=======================Electronic Edition========================
RACHEL’S HAZARDOUS WASTE NEWS #129
—May 16, 1989—
News and resources for environmental justice.
——
Environmental Research Foundation
P.O. Box 5036, Annapolis, MD 21403
Fax (410) 263-8944; Internet: erf@igc.apc.org
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ENVIRONET: COMMUNICATION LINK FOR LOCAL GRASS ROOTS ACTIVISTS.
If you have a tabletop computer and a modem, there is a bulletin
board you should be tapping into. It’s called Environet and it’s
run by Greenpeace. IF YOU DON’T HAVE A COMPUTER, WE BELIEVE YOU
SHOULD GET ONE JUST SO YOU CAN DIAL INTO ENVIRONET. We’re serious.
At the end of this article, we tell you how to call Environet. In
simplest terms, your computer phones the Environet computer. When
Environet answers, you can sign in and register as a user of the
system. If you are a citizen activist, you probably qualify for
access to an 800 phone number, to make your Environet access
free. To request use of the free phone line, sign on to Environet
and send electronic mail to Ben Gordon, who is System Operator of
the “Toxics” section of the bulletin board. Tell Ben about your
local group and about your personal involvement at the local
level.
Once you dial into Environet (whether you’re paying for the call,
or it’s free from Greenpeace), you gain access to a group of
services that reside on the system. There are four ongoing
“Conferences,” or series of discussions on related topics.
There’s one on disarmament, one on toxics, one on wildlife, and
one called “stepping lightly on the earth”–the relationship of
personal lifestyle to environmental damage.
The Conferences provide a place where like-minded people can
trade ideas and information on topics of concern. One person
posts an item for everyone to see, often asking a question or
making an announcement. Others who look at the item can respond
to it; the next person who looks can see the responses that have
been posted, then can add a new response.
There is also a private message service on Environet. Any user of
the system can send private messages to any other user of the
system. When you dial in, the first thing you learn is whether
new messages are waiting for you to read. There are other
services on the system as well. Here, we’ll focus on the ones of
interest to toxics activists. For example, every day, Environet
offers current environmental news from around the world,
highlighting those events that Greenpeace considers most
important. In addition, every few days Ben Gordon puts new
documents into the “files” section of the Toxics Conference that
he oversees. These are useful chunks of information on issues of
concern: landfilling, incineration, and so forth. Access to these
materials alone would make Environet worth tapping into. In
addition, we now put each issue of RACHEL’S HAZARDOUS WASTE NEWS
into the files section of the Toxics Conference.
In short, Environet is rapidly becoming an important source of
information for grass roots activists. But even more importantly,
it is beginning to form a communications network among activists,
so people can get quick answers to pressing questions by asking
each other for help. In the next couple of years, we expect to
see Environet become the hub of a communication network spanning
the entire grass roots toxics movement. Here’s why:
The most effective information you can use in your local fight is
dirt about your adversaries. When you go before your local County
Council or Planning Commission to oppose the XYZ Corporation,
which has just proposed an incinerator or a dump or whatever, you
will almost certainly be outgunned by XYZ’s scientists and
lawyers. They will dazzle you with obscure facts and fancy
footwork.
However, if you present evidence that the XYZ Corporation has a
leaking dump in Ohio or is under indictment for illegal dumping
in Florida or was cited for mail fraud in Vermont, you can
clobber them in your local hearings. No matter how many facts
they present, no matter how much fancy dancing their lawyers may
do, if they’ve got a bad record somewhere, you can nail them.
A computer network offers the only efficient way for local
activists to get their local information out to other local
people who need it. The computer remembers everything. The
material can be indexed by subject. You can tap into it day or
night, whenever it’s convenient for you. No more telephone tag:
when you call, it answers and is available to talk. The computer
is never “in a meeting,” and has never “just stepped out for
lunch.”
The key to a successful computer network is lots of people
dialing in regularly, to get help or to see who needs help, or
just to chat. Environet is perfect for this purpose, because it
is so quick and easy to use. With a 2400 baud modem (which now
costs less than $200–see below) and free 800 phone access,
Environet can become your low-cost, high-speed link to the entire
spectrum of skills and talents embodied in the growing movement
for environmental justice. But remember this: Environet won’t
reach it’s full potential until you dial in and start to
participate.
We think this is so important that we believe people should
purchase computers just so they can join the Environet network.
(Of course, you would then be able to start using your computer
as a word processor instead of your old typewriter, and you could
start keeping your group’s mailing list straight–so Environet
wouldn’t be the only benefit if you took the plunge.)
To dial into Environet, set your communications software for 300,
1200 or 2400 baud, 8 data bits, no parity, and dial (415)
861-6503. It’s a San Francisco call.
Which Computer Should You Buy?.
People often ask us for advice about computers. The cheapest
usable system you can get is an IBM look-alike. It’s true that
the Apple Macintosh is easier to use and–if you can afford an
Apple LaserWriter printer–gives you true desktop publishing, but
it costs twice as much as an IBM clone.
With an IBM-type system you can get everything you need for about
$1900. For example, one mail order house, Tussey Computer
Products, in State Park, PA, offers the following prices: the
Swan XT10 computer with 20 megabyte hard disk and monochrome
monitor for $979; a good 24pin printer (say a Panasonic Model
1124) will cost roughly $350. They sell a Swan 2400 baud modem
for $149. They also sell the software we prefer: WordPerfect
version 5.0 for word processsing costs $219. For your mailing
list, Q&A software costs $194. Tussey’s phone is 1-800-468-9044.
This is simply one example of the prices you can expect to pay.
To check out other mail order prices, pick up an issue of PC
MAGAZINE from a news stand.
This particular mail order house does not sell our favorite
communications software, which is Procomm Plus; it lists for $75
but is widely discounted.
Wrenching In West Virginia June 2-3.
The next Wrenching Debate will take place June 2-3 in Minden,
West Virginia, 50 miles south of Charleston. Minden is a mining
community contaminated with PCBs. Local people have organized
themselves to fight for cleanup, buyout and relocation. They
could use help from people on the outside who can come to Minden
to join in a weekend of rallies, citizen hearings, a memorial
service, marches, protests and strategizing. For further
information, contact Larry Rose: (304) 469-6247; Sue Workman:
(304) 469-9122; or John David: (304) 469-9936.
–Peter Montague, Ph.D.
Descriptor terms: environet; investigations; computer;