreme!, ow Frequency Mgnetic Fields and EEG Entrainment: A Rychotronic Warfare fbssibilitv?. a paper circulated privately i n 1978 by Robert Beck of Light Associates, Los Angeles, California. It contains some technical data omitted here but no circuit diagrams or precise specifications; at the end is a nine-page bibliography. Beck hints that particular combinations of carrier frequency and fundamental are much moreeffective than others, but doesn't give details. We have not checked out any of the claims made in the paper ourselves but we are willing to supply a Xerox of the complete paper to trustworthy people who ask for it. We cannot, however, be held responsible for any loss or damage that may result from experimenting with them Wicesl

"ndeB-umnt. lahnnm~un.re w ~ eto .ubstantiate any of fliednude but one of air tame profeuiond sxptjci mÃˆd the fo~owing cornmen& What objective evidence is there Out Rob Beck's 'Black box' works? You can't bustelect&> instruments such as EEGs, in the presence of ELF r i d s . Did Beck control for &is? Did he try the EEC experimentwith the proverbial 'wet tim' instekd of a human head? He says he was approached and warned to shut up. B y whom? How did they identify flienuelves? Why did he obey them? Andrija Puhmich is an associate o f the showman Gellei: can he be taken wrioudy? The stockbroker's report is obvioudy written by someone non-technical. For example, Puharichgives no indication as to how the atmosphere might convert a 2GeV DC f l d d Into a standin# wave.. do plqma physicist8 have any explanation of is t his tomething only Teda'understood'. As for all this not be- inconsistent with the tachyon themy wet, it's not inconflltent with dnuftmi fiiting In mid*, either. The Committee on Diunnament, agreement aimply refers to 'electromÃ§gneti radiition' and this does not in any way imply a wciet reference to Tesla-type devices. If you uk me, it refers t o luer

weapons. 'Whistlers' are a well-known phenomenon, but Ithink the explanation given here is wrong. It is not a dopplereffect but an effect o f dispersion. I t is well known that the speed of e.m. wÃ§veiq a plasma varies with frequency. A lightning bolt injects a pulse of broadh.m -d radiation Into the ionosphere. Dispersion then smears this A t into I 'whistle' o f declining pitch. IncidenfUy who observed the wt standing wÃ§ generated by Soviet meddling? How FimÃ‡Uy OffKill secrecy about ELF, over-lbehorizon Radu and similar subjects need not imply that there are potential weapons in these fields. The impoitance of these methods in mflituy communications and intelligence is quite sufficient to account for o f f l d tecrecv. Oh, and even if the Ruiduu do hive a magnifyiing transmitter ttiere's n o need to be scared. If we (11formed on our alpha-on it we could undoubtatty v p o i i w it in a cloud of tachyons.

. .

TLJC 2erty machine r ~ ~ p ~ s

Computerisel communications networks coikl be the basis of a trulf. democratic society, allowing coordination from the bottom UP, with5bt stemat,c redesign,, of the institutions the mod for a centralis4 managerial elite. However, the only instance social where thisliberatory potential was nearly (albeit inadvertently) realised * was during the 34 months of the Allende government in Chile. Tom Conservative revolutionary Athanasiou describes the CYBERSYN project and indicates what might ne particular shapethat C Y B E ~ ~ Y ~ haw happened. took was largely the result of the ideas

I t is not surprising that computer initiated activities, d n the technology is distrusted b y so many. absence of a repressive state, was The electronic battlefield, the rising terminated after the coup which came rate of unemployment (in part due to about due to the "destabilizing" automation) andthe terrifying extremes activities of the transnational corporaof surveillance and control which the tions and the CIA. "microcomputer revolution" so easily I t is against this background that allows are clear grounds for pessimism. CYBERSYN must be considered, fof it ptential of i n f a t i o n was no accident that a socialist governt o support new and liberatory social forms could easily be passed by because computers are identified with oppressive and exploitative institutions. I n Chile, the computer technology that the ' desimen had honed to inlet-rate into the process of social reconstruction was taken over by DINA - the secret police.

It is a simple matter to point to the exploitation of the Asian women who assemble integrated circuits, or to the information retrieval systems in the service of the police or credit bureaux, but it i s much more difficult to point to uses of computer technology that prefigure other, more fluid and less desperate ways of conducting human affairs. This distinguishes computers from more "conve~tional" alternative technologies such as solar ph~to-voltaic cells, which don't have the history of, or potential for, abuse, and makes the CYBERSYN project so interesting.

The liberty machine CYBERSYNZ (a contraction of the words "cybernetic" and "synergy") was the name given to a system b y which the entire national economic life of Chile would be planned and coordinated. The concept combined cybernetic efficacv with a sensitivity (althoueh

irductio

of Stafford Beer, who was called in b y the Chilean government to be the main consultant on the project. Beer is an interesting case. It's not, let's face it, every day that a former president o f the Operational Research Society of Great Britain and the Society for General Systems Research in the US declares that he is a revolutionary: What is neededis structural change. Nothing else willdo. But this cannot be heard by people who regard the structure

Undercurrents 38

...

as gi& . .'the maintenance of the structure has become an end in Itself. The more that I reflect on these facts, the more I perceive that the evolutionary dppmach t o adaptation in social systems simple will not work any more It has therefore become obvtous to me over the years that I am actvo~atIng revolution. As a pioneer in the "science" of rational management, Beer m developed his ideas while em the same social classes that we sabotage the Chilean project, but inspiration came from natu

. . .. .

of society. ,

the maximum efficiency and the maximum local antonomy. CYBERSYN was to be the result of cybernetic principles of "effective organization", but Beer insisted that the design should strive for "viability" rather. than "optimization". "Viability" is associated with the ability of the system

local autonomy, and was seen as an . alternative to the "irrelevant dichotomy" of centralism versus decentralism. No viable system can be rigidly and completely controlled from a central unit, on the one extreme. No viab/e#sfm can, n t other e q e , Idti *me formof central coritlwlin ';' . er to

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v and organizational framework. Although formed the basis of the Chilean control they stop short of the full empowerment system. of the working class, CYBERSYN was a the most important aspect of great advance over traditional ways o f social planning and coordination.

perhaps

The great stride forward ~h~com~ute~usedwer~mer~to6~ not substitutes for the changes in social relations that were the core of the design. They were, however, essential to process.and filter the vast amounts of information and so make them comprehensible to humans.

In cybernetic terms, the CYBERSTRIDE programs were designed to reduce the ''variety" of the external world so that only the significant aspects of the processes being monitored were reported. This i~analogousto the autonomic nervous system which controls the mechanisms of the body like heartbeat and breathing, allowing the higher faculties to function free from preoccupation with the mechanics o f life. The outputs of the programs were primarily graphic, representing flow charts in which the thickness and colour of the lines represented the relative quantities and characteristics of the flows. Various levels of resolution were also available, so that a box representing say, steel production, could be seen alternatively as three boxes representing different forms of steel production, different kinds of steel, or steel for . export to three different countries. Only information'thSt was statistically significant was reported, so the outputs were not flooded with reports which essentially meant only "no change". These features, with the real time collection and display of infarmation,

An operations room

workers taking over hundred of factories) and the results tended to be quite positive. Schwember7 reveals the true attitude of the CYBERSYN team: It is feasible t o teach in a short period enough about Ă&#x192;â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;theifrlndple of organization ofvlabk systems and their basic mechanism t o workers, even if their general education is very low. They can effectively understand the process of decision making and the importance of ancillar~ tools. They could even become easily confident in strange environments such as the operations room. Once a problem has been presented. they are able t o start a learning Process of discriminating the basic issues from the technicalities that should be left t o the experts. In the few cases where we could develop the process far enough. they came not only to respect the expert advice but t o demand it.

...

.. .

The most difficult aspect is for thost workers who participate in certain kinds of decision making to avoid confusion of their role. They tended rather easily to consider themselves invested with new power and show a strong bias meddle in problems at various lew and areas.

Technocracy and revolution

I am really talking about social upheaval. When we think of young people being in some kind o f revolt, our image is Total system screen often o f dropouts, hippies, cannabissmoking and possibly murderous tribes. the CYBERSTRIDE system was the But what would happen if the nice multi-level recursive nature of i t s design. young computer programmers in dark While data about all sectors of the suits and white shirts were the yeast o f economy were drawn upward by revolutionary ferment right inside the CYBERSYN, a degree of local autonomy most established o f our formal was designed in so that if, for example, institutions? It could mean a new kind the production of a particular factory ofrevo/ution,8 began to fall off, it wab first reported less to the committees responsible for h e Beer left the project a good deal management of that factory. onlyafter naive politicallv than he becan it- Prior the perturbation had gone uncorrected for a longer time would it be reported upward. Each sector, too, might monitor aspects of i t s own mechanism that v important locally but of no interest globally. The ultimate realization of the potential of such a system can only come after . protracted experimentation and refinement, which was never possible in Chile. The only complete Operations Room constructed could not be fully computerized due to the economic blockade by the U.S., and the coup long before other planned ae- occurred centres could be finished. Some exploration of these kind of managet I S within the context of workers System diagram self-management did, however, occur . (primarily because o f the pressure of ,

unaercurrents ,SÃ to Chile he seemed somewhat unaware of the true nature o f the "social metasystems" that dominate our society, anrfciearly thought that the resolution he desired could be made by enlightened scientists and technologists. In Platform for Change the closest he gets to calling the beast by i t s proper name is the advertisfnasociety. If the book had an index, the term capitalism would certainly not be in it. After Chile we hear no more the confident assertion that the problems which face humanity are not in essence economic or politico/ problems at all; they are cybernetic problems. In 1973 we hear instead that science and technology are driven forward towards a society o f conspicuous consumption, since this Is the only development that our economic machinery can countenance. lo "Since the rise of industrial capitalism, science and technology have been moulded by the exigencies of the market place. The form that computer technology took was strongly influenced by the desire for better control. Automation was less a historically necessary process than a result o f the logic of capitalist economics, but never before has it been so true that the potential for liberatory technological advance is stifled and repressed by representativesof the dominant order. Cybernetics 1s a powerful form of instrumental reason and clearly on ,its own turf when i t comes to operational analysis of the sort which led to CYBERSYN, but when it comes to social or political reality, systems analysis can only obscure our under&tandingbehind a fog of inappropriate and ultimately absurd pronouncements.

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management meant a good deal less than must come prior to technological 1 1 would like it to have meant. This is solutions. The-Ã§berator potential of evident from the technocratic approach; modern technology will only be realized within a context of conscious, undeluded after all, if there is a computable function then there must be someone social revolution, and not by blurring with a calculator. Ultimately, Beer and the distinctions between the potential the other members of the CYBERSYN new world o f the future and the stateoriented, technocratic regimes of the team believed in the necessity a present. managerial class. No matter that they would only be the embodiment of some Tom Athanasiou '"principle" of coordination; the * Y necessities that they perceived had to k come before "participation". This i s why Schwember was aggravated at the "confusion" of roles when workers were consulted about management decisions. ~ ~ d ~ ~ One of the maid issues identified Are workers or managers to decide was the issue o f antonomy, or participaIll, 3), published by Village Design,h . 6 0 ~ when the desires of workers and other 996,Berkele~C.494701. tion, orperhaps I just mean liberty, for whatever viable system: Then this means sections of the population have been satisfied? What if the workers decide to that there ought to be a computable Gromm, Rachae,. ~ u t Ea8t h function setting the degree of centra//a- do away with management altogether? Chronicle (no 66) and pacifif~-rch Such things are possible, especially with (Vol 9,nos 5-6) &n consistent with effectiveness and the aid of developments like an extract appeared mComputing Europe, \S/ithirewjom at every level of sep 791 CYBERSYN. It is probably fair to say -ii@?i&fcW, l1 2. Beer, Stafford. Platfohn for Change. that such emphasis as there was in London: John Wiley & Sons 1975. A computable function? For determining CYBERSYN on the implementation of 035 freedom? workers' participation and control was 4. ,bid p199 a result of the political/cultural context B e y is dealing rather lightly here with schwember, ConceptsandTools forced on the project by the hundreds /problems that have preoccupied o~computv^i~t~policy Basel: Birkhausx Verl* 1977. reflective humans for thousands of years. of new factories being taken over by the workers and added to the state-managed 6. Zimbalist and Petras. Workers'Controlin Beneath the mathematical mysticism he Allende's Chile. Nottinghuu: Institute for sector. is trying to say that there are real Workers' Control. problems to be solved if we re to design in-ummary, CYBERSYN was one of 7. Schwember Op Cit pl34 i w c i e t y where global participation i s the mostexciting compu~er/com~unica- BÃ£ Op Cit p28S possible* and that we can those tions date. It demonstrated 9. Op CIt p32 M k m s With the proper approach. not only the potential uses of informa10.gee,, Stafford.DestoilmFreedo Yet I cannot escape the feeling that in London :JohnWHey&Sons 1974 tion technology, but also the necessity Chile, workers "participation" in for the social transformation which I l.Bw, Stafford. Platformfor Change p428 x. .

. ...

Undercurrents38

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nimals or hits We British are supposed to love animals, yet we (and other civilised nations) kill and maim millions of them for fwd, luxuries and experiments. Maria Hanson philosophises.

In our civilised world today, animals are performing on animals are startling. Researchers for Technology Inc.. San are used i n Science, Agriculture and Antonio, Texas conducted experiments Fashion. Most people are aware that &I thirteen monkeys to find the effect animals are trapped and killed for their of the impact of a pneumatically .pelts and perfumes. One only has to m look around- to the leather bound books on the library shelves, and the expensive skins and toiletries which I swathe the richer classes of our race. What people are not aware of is that there are alternatives; synthetic leather by Dupont which 'breathes'; vegetable substitutes for animal foods; even synthesized meat. The question which i s stirring our society is, are we morally, sociologically and psychologically entitled to exploit those poor dumb creatures to such a degree that i n many cases it leads to extinction. r driven piston energising an anvil attachKilling for Pleasure? ed to a special helmet called HAD I. Domestication and exploitation of The blows from t h i s device were found to be insufficient to cause an effect, animals has continued from early so a more powerful HAD 11 was contimes. Sophistication and education. structed. This device was used on the has brought with ittaotory farming, heads of the same thirteen monkeys vivisection and killing for pleasure. Are and it caused cardiac damage, haemorthese 'civilised' progressions so much rhages and brain damage from the worse than the traditional farming plastic rings which had been implanted and trapping methods used in earlier under the monkeys' skulls. One of eras, or is it just that our advancement the monkeys was again subjected to has made us more morally awarvthat HAD II six days later and thirty-eight the discomfort which we inflict upon our furry friends i s wrong? days later she was struck multiple blows until she died. Some of the Facts are facts. Pigs are kept in 'sweat boxes' with food thrown in monkeys who had temporarily survived daily, until these dark faecal ammonia suffered subsequent fits and the refilled prisons are filled with 'fat', searchers were impressed to find that 'healthy' pigs to provide pork for our following these experiments the montable. Those which are not 'fat and keys' behaviour was 'distinctly healthy' have been cannibalised by the abnormal. The usual post-accelerant bchaviour in a cage was that of hanging rest, and those which survive have lungs so deteriorated by the ammoniaupside down and cowering in a corner.' ted atmosphere, their life would have Vital Question been shortlived anyway had not the The main argument for the killing slaughter house been their allotted of anihals within our modern society, fate. Chickens we kept in batteries, apart from natural resistance to change, their beaks removedand spectacles is for the provision of food. Of course it placed over their eyes to prevent them i s possible to live healthy lives without from eating one another. Aggression does develop in calf rearing due to over- meat; animajsare not essential to human survival; but can we all become vegans? crowding; bacon pigs bite their mates' . Obviously not, yet surely there i s tails off for the same reason. These little need to inflict such discomfort facts are true. Are they justifiable? on animals by vivisection?Technology Monkey Business has brought with it the know-how to perform almost all our 'necessary' The horrors our human colleagues

research towards disease cures and * efficient farming, by humane methods and many experiments can be carried out at the tissue level. The vital westion is, 'What is necessary, &who . shall decide?' Farming methcds which ' are harsh and often cruel, but i n c r e k ; efficiency, can be avoided. Can we as 2 a society afford it?Do we want to Ă&#x192; afford it? Tm increases are gemrally disliked to any end. What alternative is there? 'i Many people who imagine the food ..$ 1 they buy today to be pure animal produce are disillusioned. Already the a5 1 trend towards non-animal alternatives ,'s . .', , .* has begun. Simulated meats are in I-'. t fact commonplace in our grocery ' . shops. Soya Bean meal,a cheap form '! of protein is made into acceptable 'meat' products by coloufing,flavouring and processing. It i s used in ' ' .. . . . ground meat produckand stewst6 fill out the real meat. Alternatively; . .; protein if extraq,tedfrom the soya bean and spun into fibres, flavoured ::'> and bound into bundles to resemble' .. . meat. This 'meat' is used in pies and . . , sausages, in fact 30% of the meat in . ,: ; !, pies i s simulated.

r;,' '

Animal Exploitation

7,,

In our own civilised society we can ' , I , , afford not to exploit animals - o r . . pendenee upon them is not absolute; , Ă&#x201A;ÂĽrare alternatives and we have the

It's privet entrecote tonight dear

technical knowledge t o create them.& ' a majority we do not want to, indeed 1, ,! the idea that meat manufacturers may ..:: be 'cheating' us is strongly opposed in many quarters: but if we can live. , , : . ,,, strong vigorous lives without torturir*, members of the animal kingdom rnwfr' than necessary, it is likely thereare . ," compelling moral reasons for sodoing ~: in all our hearts. Killing apd+ating. . .. meat cannot be wr~ng~inits'entirety,;;"::, to a Christian-based soCietyjesus, . Christ did simiiarly.Yet moderation . .. in all things might spare the agonies :!'> ",

Undercurrents 38 in the 'concentration camps' of pigs in sweat boxes or the suffering of a dog at the mercy o f a vivisectionist.

deeds -hunting, fishing, bullfighting; maybe in the past these had a useful purpose, but now they seem to do no more than fill the sadistic tendencies of our kind. Are we obliged to give UP these pleasures too? No society i s perfect. Each has within itself by Nature an impurity incompatible with the norms to which it lays claim. This impurity finds i t s outlet in elements of injustice, cruelty and insensitivity. How are we to evaluate these elements? For while the comparison

ft>

l f w e advocate against factory farming and yet dislike the idea of simulated animal wares, what is left to us? The only alternative i s to re-establish traditional farming methods. The question of how much land will be needed for food production in Britain by the end of the century, is already being asked with increasing urgency by people who are alarmed by the continuing urbanisation of the countryside. Factory farming un-ty results in substantial economies in the use o f land, so changes taking place can be absorbed without undue concern. However, we may also be using up land at too great a fate and intensification might be anecessary part of our continued fairly self-sufficient survival. A crucial factor is the future growth o f our population; not only producing art additional demandtor food but alfo contributing to large areas of land moving into urban and recreational usage. Statistics give evidence that there should be sufficient land by the end o f the century for both agricultural and urban usage - provided the popuia:!on rate does not *@rease unduly, and provided trends in continue towards intensification rather than extensification. If we revert tp a totally extensive agriculture, land may surely become a scarcer commodity.

Recreation Animal products can be replaced by synthetic or synthesised substances, factory farming can be replaced by less harsh and more extensive methods - if land is not limiting, vivisection cart be replaced by tissue culture and bacteriology, but what of killing for pleasure? , &m finds recreation in many cruel

Maria Hanun

Oil crisis

Whoae idea was (he genetic engineering ~YWY?

&ictory Fanning

of a smallnumber o f societies will make them seem very different from one another, these differences wilt seem smaller as the field o f nivesgtia. tion i s enlarged. It will eventually become plain that no human society is fundamentally good; but neither is , any of them fundamentally bad. Society alone must decide whether it is meat or morals which matter - , anirnalsor ethics.

Agribusiness has been trying to sell us various polyunsaturatedvegetable fats to replace butter - allegedly one contributor to heart disease. Now it seems that, after all, the problem may not be the dreaded chloresterol, as much as the total volume of fats that we consume - and that the polyunsaturated fats may themselves contribute to the disease. Tanya L a k n reports. I N a recent article in the British Medical Journal, Sir John McMichael has suggested that commercial, professional and even government sponsored propaganda may be misguided in encouraging a change from diet high in cholesterol to one containing alternative foods high in polyunsaturated fats. He cites various trials and studies which have produced disappointing results (from the view of those in favour of polyunsaturatedfats); control and trial groups have shown no difference in mortality and morbidity where diets'low in cholesterol have been tried. On the contrary he suggests that in the selected populations the change to a polyunsaturated fat diet, far from reducing the incidence o f coronary heart disease may even be suspected of contributing to its development. Further more studies have shown that under controlled conditions certain vegetable oils (.e.g. peanut and cocoanut oils) fed as 25% of a diet t o Rhesus monkeys i-roducedchanges in the cell lining of arteries which could be construed as the precursers of atheromatous plagues, and that butter fed in similar amounts produced some changes but of a less harmful nature. It is possible the hardening process used to make margarine from these oils, which changes the bondingarrangernent in the oil may increase this deleterious effect. Rape seed oil has also come under the professor's critical eye, because o f findings in some experimental animals that it and similar vegetable fats may accumulate in heart muscle causing degeneration o f cardiac cells. - A more:recent article byV.l. Mapn, . doubt ,, on Professor, . . the . ..B.WJ,'casts .. . in

McMichael's evidence. On studying his references V.I. Mann suggests that the professor has been over-selective in his choice of studies. By quoting mortality and morbidity 6f patients put on diets low in cholesterol following first heart attack he i s choosing a group where the major damage has already been done and ignoring the preventative side of the argument. His studies on Bedouins who develop ed an increased risk of coronary heart disease on moving into Israeli cities and taking up their low cholesterol diet, could arguably be misleading as he has not taken into account the increase in stress that they would encounter when changing their life style from the simple desert existence they endured before. However, the second article gives little convincing evidence to counter the accusation that Sir John McMichael puts forward, suggesting a possible link between a diet high in polyunsaturated fat and increased risk of bowel cancer, although both seem to agree that the increased incidence is low. Perhaps therefore the overall answer ' to this problem lies not in changing from one fat to another but i s that put forward by V.I. Mann, A prudent diet should incorporate decreased intake of all fats, simple sugars and refined car@hydrates with polyunsaturatedfats comprising less than 25% total energy intake. Maybe this way the incidence of coronary heart disease and other diseases of overnutrition may be reduced.

TĂ&#x192;Ë&#x2020;ny L*wo

Undercurrents 38

[ ~ e r e l i c tand vacant land: one challqge - for the 1 9 8 0 7 1

the neat lines onrnaps, the calls for 'no confused land uses', imply a system

wasteland is fine, whether it's a trade mart and office blocks or jobs and homes for ordinary people.

Another member of the Land Council writes that 'fiscal policies on land inheritance, for example Capital

We must be fair

Land Act was ur necessary, and tha-

there is already more than enough

*ereby causing ptinning blight.

Tower Hamlets ..... . . b .

B u t if,'according to Miss Colema

granted, the planning policies i n vogue idthe'iixties favoured moving people b~t'ofLondon, but arguably these had I$p&,e.ffecton their own. What laid waste to Docklands was, quite simply, ttte'rbn-down of the upstream docks & ri? of Tilbury and now containerisation: Andin the.current economic clinmte, tryihg to attract new employers @:derelict inner citi6sis like trying to fintafores't in the Sahara. One has ng impression that to the Land inner city, ~,.~.-,.. f a ,. .. .a. n. .y. .. ~ ,of s ethe ',.

wtro

truths and is based on the need t o develop an environmentally-sound pattern of land use, restraining the pressures of urban growth on the countryside. So she'sagainst needless demolition and high rise flats (in fact probably all flats, since she believes with good reason that most people prefer houses with gardens), and in favour of tough pollution laws for industry. But she refuses the major fence, land ownership, and so shies away from judgements about the value of different land uses. For this reason the farmers' lobby - a lot of the Right in general - love Miss Coleman. Not only does she condemn the increasing land taken by urban sprawl, she accepts the farmers' arguments against high taxation, even that private ownership is more responsible than public in i t s stewardship of land; 'private forestry can also be encouraged by freedom from taxation on such an important form of wealth creation.'

to house all the really penurious*. In

the light of her previous strictures on t h i s i s naivety (council) to.wrbl&ks, ,;.: :. .,. .~,. ....... . ..!~ .<-*' or worse. All this was reflected at the launching conference; the speakers foe. agriculture and industry denounced high taxation and planning, so that when Goldilocks himself came in and outlined the Government's land policies (registers of wasteland ownership in specific areas, speeding up of planning inquiries and decisions, forced sale of publicly-owned wasteland on the open market, and abolition of minority fringes), he actually looked like a moderate; the bears had stolen all his porridge.

Land for the people So, despite the presence o f two Labour ex-ministers (Harold Lever and Guy Barnett) on the Land Council, the conference speeches suggested that

Undercurrents 38

MIssColeman and a number o f other innocent environmentalist!, good people with good mtentions, had fallen among thieves (literally; much of the scrub and bracken classified as marginal fringe happens to be common land, which farmers and foresters would love to get their hands on). For those of us not sharing the political outlook of the Country Landowners' Association, die future is a b i t bleak. Alterw 've envir~nmentallysound ht equitable land policies o exist, in fact can be developed from some of Miss Coleman's work. Development in cities according to the m&and under the control of local

ely

Voting that the'iun, the New statesman and other literary journals have luizzes, we thought we might try our hind. There are however noanswers

ici

people, freer access land for recreation and for training in land management skills; collectively run, stateowned farmland, equal access to private space (houses with gardens as of right), coupled with good comrnunal space and facilities -these could be components of that alternative policy. But the fear is now that by the time another Labour Government is in power, Miss Coleman and her friends will have nailed the banner of environmentally sound land policies so firmly to the mast o f the political Right that all policies tarred with the same brush will be consigned to the dustbin, fluted beyond all hope of recycling. fattening

Corrie is a geological formation

IÃ‘,Ã‘Ã‘Ã‘

Joe Francis

Grhiatot's earmarked for a book on Britain's lost wildlife"

',,

Undercurrents 38

umpen r De-Industrialisation, edited bv Frank Rlackabv. Heinemann Educational Book. Ă&#x201A;ÂŁ5.50.'Th Informal Economy ', J .I. Gershuny, Futures, Feb. 1979. De-Industrialisation' is simply a new name for a tired old British problem. U r is it I t is, according t o a working conference organised last June by working ' I E S R . But perhaps 'de-industrialisation' i s ct de-development - a cumulative shove downwards by vested international rests as Britain's share of world trade declines and import penetration grows. laps we are witnessing Britain joining the ranks o f the LDC's. But not everyone is being de-developed in Britain, certainly not the higher laid and bourgeois classes with their Volvo Estates and Japanese hifi systems. I'he people being de-developed are the young, the old, the sick and the working ;lass generally outside the golden South East triangle. The political economy i f the lifeboat discriminates carefully infavour%f the haves. De-industrialisation, a collection o f ~ o m i cpapers by distinguished ies, is solid meat, though with much., ometric grisle and obscure flab. TKs . evidence of Britain's industrial lecline i s trotted out - high unemploy nent, low wages and growth, declinin ;hare o f exports, and so on - togethe with canned arguments for our remed rhese are well described, detailed and oundly put. The conventional remedies o f ' 'ling with exchange rates, taxes, ing public expenditure, the mone arist policies o f the demon Keith oseph, are seen as having little t o o f f i t as short-term measures. The problem i s that our industries ire inefficiently run and do not keep )ace with technologic~limprovemen hey are moving down-market, meeti rhird Worldgoods coming up. rhomas Balouh suggeststhat the fact h a t the decline has gone on for so ong indicates backwardness i n ion and a social system where the tioice o f the elite is mismanaged 'knowing not what but whom'). In Ives? It's doubtful. A t a recent ither words, our ruling class i s inBAAS meeting on 'Technology ffective. I t s members are the fag ends choice and the Future of Work1 0 if Empire, the patricians o f Tom Sir Charles Carter shrugged aside bairn's Ukania. h i s possibility and declared that What we have t o do, according t o massive unemployment and blood nany o f the participants at the shed in the streets were inevitable neeting, i s t o move up-market Our masters will retreat into the mproving product design, servi South East and dump de-develop pares, delivery etc. That is, the trice competitiveness o f our ma A t the same BAAS meeting, acturers must be improved. This ranees Cairncross suggested that, as nplies some protective measures, job creation in the service sector was ince ' . . unregulated free trade is inflationary, the unemployed must and a ware for weak countries, take a one-third cut i n wages and work has to be o f advantage t o all in the private service sector. This lartners.' elusive entity corresponds t o Ger-

shuny's 'informal' or 'black' economy - better known as 'lumping out on the side.' The informal economy already exists: it's worth about 25% of Italy's GNP and 10% o f the USA's. Gershwy paints a picture o f this informal activity in the UK - expense fiddles, 'thievery on the wink1 and 'foreign' jobs. Such activity bypasses the inflexibility o f the formal labour market, but isnot covered by pension funds, employment rights, or health and safety regulations. Gershuny argues, however, that the formal service sector will not mop UP those thrown out o f the manufactul ing sector: we are moving t o aselfxrvice economy where people Do-lt-

Themselves with the aid o f cheap capital goods. And this. he argues, will occur no matter how British industry revived. He suggests that a 'dual econivate service sector is ector can either be as a market phenomesuppressed by enforcebe actively encouragsharing or better doles to give the informal sector a fair crack of the value-added whip, then we will indeed be back t o having two nations. Informal sector workers will have no Trade Union rights and will have t o receive what the rich are prepared t o pay. Simbn Watt

This book is unnecessarily bitchy about Scott - who cares whether his wife had an affair with Nansen or not - and biased. A fascinating book. An enthralling read. icott & Amundsen, Roland Huntford. dodder & Stoughton. Â£3.95. Let's Got Well, Adelle Davis. Unwin~' laperbacks. Â£50. After gorging his way across the intarctic to the South Pole and back, imundsen discovered he weighed nore than before he started. This .,hould not have surprised him. Every morning before the trek to the pole began, A. and his men started the day fortified with freshly baked hot cakes, oozing with whortleberry and cloudberry jam. Later they would *uck into a large lunch of seal meat underdone to preserve the Vitamin 2 ) and again in the evening, this .ime covered with jam. Huge hunks of freshly t aked wholemeal loaf (with added wheatgerm and leavened with yeast) were consumed - the main source of all B vitamins. Scott deep in his camp at Cape Evans munched happily away on white bread, tinned foods and overdone seal meat, served irregularly at best. A sad case. On the trail, Scott was no better: xittered Huntley & Palmer biscuits, made with white flour and sodium bicarbonate were, 4th pemmican their staple fare. A. took Norwegian aiscuits by Saetre: wholemeal Flour, rolled oats and yeast. These Â¥aul be made up with the .dried milk into a most delicious porridge. Like all Englishmen Scott frit Tie could not manage without his daily tea (and sugar). A.took he more nutritious chocolate, A i c h could be made into chocolate pudding. He al,so had the foresight to take dogs - they could do all the work and provide fresh meat as the surplus were killed off. Scott, that squeamish man (manhauling most o f the way) couldn't even eat Oates.

By the time Scott's party reached the Pole they were in a state of nervoJs exhaustion and strain, depressed, dehydrated (the fuel 'leaked' from the containers and stopped them melting enough snow) and starving. Wounds refused to heal, cuts suppurated and noses bled - the beginnings of scurvy. . Amundsen and all his men got back to camp on January 16,1912. Scott's team died in their tent around March 29, ten miles from their nearest depot.

'a high genetic requirement for Vitamin Be' (to be found, along with all other B vitamins in liver, wholemeal bread and biscuits, (wheatgerm and yeast). B-vitamins are also vital to people

Left: Scott, Bowrs, Wilson & Evans, diwonÃ§olatat Polheim. (Oattt was the photooraoher). Right: 5 w k s earliw. Amundwn, Hannen, Hasul & W i i m M I O* Pole. (Photo taken by Bjuland.)

Let's Get Well, first published in 1966 and now rereleased, is a must for all sufferers of diabetes, arthritis, varicose veins, warts, sex, scars, multiple sclerosis, stress, heart attacks, ulcers, skin problems, kidney diseases, anaemia and cancer. Most diseases, we learn, come down to an incorrect (refined) diet. Even diabetics, had their m~thers fed them or? a diet consisting almost entirely of liver and wholemeal bread, would be hale and hearty. Insulin, a hormone produced by the pancreas, makes it possible for glucose to enter the cells to When be converted to energy too little Vitamin B6 i s obtained, an essential amino acid, tryptophane i s not used normally; instead it is changed into a substance known as xanthurenic acid. If xanthurenic acid in the blood becomes high it damages the pancreas within 48 hours and diabetes is produced. Diabetics are, apparently, born with

.. .

Winning Through Co-operation, Terry Orlick. Acropolis Books Ltd, Washington DC. Â£4 Dr. Orlick, Professor and Researcher in Sports Psychology at the University of Ottawa, Canada, believes that intensive competitiveness of many young people i s both harmful to both them and society, and that competition is not instinctive but has to be carefully taught. In the book, Winning Through Co-operation, he associates competition with crime.* The games and sports that he details offer children the same challenges and satisfactions of com-

the

.. under stress: A lack of any of theB vitamins causes a marked lag in energy , production; and later; Lack of B vitamins can cause . fatigue, irritability, nervousness, digestive disturbances, headache,. ' : ~: mental depression, quarrelsome,, . ness and lack o f sleep. The healthy reducing diet is described in detail: liver, skim milk, :.. .: ,., lettuce and mayonnaise for breakfast, small orange mid-morning, sea-','.'.?: food salad and yeast stirred ifttq . :, skim mill- for lunch; tablespoon of unsalted nuts fortea; andliver, , -. '-@ salad and milk for dinner. All ;' supplemented with extra Vitamin A, C, D and E. . . . 4. ' This will keep you 'hard-mukl&d,j:; -1 flat-abdomened,.15 years younger, i!;^'45 pounds lighter and literally . . . . . .#-.::.. sparkling.' Wouldn't get you to .. . ., , the Pole&dij&ack though. . ,

' "

Â¥.A.-i'w'

5 .'

..::i:,*$

,..

Vickv Hutchim

I"' petitive play without the negative features of being out in the first round to shiver doing nothing, or be frustrated or ashamed at failure. Many of the games and sports are taken from other cultures such as i. Russians and Chinese;

1 +

Undercurrents3d

Scientists Confront Velikovsky, edited by Donald Goldsmith, Foreword by Isaac Asimov. Cornell University Press. Â£5.95 One of the dreariest possible for* nulae for a book i s 'The Book of the Conference' and Scientists Confront Velikovsky would seem to be damned From the start. by its impossible Format. A collection of conference iapers by scientists who have taken m interest in the work of Immanuel Velikovsky is a pretty unpromising package, especially as Velikovsky's awn contribution to the conference s omitted because he was unable to igree with the editors about what ,hould go in. But Scientists Confront i s surprising y woriii a look, not least because ~fIsaac Asimov's foreword, which . nakes the vital point that the Velikov;ky thing is really about 'inside' ind 'outside' heretics, operating within or without the normal structure of science. The endoheretics nclude Galileo, Darwin and Newton, working within various sciences and miking to other scientists in terms , they can understand. The exoheretics -Joule, van't Hoff - influenced icientific disciplines (physics and physical chemistry) from without. Velikovsky, of course, is an exohere.ic who strays across many fields "rom biblical exegesis to astrophysics ind is an outsider to each, and, unike Joule, makes blunders in each i f them. He is also a good writer ind publicist; so he has become nuch richer and more famous than my crank deserves. In the end, as bimov says, the Velikovsky henomenon must be good for cience; it punctures complacency, nakes different sorts of specialists A k to each other, and can cause iseful things to happen by accident Fair enough. But the importance >fImmanuel Velikovsky must be wider than just that. In my view, for nspnce, one of the points Asimov nakes earlier i s much more vital; he Kliflts out how little hold Darwin's veil-established ideas have on most ay people, and surely the point h t Velikovsky is that the huge najority of people, even scientists, nay know lots of facts about the vorld but have no feel at all for hc importance of scientific ideas

and no resistance to even the daftest heresies from them. Velikovsky is really a reminder, like the Daily Mall's astrology column, of how little effect X years of compulsory education have had. . ,Perhaps the real problem for Velikovsky is that he has been completely trumped by the advance of 'real' science. Right across the very areas touched upon in Worlds in Collision, and especially solar system studies, discoveries without parallel since the seventeenth century have left Velikovsky's notions looking very tame indeed. Not only has the amount known about the Moon and the planets increased by a factor of millions over the last decade, but i t has done so in such a way - spectacular manned and unmanned flights involving magnificent photographs and spectacular blastoffs - that even comets diverting the Red Sea for Moses cannot really compete. The same goes for the other fields which

Heat Pumps, RD Heap, E & FN Spon.

Â£7.50 Country gents and communards who are considering installing a heat pump to warm their ancient piles will find that R D Heap tells them a good deal more than they may wish to know. This i s not one of your noddy introductory texts padded out with pretty pictures but a technical work aimed at the 'heat pump specifier'. It assumes familiarity with basic physics and launches strai

Velikovsky gets bogged down in the Earth sciences (continental drift) and even the bible, with new work on chronology and on translation and interpretation of manuscripts. So Sagan will probably continue to be a better read than Velikovsky. Even so, Velikovsky has had a marvellous run for his money, not least among scientists. One of the contri butors to Scientists Confront, Carl Sagan, an astronomer, recalls his conversation with an archaeologist about Velikovsky; Sagan thought that although V's astronomy was worthless, his history demanded investigation - the archaeologist, of course, thought just the opposite, and it i s that legerdemain that has kept Velikovsky afloat. So if you want all the answers in one place, this is the book to show you them. And full marks to Velikovsky for having sense enough to fail to appear in it Martin Ince a discussion of the Carnot cvcle and enthalpy diagrams. A heat pump will supply useful heat at a marginal cost of about 0.6 p/kWh, about 50% more than the cost o f burning wood or straw in an efficient stove but less than half the price of other fuels, which range from 1.2p (gas) to 1.6p (coal). However, as a commercial heat pump will cost Â£3,00 or more, they-are out of the reach of most private individuals. Heap doesn't consider the problems of DIY design and building as such but he provides a wealth of technical detail, backed by hundreds of references, that would enable any technically minded AT freak to find them out for.themselves.

undercurrents 38

.~f&en and presents a stark pieturefef .

thepower wielded by modern multi- . plant,multi-national firms. But,,as the authors put it: 'it would be wrong to, . imagine that the power is unchallene: 9 , able It has to establish factories +J...;!. L'..'~ soinewhere and it has to employ workers tr work i ~ t h e m to create the profits. Workers'can turn this indis..... by pensability to their advantage

...

organisation.' . . .. .,+.. .... . . . . .. . ....*.-

The Vickers ~ationat.5hopstewards Ă&#x201A; Combine Committee is one such organ-. isation developedspeclfica~yin order to co-ordinate. trade union activities across the whole company. ., Traditionally trade unions have grown upon a craft or trade basis, sometimes organised regionally, but rarely 'directly linking fellow workers in the , ious .,.. ... . .plants . . . . . .o. .f ,.individual companies. .r . . . .

~ i ,c. k. T i ~ ~ ~ a r t y , .

evolved properly, with thousands of late 1970s. 60 or so had been sold; variants giving rise to a few successful they are u h d for science and medical forms. (He actually uses the term d are one of the few tasks, a ~ we Darwinian.) 'This i s the fundamental, : 2: t reactors not to have bankrupted the reason why nuclear power plants makers. Dyson points out that .in Ole accelera- not as successful as motorcyclek. We .t_ did not have the patience t o try out Disturbing the Uniwrsp, Freeman ted development of nuclear power, a thousand different designs, and so : Dyson. Harper and Row. Â£6.95 fewer than 100 reactor types have the really good reactors were never been built. 'There now exist only about This is a very important book, not invented. Perhaps it i s true in technol10 types of nuclear power station written by an merely because it i$ ogy as it i s in biological evolution that have any hope of survival, and it eminent scientist (Professor of Physics that wastage i s the key to efficiency.' is impossible under present conditions at Princeton -gasp!) but because it is for any radically new type to receive David Walker written by an eminent scientist who a fair trial.' This i s an evolutionary view owns up to having been wrong (swoon!). o f technology, and Dyson cites the Editor's note: I thought Dyson's chapter Dysoh's book has a moral integrity . . on space was the best bit. motorbike as a technology which has which makes him confront his own mistakes, such as his attack on the test-ban treaty idea. Of his disapproval of the test ban treaty, he says 'In retrospect it is easy to see that my argument was wrong on at least four counts: wrong technically, wrong militarily, wrong politically and wrong Decision Making for Energy Futu morally.' You can't get much more David Pearce, Lynne Edwards and wrong than mat. Geoff Beuret. Macmillan, Â£10 ~~ Readers of Undercurrents are likely The anti-nuclearmbvement in to find chapters o f Disturbing the Britain is growing,in strength. A Universe fascinating. Here, for instance, same time theTories are pushing Dyson describes work done in 1956157 major expansion of nuclear powe on nuclear reactors. 'The group was t o You are not going to get much coupled with the 'desensatisation design a reactor so safe that it could govenment decision-making tafinviryn,<; useful advice on how to deal with debe given to a bunch o f highschool mental pressure. Presumably a major centralised decision-making from this children to play with, without any way to 'reduce oversensitivity to . . book. But it does give agood insight fear they would get hurt.' By using into how the technocrats view the . environmental considerations' i s to fuel rods with high concentrations avoid any silly ideas likp providing energy debate - and it does provide of hydrogen, in an alloy of uranium public funds to enable oppositional a thoughtful analysis of some of the and zirconium hydri s, they built a ways i n which public participation groups to develop a~soundcase. It small, safe reactor. e first version and inquiry proceedings could be also presumably means limiting the . produced a megawatt of power, and a improved. You may of course think information made available to later high-power version could go to I that 'reforms' are irrelevant, but even -pressure groups. 10MW. CalledTriga, the reactor went the most devotedadvocateof civil All these trends would no doubt into production in small way. By the . be regretted by Professor Pearce - who, .disobedience and direct action will as a good social democrat, believes that have toadmit that, despite their - efforts, the, agenda and boundary of the way to avoid confrontation over energy policy is to provide access t o : . the.:ilebateis3till defined in the main by the official agencies and information. So in many ways Pearce's book,has come too late. The nuclear . inquiries. Any attempt to go beyond the 'legitimised' boundaries is eil' juggernaut i s rolling forward again, and liberal sentiments about citizen . ignored or represeed. M y main fear at present i s that participation and open government . anti-nuclear activists will resent this are unlikely to cut much ice with the . limitation - and the denial of resour'Plutonium Blonde* in No. 10. The ces and information that would make nuclear issue looks like heingresolved reasoned and effective intervention in the streets andfields of Britain and possible - and be provoked into not by the ponderdusprkesses of violence, as the only way tocommand public participation apd decision making which Pears andhis co-authors a real hearing. Selected violence against'. property might of course be felt describe i n such detail. '. legitimate in somecircles but that Even so, this book is interesting,. -could alienate the bulk of society and ifonly as an articulate rendering of provide ample opportunity for t,he social democratic thinking on how t o shte and the media to write the anti cope, institutiodlv, with oppositfon nuclear movement off as 'terrorists'. to,officially sanctioned technological Pearce and his co-authorsseem programhes. Pearce attempts to. to be aware of these problems - but in review freevents and processes that the end all they can do isplead for ;:. madeup the Windscue inquiry, from reforms and a more enlightened res-, ,.!.' the supposedly neutralstandpoint of POnse by the state. That seems, daily. the academic. The problem he - and less likely. those who try to run the country-face Dave Elliott

Wrong 'un

are Â¥:

Plutonium blind ':

a healthy, a stimulating environment rather than just a better environment than the one they left in the East End or wherever. But his training i s too much for him: he can't face the d human problems in his own life, the frustrations o f the next-door neighCan You Hear Me At the Back? by bour, his marriage breaking up, his Brian dark, starring Peter Barkworth teenage son's rebelliousness. He hides Wqj Hannah Gordon. Piccadilly Theatre, behind a shield of urbane, witty London. comments, which isn'teven pierced Play reviews are rare in Undercurrents, by the would-be seducer stripping but this deserves one, since in setting off in front o f him. The creatures he out a policy of 'planned spontaneity', plays God to are suddenly coming it expresses some of what Underto life; he can't cope, yet they won't currents i s about. The chief character accept hiseschewing the God role. (peter Barkworth) is a disillusioned Brilliantly worded and acted, Can architect, looking out on the New You Hear Me At The Back? i s good Town he has created after 15 years, and thoufel t-provoking entertainment. and seeing that it i s not good. What he has created are 'people units', 'dwelling units', no individuality. The archit Stephen Joseph ect's lobxhe realises, is to make people

Such deprivation should not be undei estimated. A large garden can be a cause of considerable hardship when one has had to dispense with one's gardener. Ant when one has had to make do with a .smaller second car (the sample's most common complaint) one's incentives are obviously thoroughly undermined. Frank Field introduces this collection of papers by propounding the theory that the problem o f poverty i s the same thing as the problem of riches; that to understand one you must understand thf other, and the ensuing essays consider the problem in some detail. Beginning with a critical assessment of the distrib ution of wealth in Britain, the writers move on to examine the reasons for the persistence of inequality, the fiasco of the wealth tax and the profitable businesses= that result from tax evasion. The book ends with an account of t h e final governmental capitulation: the good. A book showing that inequality is recommendation, by the Top Salaries Review Board, that the inequality of the as entrenched in British society as it . priva-ector be reproduced ih public ever was can have little meaning to a government committed to pampering the sector salaries. Of course there are good practical reasons for this, but there are rich. It will not reach a large enough audience to influence public opinion. It better reasons for redressing the imbalani The Wealth ed- Frank Field. in the ownership of wealth altogether. will not be regarded as central to the Routledge and Kegan Paul. 1 8 7 ~Ă&#x201A;ÂŁ6.95 ~. interests of either of the major political Unfortunately the last Labour governmei could not thinkoftthem. Perhaps. now OVER THE past few years the rich have parties. been acting on the principle that if you The majority of people will continue that Labour are in opposition, this book scream loud enough and long enough to believe that managers and executives will jolt their memories. Bill Olivia people will begin to believe that you are are suffering indignities at the hands of hurt. The screams of our managers and the taxman. This book points out that in executives have been amplified in the 1976 (before the Labour government headlines and leaders of our national introduced legislation designed to aid the m dailies, and their agony has been the wealthy) a survey of managerial attitudes subject of extensive diagnoses in the revealed that less than half the sample financial press, to such an extent that the felt themselves to be worse off than they Q u a t e r m , which y o u have now missei late Labour government believed the had been three years before. Admittedly sickness of British industry to be a 58% had found economies necessary, but on TV. In the event it was less than brilliant. Too much visual anarchy, too symptom of the supposed wasting 'the economies. . included doing their disease affecting managerial salaries. own repairs, gardening and painting and many media tricks. The story - for A t a time when the Daily Telegraph those of you who missed it - went the wife dispensing with domestic help and the British Institute of Management (which befell only 1%o f the sample). like this. Retired Professor Quatermass, are encouraging Chancellor Howe 1% also had to remove their children famous British space scientist, discovers in his policy of reducing higher marfrom private education, although none that beneath the ancient megalithic was forced to dispense with private ginal tax rates, this collection of sites lies alien technology acling as a essays has arrived too late to do any medicine'. focus for the physical 'harvesting' o f human beings - who ape sucked up into space we know not where. The on thing that seemed to be able to hold ba( the dark o f anarchy and superstition was science. Quatermass rises to the occasion and science eventually triumphs, aided by the state and the military. The state and the military were powerless by themselves, although they could provide the technical means - ultimately the H-bomb. So science is legitimized as the saviour of mankind -and social and political issues fade into the backgroun Science onceagain is benevolent prom . tor. All else i s chaos and death . Hmm, where have I heard that before? Dave Ellio

Phi2w (-,'

Aid the rich

The _--

. ..

Froten Fire, Lee Neidringhaus Davis. Â£4.9 plus p & p from FOE, 9 Poland St. London W 1. Natural gas i s almost an ideal fuel; cheap, clean and convenient, its only drawback i s that it is dangerous and difficult t o store and transport. B u t i f it is Cooled to -1 62O, it condenses to form Liquid Natural Gas (LNG), which can be stored and carried in refrigerated pontainers. A neat technical fix but, like the nuke, an unforgiving one. LNG is highly,volatile and rapidly boils off from any leak to form huge inflammable clouds i1these clouds catch fire there of gas; f is no,yay:.of putting them out. If the mix of air. and gas is right, the cloudsimply explodes. Even if it doesn't, M'H freeze you to death. , '

thirty died in the flames anH even the Health and Safety Executive experts were silenced. Both these accidents involved quantities of liquefied gas tiny compared to the LNG supertankers now in service or the storage tanks at Canvey. All this, and much more, is set out at length by Lee Davis in Frozen Fire and campaigners against LNG round the world will find it an invaluable compendium of facts and figures, accidents and technical fixes. For the general reader something better edited and organised and much shorter would have been more suitable. Davis i s a political scientist with no background in physics, chemistry or statistics and it shows. Each chapter is introduced by an LNG horror story, which make fascinating bits of journalism to read but get in the way of the serious purpose of the book. There's no index, a serious lack given the repetitive style. I n sum, a useful campaigning tool, but not nearly as good as it could, and should, have been.

--.-

Chris Hutton Squire

LÃ‘Dav

British Gas imports Algerian LNG to Cahvey Island, where 35,008 people liw next door to twelve huge storage tanks; they have four other 'peakshaving' plants round the country, which liquefy andstore gas from the North Sea in the summer for use in the Winter, and two others are building. On Canvey there is an active, but so far unsuccessful, resistance to LNG, which "was pioneered there in 1959. To try.to wtm local opinion, the Health and Safety Executive was called in to estimate the risk. Naturally the HSE found that it was 'acceptable'.collisions, wrecks, congested evacuation routes flood hazards etc. notwithstanding. With such large vested interests at stake, how could it have found otherwise? Even when, three months after the Canvey Island report, 200 people were burned to death after a tanker full o f propylene; a similar gas, crashed into a Spanish camp site, the line was: 'We really feel this was something of a freak disaster.' Five days later a gas tanker exploded on a main road in Mexico,

The Worldwatch papers series has come up with a goodie for anyone interested in how science and technology are and should be used. It is Worldwatch paper 31, Knowledge and Power: The Global Research and Development Budget, by Colin Norman. Norman has looked at which countries spend how much on R&D, and what it goes on, with the huge survey of R&D spending in virtually all the world's countries. The picture which emerges is coherent - developed nations do most o f the spending and they do it for their own befiefa. And developed countries' attem?ts to help the third world tend to end badly even if they are not conceived exploitatively. But rare attempts in the third world at setting up indigenous R&D efforts for third world needs, hold out some hope for the third world poor. Much recommended; yours for Â£ from The Ecologist; 73 Molesworth Street, Wadebridge, Cornwall er 85p from Third World Publications Ltd, 151 Stratford Road, Birmingham B11 1 RD, whichever you regard as the better cause. Norman's book on the same subject, The God That Limped: Technology for a Finite World, i s due out this year. Another book which promises to become a classic on the Third World is Greg Lanning and Marti Mueller's

Africa Undermined, Penguin Â£3.50 A long time in the writing, this is a . history and analysis of mineral expbitation in Africa from before the White Man to the present day. The emphasis, naturally, is on South Africa, but the ' whole continent is covered apart from a bit of a blank spot, probably justified' when it comes to North Africa. The second issue o f State Research's Review of Security and The State is just out, Â£1 from Julian Friedmann Books. The Review, like its predecessor, consists of a year of State Research bulletins in a form designed to be acceptable to libar'anes and the like recommerid it to the institution i n your life. Topics covered include NATO, spookery in Norway, British intelligence, security and the state i i Australia, West, Germany and elsewhere, criminal pr& cedure, the right to demonstrate, and more news about the police and policing than you wbuld have dreampt possible. If you want to keep up to date' it is quicker and cheaper to subscribe to the Bulletln as it comes out Individuals Â£4union branches. community groups etc Â£6institutions Â£ a year, from State Research, 9 Poland Street, London W1V 3DG. Sweden's most depressing publisher is the Stockholm International, Peace Research Institute. It has just produced Nuclear Energy and Nuclear Weapons Proliferaticn, yours for Â£14the proceedings of a 1978 conference on fuel cycles, nuclear fuel enrichment, different reactor types, nuclear safeguards - and controls, and the other bits and pieces which make up attempts to prevent 'civilian' nuclear power from becoming weaponry. Anyone who has looked at goings-on in India, Pakistan, South Africa or Israel can be forgiven for cynicism, but the book - published in the context of another Non- . Proliferation Treaty review conference this year - has lots of important background on the matter. Slightly longer in the tooth now is the 1979 SIPRI Yearbook, which costs Â£21.50 (SIPRI books are published in the UK by Taylor and Francis.) This is the.tenth in the ~earbookserii,, the authoritative reference source for military spending and other military developments. This year the book contains two especially scarifying chapters on war at sea, by Owen Wilkes, which make the case that real istic global anti-submarine warfare may be becoming a reality because of developments in data processing, spy satellites and the like. If he's ' right, the submarine-based nuclear deterrent i s out of the window - at least the UK can save a few billion on replacing Polaris. a

DTs

DUNTERS' DEFENCE If the situation in Orkney was For those of us engaged in ' ; Technical and Scientific a; Ross Macgilchrist described efforts to creata a more stable Journals (TSJs) on subjectslike it in UC37, I don't think that computing are full of Highly way of living, the availability we'd have a hope in hell of Technical Jargon (HTJ), which of practical dternatives to nucleal campaign, t e t as Ross stopping uranium mining here. makes them unintelligible to the intensive farming is of pointed out we are only & (null The'Orkney No Uranium' . Averagely Intelligent Layperson fundamental importance. group and do not claim to campaign involves virtually (AIL). I'd always thought that Animals and crops developed represent all the anti-nukes in 1 everyone here, if only in one of the aims of AT was to for sdme contemporary feed Orkney. Finally, I don't sentiment, from the politically promote technology that was production methods require ts consider being English as a naive to tories to anarchists. comprehensible and accessible high inputs of feed, energy crime and so will admit to , Therefore there is bound to be to the AIL. and chemicals. Traditional being one of the few English:, . disagreement about how far we Perhaps Andrew Mackillop breeds or varieties able to members of the group. should go, ie whether the overall (AM) was trying to raise UC to thrive with, less help from man campaign should f ' t uranium RoneJuntt a higher plane, making it more become scarce as they fall out mining as a purely ocal The Ruff -' i respectable in Scientific Circles of use. environmental issue or as part St Margaret's Hope (32s). By the time I was halfway A specific and unsettling of the nuclear power industry. Orkney through his discourse on Third oroblem has recently been This has led to discussion in the World Energy I was searching brought to my attention by AT & THE EEC local paper, on Radio Orkney poultry breeder, Brian French for an AT dictionary. What are Looking through a mass of EEC and ingeneral conversation on of Toplaois Farm, Slaughterford. LDCs anyway? Was it really bumph the other day I came nuclear power. During the necessary to save half a column Brian and his wife Elizabeth have across a surprisingbit of newsGeneral Election the Labour inch by referring to International established over a number of the EEC is now making loan; to. and Conservative Party Financial Institutions as IFI's, or years mpre than thuty breeds help alternative energy projects. candidates tried hard to Technical Co-ooeration for of genuine free range poultry on The details are on pages 48-52W disgbise the fact that their Developing countries as VDC? their 50 acreorganic farm near the European Communities parties Were in favour of If so; why not call the United Chippenham. hiay of these Commission Background report,. nuclear power. ' Nations the UN, since at least birds are raie an& some are in published on Jan 15th 1979. It Most of us who have been that is a familiar abbreviation danger of extinction. Although includes exoloitation of actively involved in the no * I'm still curious to know what some 'Museums' do exist, it is geothennalenergy ;explo1tqi4 campaim have become uranium OAPEC, OECD, ESCAP and believed'the Toplands Farm is of soh energy ;and exploitation strongly anti-nuclear and UNESCAP all referto. the only place in Britain of wave.-<@d and windfiaeigy* increasingly disillusioned with So watch it UC, and Ah4 in offering thÃ§.smgllholdeor'sei*' the present system of governmentd Thegrants vary (they lwk t o be particular! Your readers are supporter a selection of truly genwuy-33% UP to *of mfl in Britain Having experienced mostly AIL'S and couldn't begin free range birds at any stage u. ~"'j^t ~ 4 They . "W *^ltW the f a r e of an e~quiry in public to make sense of a TSJ withall* their life cycle, fertile eggs, day Other projects, for w*i into Whether the Orkney Islands itsHTJ. Don't rely on a large old chicks, point of lay and woÃˆds Tlii?li?t is not council should be allowed to circulations in So% We're your adult birds. retain a no uranium mining "Here's also grants for 2! friends, us AT AIL'S Despite a brisk turnover in 'wOn*ation projects for clause in the Orkney Structure recent months the specialist DT from LH Plan, we are determined to help e m W S v i n g - u ~to 49% markeus not a commercial The address for application b' Laurieston Hall others to beat the system. The proposition as it stands and has The Themmission of the E Castle Douglas whole thing was rigged in favour been financed until recently by communities Directorat& Kirkcudbrightshire of the SSEB who were the French's success in turkey for Energy, Rue de la lei 200, contesting the Structure Plan. rearing. Sadly they find them- . B-1049, BruxeUes. Bchaaue'. The procedures were SHOCKING SEXISM selves nolonger able to support I'm sure some ~nd&<wrenft recommended by the Stevens this service alone, having been readers might be able to suggest Committee (Scottish local Thank you for the last issues of squeezed out of turkey farming some of their pet projects-why Government Planning) who are Undercurrents. I would like to by engineered EEC regulations let the universities and the polys Ã definitely suspect and one of make a constructive criticism. which favour the larger (10,000 all the bread? the two 'experts' came from the I thought that the Women's heard) estabhshments t However,just in case anyone National RadiologicalProtection issue of UC was excellent, and I This is not just another is thinking that there's been a Board. The reporter actually thought it indicated that the appeal for funds for a good complete conversion to the cause collective is strongly aware of recommended that the clause cause. It is something we can in the EEC Commission, it's worth the issues of feminism and the should be dropped from the all do for ourselves. It is one noting that they've also started environment. I know personally Structure Plan. We are not area of distance which has not givinggrants for. "inv meat that some of the collective is. convinced that the Secretary of yet been institutionalised. projects relating to the State for Scotland rejected his But I was shocked somewhat by We need t o b o w : production of electricity from the sexism printed in VC35advice because of the strong nuclear sources" tibUp. 45) and 1 If there is anyone else local opposition and we are from Chairmen all over the place "aid for uranium proipection + ., providing a similar service preparing for the tiige when to housebuyersreferred to as he, projects" (ibid p. 47). elsewhere in the country? to very male directed boring uranium mining here becomes One step forward, two stew in the 'National Interest'. humour about a very 2 Do you know of an backwards. . One of the moves has been unimportant nose-picking 4qdividual or an organisation Wilf Whitthe formation of the Orkney dislike of FOELondon. If you willing to support this work 41 Welledey Avenue want to devote columns to Autonomy Movement (this is a financially'' Hun grass roots Orcadiin Movement, internal jokes, why put them 3 Have you any bright ideas? no connection with Ross on the first page? It is a very You published a letter in.UC32 , 4 Can you or anyone you know male sort of humour-probably Macgilchrist and Free Wfnged by a Mr Roderick Saunders. help in a practical way? based in its origin on building Eagle). One of their aims is Would you be kind enough Malcolm Treacher careers by treading on local control of mineral reserves. to forward the enclosed letter Ecology Party opposition. to him if you have his +Idre+. In the Dunters we are (Chippenham-Calne) I would like to see you considering other positive Mufaiet Bidow, Lytle Goton developing a pro-woman policy moves 'to keep the ball in our Eds note: Roderick Sounders. Hilmart in UC and keeping to it. It helps court'. we do not have your address Cdne The Dunters are also us all, really. any more.Contact us and we'S involved in the national antiLin Pugh 'sendyour letteron. BREEDERS NEEDED

sq3

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THE &S listed k h r 6 available by mall order from Undercurrents. Prices include p-e ancLpackinc which. in many cases has been absorbed within the normal shop price. All orders must be prepaid., . . , , ,. . ., , ,. . .

-THE BAREFOOT PSYCHOANALYST ' RosemaryRandall, John Southgate, FrancesTomlinson

THE POLITICS OF NUCLEAR~OWER~,~.~~~,.

, PRACTICAL SOLAR HEATING

RADICALTECHNOLOGY

Godfrey Boyle, Peter Haiper

Vndcrcwrents

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Herbert Girardet (ed) A manual of radical land r e f o h , it covet&(b& '; resources, self-sufficiency, enclosuret,,. . .: , T $ Â£2.9 clearances and the Diggers, Highland la@btdl,' 8 bssontof resettlement, land reform* . :!

(Bulk discount for 10 or more copies Â£3.70 "For those who still think about the future k t SMALL-SCALE WATERPOWER Dermott McGuigan termsof mega-machinesand all-powerful bureaucracies. Radical Technologywill be an , . . . eye-opener. There is an alternative!' SMALL-SCALE WIND,POWER -Airin b y n o t ! MCcUigan

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revolution, new towns, new villages,,a~,the,,~,:, Â£2.9 revivalof the countryside. , . . I a m

Emotional Plague in Co-operatives1Compost & Communism Part 2Water Powerftindhorn RwisitedlOz Community RadiolCar-sharingl Saving EnergyIThai Dilemmas.

CentreIOrganic Gardening/Frm FbdiilBuilding with Ram+ Earth/Windmfll Tlieorvl

Chinese S c m e / I T & ~econd Clan CapilalISu~~mockerlLey Hunting/Hvdroponics/Lucas.

10 Solar Collector theory & D(Y Dw~gn/SwardGardening/ -chist CitWFuture of AT1 Land for tho pNpldt3snwal Systems TheoryIAlternativa Culturn Part 1. ,

19 L i m i f to ~ e d i c i n e l PoliticSof Self-HelptBabes in .the W d G u i d e to Altarnative W i i n e l F i n d h o r n Community/ National Centre for AT Revisited/Danish Anti-Nuclear CampaignIAlternetiveHistory , o f England.

26 AT Days that shook PortuaallGrowing Dope at hoirfe1Crofting in the Orkneysl Community Ham Radio1 Repairing BoatdNewcastleAT GroupILucas Atternatbe HardwarelRussiansWeaponry.

13 Diggws/Enwgy & Food Production/lnduary and the Community & ATIAlternative England & Wales Supplement/ Planning & Communes/Methanel Alternative Culture Part 4.

14 JackMundayon Australian Green BandAT Round the WorldBuilding with Nttural EnergylDlY Insulation/ AT in IndialBRAD Community.

Insulation v i Nuclear P k l T o w a r d s a non-nuclear futurdAT &Job Creation1 Production for N w d l Diodvnamic GardenindW AC Inverter Design.

16 Garden VillMBS/Wood Food GuideIDlY New Town1 Self-Sufficient Solar Terreced Ufnpen Communitv/Bypaaing the PlannÃ‡rÃ§/Citizen Band F4qliolFree School. 17

Computer LW Hunt/ Ddw-it-YourdfIKiilian PhotographyISavingyour Own SÃ‘d/Wome & ATITerreitial ZOdiKi.

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Altermtiw khdkal Care1 Altermriw Culture Pert 3.

Issue numbers 12 to 23areavailablefortheBARGAIN price ofC3.60. : rC1'-'. :f, n u b 24 to f o r E3.Wand the SET for a mere f3.W. Sngle mpiK-. m: ; 60p. We like to thinkthat Undercurrents is not so much a magazineaÃ§a'd' 1: growing collectionof useful information. Sofcock.up with back isiues now:i.

Tony BÃ§n On (he Diggardfirming: Chomkals or Organic7lControl of Technol<w/ Cambodia Self-SufficiÃˆm?/Sola Energy ReportIPaper Making/ Annan Report on Broadcasting

21 Fascism and the Countercultu re/Motorway Madnew Nuclear Policy ChwdOrgone EnergyIFrw Broadcatting/Gwd Squat Guidellron Age Farming1 Laurieston'i Magic Garden/ Print-it-YourÃ‘lf 22 Paranoia Power/ Windxale BackgroUndlCroftingI Food Co-opsJStonehenge1 Fishing LimitdPrimal Therapy1 Italian Free RadioIMethanel Fish Farming. 23

Seabrook Anti-Nuclear DemolNuclear Power & Trade UniondHerman Khan IntmiewtDtY Wbodstovel Fortean PhenornenaIDw Solar Collector DesignISmall-icele Radio Tranmitter Plans1 Australian Citizens' Band.,

24 Nuclear Weapons Accidents/Electronic Surva.illance/Making Chwm & CiderICompost & Communism1 Srmll-snle Radio Transmitter Pert 21Magi~Mushrooms1 Forestry/SWAPOlMediinel Chicken's Lib.

Soft Energy: Hard Politicsithe Fast Breeder .Enquiry/Not So Small Tools for Small FarmslAnti-Nuclear CountermeasuredFreeWheelin'/ Hull Docks Fish FarmIShaker Communities.

28 Tornes DemoIAfter the Windscale Enquiry/The Tvind WindmillIPrimal Therapy at AtlantitlBasque Co-opdAT in the UK & CanadalBehwiour Modification. 29

women's&^^

Movement linked?lWindscale VisitIAnti-Nuclear Dance/ Ferninins Against Nukes1 Women & ScienceIOn Roles/ Women. Work and the Trade ~ n i o n d ~ e l f eServices re & The CutslAT man CartoonIBirth Control. --. ..

Alternative Nurseries/Solar CaliforniaIAT and State Money1 Politics/Ecology and Feminism1 Windscale Scandal.

Factory .- , FarmindFood -.AdditivedCommodity Campaiansfflholefood Co-ops US & UiU~omrnon Agricultural Politics Explained/Po<ato PoliticsIFeminism 8 Food1 Organic Farming.

TheBritish Road t o -. ;... 5 EcotopialLarzac Struwle/ .. ,,1 Scottish Anti-nuke Unions/ Workers' PlandCbmmunaI. , Lr Blues/Peanut EconomicsIWind' ' powered Council HousiOgIAtom ! Scientists Redundant. , . .

Special ~ta<usf a British 1 1 Islanders?~WorkingonOrganic FarmslCollector Design. , 34 The Co-op ,., ::I .' : Learning the Hard Way/ ' 'iy,' Crabpplt RwisltedlATin I Pakistan/Counter Revolution ,%:\ ; Q u a r t ~ l ~ / DRadiq lY Piref : Feminists and Nuclear P0*r/ "' Brazilian Atom S~andallFuturd',.~ 1. of British~ndustry/Whale*~j :+! .' 2

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Community ~drkth&/'.' ' Home Rule for the ~ o r A / T f f i " . ~ ~ Geography Dismr/WoBdttw \ Oesigns/Road Lobby Follies/ ; Stream PowerlCOMTEK . . (Community Technology) Explained/Grwning Milton KeyneslAgr~businesi Collage%

36 Kids dm Change the .,,' World/Oaughter of- Alice ' CartoonICity Farms .; . I ThreatenedINews from ,. .I .: Proaressiveend Free Schools1 ,. .,. â‚¬ducati as it Could BÃ§/To Cram or not to Cram1 Community ServiceIEducation Inside and outside the Classroom.

37 Third World Energy/ .' ' . Biacksmithi~IMethane : DigesterslComposting/Ecofogy~~ and the Environmental Fix/Pro-. abortion CampeignIThe. ,, . . J . , S i l k w d LegacyIBehaviour .;. Modifi&tion/Edvironmental Education. ,'

Undercurrents 38 t.

MEANWHILE GARDENS COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION requires HORTICULTURIST t o join existing team o f 6 workers on community project converting wasteland into a park in West London. ONDIHND or similar preferable. Tough conditions. Sal. Â£4,806 Write including SAE to - Site Office. Elkstone Rd.. London W10. dosing date Februwy 13th -potential,

WORKING community forming i n renovated N. Yorkshire mill. Craftspersons and small businesses interestedcontact High Bentham Cooperative, 6 ~ w e e d St., High Bentham via Lancaster (Bentham 61403). WORKSHOPS OFFERED. Shared workshop space offered for pottery, woodwork, sewing and machine knitting weaving. Machines & equipment supplied1 L o o t people preferred but anyone considered. 5011 per hour or Â£5 per week. Ormond Road Workshops, N. 19. Phone 263 3865.

BUILDING SKILLS we h u e acquired, we would like to pass on i n exchange for halp. 01-673 4480. Jenny end Roy, Balham, London.

GUY, 27, looking for a large Or hw* in England or Walm. Interested in farming, animals, but not werimced. No political or religious groups. Box SD.

CANADIANFAMILY seek rural community within 30 miles Bristol. Into A.T. 81S.S. Bob &Wendy, 19 Grove PÃ§rRoad, Brislington, Bristol.

SUSSEX. I'm looking for others t o buy a house co~~ectivefy somewhere in Sussex. Preferably with an interest in meditation as I think common goals ark helpful. Also vegetarian. Otherwise no essential ingredienftx other than commitment and a ,. sense of the ridiculous. 1 have some capital, but need halp with raising e mortgage. Christine Gildusleere, c/o 96 Balfour Road, Brighton, Sussex.

PEOPLE wanted to join me in buying large house in Brighton area t o share for company, friendship end mutual help. . Box no. AA. SMALL woup ÃˆlltiIngt set up rural community based on emotional support, therapy and child-sharing seek others with similar ideas. Contact Eleanor, 85 Strethleven Rd., London

SW2.

WE ARE three people living > together in North London as a non-nuclear family, and hoping to bring up children. We share house work, income, responsibility, love, space, possessions, ideals (meat-eaters, non-smokers.) Are you interested in joining us? Jean, David & Richard. Phone 808 9826.

, MEDICAL student (male) into health and realising ones full moving to Manchester teaching hospital next year, looking for warm, friendly shared accommodation. Contact Gifford Kerr, 130 Kingston Road, Burntisland, Fife. YOUNG alternative couple expecting baby in July desperate to rent a cottage, preferably in South/South West England. Write: Mick & Nick, 5 Fairfield Rd.,Jesmond. Newcastle-u-Tyne. NEW RESIDENTS wanted for small community running residential events, organic garden, wholefood shop. Little money, varied work, great opportunities. SAE Lower Shaw Farm, Shaw, Swindon, Wilts. WOMAN COMMUNITY worker hopes t o buy large communal house in rural cambs. Seeks others others interested. any a- or sex, but with financial resources, positive ideas, and preferably skills Th aim to move towards home/community-based mk md to eaov a hwratic caring homelife. Box No EH. UNIQUE holiday on organic smallholding with 77 acre woodland nature reserve. Exmoor National Park, sea 4 miles. Eight camouflaged caravans. Modern toilets. Fresh produce. Stamp please for ' brochure. Cowley Wood, Parracombe, N. Devon Parracombe 200. "

FIFTH year of extraordinary walking tours where the land is interpreted anthropomorphically. Accommodation (tents) and catering (whole food) in harmony with nature. Programme. Head for the Hills, 21 Pernbroke Avenue, Hove, Sussex (+ stamp). CHILDREN'S country holiday house and grounds available during tarmtime for courses, conferences etc. Wholefood cooking. Close t o Motorway network. Also large-scale wholefood outside catering. Callow Hill House, Monmouth, Gwent. 0600 3233.

CHRIS HYDE pleaw mntactAtlantis, Urgent. DIESEL Motor Caravan for Sale. 1971 Converted Commer Walk-Thru. Good condition. MOT till November. Sleeps four. Full head-room. Fullvf itted. Plenty storage. Toilet. Greet for touringcontinent (heap diesel). Â£79 0.n.o. Tel. (Jangybi 283. View London if necessary. SCRIBBLERS Inc., an . alternative in corresponding, tape or letters, socializing with a stamp, free listing, box 1024, Sacramento, California 95805.

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:ontributionÃ§ak. W e qologin for the &ior&kr uied'fOr this issue: our usual awfti1 but chew) papwcqmes from ~anadaand is at peasant languishing in , Iboat half-way up <he frozen S t Lawrence, so our prinwhm let us hoVa bright Wtihe~noprUsfor the s h e prim: A caseof an ill icefloedoing

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anarchism, an-m ti p@&hn, pacifism Â¥coI<wternladst ,children's books, mfteil fiction. 10-6 Monday to Stunky @atewenin# wM@Ãˆ

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d selection ot current vacancies;

FARMERS, MARKET GARDENERS, LIVE-STOCK PERSONS: Various community development projects, responding to the ncÃ§dÃˆo people in Africa. Training young people in relevant skills in Botswana. el ping manage a~o-operttiv*cnÃˆ&&hLesotho S-up a farm at m Â¥shra for the

handicapped in India.

TEACHERS/YOUTH TRAINERS: For Botswana Youth Training centres: Teacher of b a s i c s u b imd 'development'studies. and Vocational Tminingt her Training organiser for Curriculum Development Officer. For Mozambi technical schools. For Asia: Youth Training Pi and Teacher of mentally handicapped for children's centre.

TECHNICAL VOLUNTEERS: General technical ("Jack of All Trades') persons with interest in A.T.tof integrated ruraWevelopment project, aqd Civil Engineer/ConstructionTechnologistfor footbridgesscheme inkqbb, Vehicle mechanic for ashram in Indit, Engineers of all types for Mozambique. Clproduction advisor 4CÃ§rpÃ‡itcr or Cabinetmaker for youth training centres. Botswana. . . MEUICAUPARAMEDICAL: Phyriotherapisu for handicapped children's centres ~ealth .8 I n m w / N u ~ Tutor* e for Mozambique. Midwives for , AH the above are on volunteer Write for CURRkn I VACANCYLIST and application form (enclosing brief c.v.) to: Section OS26, IVS.53 Regent Road,Leicester LEI 6YL.

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The World's Foremost Journal of Strange Phenomena. Wolf-Children & Wild Men Poltergeist Phenomena The 'Surrey Puma' A Other Exotic Aliens Coloured Snow & Ralw Weather & QuakeSupertitivef Spontaneous Comb* of Humans Stigmata & Lxviution Discoveries of America WOre Columbm Falls of Fish. Blood & Ice (rom the Sky People who Vanish & Othon who Appear Mysterious Aerial Sound* Occult Crimes Impossible Objects in Ancient Strata Electromagnetic Enigmas UFOs & Related Phenomena Telcportations of People A Things Evidence* of 'Little People' & GiantsBall Lightning & Odd Light* Ghosts & Apparitions Relic* of Ancient Technology Cycles & Coincidences in Phenomena Bigfoot & Unidentified Animate Visions & Miracles

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Phantom Smells & 'Mass Hysteria' Cunous Astronomical' Phenomena Mystery Explosions & Flashes Psi Powers Swarms & Migrations Curiosities of Behaviour & Psychology Freaks of Lightning & Meteorology Paranormal Experiences & Alternate Realities Luke & Sea Moniwrs Hoaxes & Controvcrau in Science 'Hollow Etrth' & Other Cosmologies Attacks On & BY Animals Vampires. Werewolves & Possession Antiquities & Lost Continent* Curiosities of Biology & Teratology My-iterious I & Photos ~a11enges3%wnism Sightinp of Pnhistoric Crcttures Antiquarian Evidence of 'Spacemen' Unusual Darkneoes Thought Fornn & Psychotronii Toads in Stones

MARCH 15th

MARCH 16th

To be opened by

To be opened by 1

MATTHEW MANNING

GARETH KNIGH

LAVENDER HILL LONDON S.W.ll. per day 70p

ADMISSION BY PROGRAMME

70p per day

Children up to 12 free if accompanied by an adult, OAP's and students with cards 40p at door.

^Â¥**Ã

AURA PHOTOGRAPHY - TAROT READINGS - MEDITATION/ HEALING WORKSHOPS

- VEGETARIAN RESTAURANT

ART DISPLAY

NEW AGE PHILOSOPHIES

Lecture Programme ' r

SATURDAY 11 a.m. 12.noon 1 p.m. 2 p.m. 3 p.m. 4p.m. 5 P.m.

Gareth Knight Tom Graves Stephen Skinner Ellen Turnbull Dolores Ashcroft MaryCaine* Mary Anderson

THE WESTERN MYSTERIES"

DOWSING

RENAISSANCE MAGIC" AHORC. (Rosicrucians)" " INNER PLANE REALIH" . THE KINGSTON ZODIAC" " THE TAROT AS COUNSELLING" " "

Tickets at 30p each from P.Cave 15 Betlayter Road, SW2., or from the Festival.

Ã‡a^^ %Q.85

* ^

On the Stage There will be a closing ceremony at 5.40p.m. Sunday, taken by Tony Neale.

ORIGINAL NEW AGE REVUE

'rogrmums obtaiMb the door or in advance fi N ANDREWS 16a FRANCONIA ROAD. SWÃ 61-822 5734

,- VJ

T+.

A NEW-AGE CELEBRATXU