Sustainable Living at the Centre for Alternative Technology: Radical Ideas and Practical Solutions

Description

This book presents a detailed exploration into the Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT), an enterprise concerned with finding and communicating sustainable ways of living, established in Wales in 1973. Playing a central role in the global green network, this study examines CAT’s history and context for creation, its development over time and its wider influence in the progression of green ideas at the local, national and international levels. Based on original archival and ethnographic research, this book provides the first in-depth analysis of CAT and uses the case study to explore wider issues of sustainability and environmental communication. It situates the Centre within current environmental and political discourse and emphasises the relevance and reach of CAT’s practical solutions and creative educational programme. These practical solutions to the destruction of the environment of human activity are increasingly vital in today’s context of climate change, loss of biodiversity and rising levels of pollution. It debates the spectrum of attitudes between environmentalism and ecologism evident at CAT and in broader conversations surrounding sustainability. Woven throughout the text, the author makes clear what we can learn from CAT’s almost 50 years of experiments and experiences, from his first-hand account of working at the site. This will be a fascinating and revealing read for academics, researchers, students and practitioners interested in all aspects of sustainability and environmental issues. Cover Half Title Series Information Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents Acknowledgements Introduction The Context: Fear Won’t Do It! Practical Utopianism Remote, Yet Not Too Far! Methodology Continuity and Change Themes Radical But Not Too Radical! Inside Or Outside? Individual Lifestyle Or Systemic Changes? Technology and Science Communication and Education CAT’s Networks Structure of the Book Chapter 1: The Context and Early History of the Centre for Alternative Technology Chapter 2: From Community to Network Chapter 3: Decision Making Chapter 4: Communication, Education and Persuasion Chapter 5: Zero Carbon Britain Conclusion Notes References 1 The Context and Early History of the Centre for Alternative Technology Introduction: The Historical Context Ambivalence About Science, Technology and Industrialisation Only One Planet Earth! The Counterculture and the Environment Popularising Environmental Science Alternative Technology: What Is in a Term? CAT: The Beginning The Quarry: ‘A Happy Combination of Vision and Place’ Pioneering Days Consolidation Community Or Outreach? What the Locals Thought Gearchange Notes References 2 From Community to Network Introduction The Site Community What Is CAT: Commune, Cohousing, Ecovillage Or Intentional Community? Bonding and Bridging Social Capital Sharing Locality Ideas Resources Lifestyle Self-Sufficiency The Site Community: Integral Or Peripheral? Living Off-Grid Comfort and Convenience The Demise of the Site Community From Community to Network Notes References 3 Decision Making Introduction The Pioneering Days: Anarchy Or Autocracy? Egalitarian Experiments and Structures Interminable Meetings: Consensus Or Compromise? Ogres and Rotas Streamlining Consensus Everyone Is Equal, But Some Are More Equal Than Others! Pay The Demise of Egalitarian Experiments Restructuring Management The End of the Flat-Pay Structure The Saga of the Wales Institute for Sustainable Education (WISE) Notes References 4 Communication, Education and Persuasion Introduction Green Rhetoric Informing Others The Visitor Centre The Curious and the Pilgrims Renewable Energy Sustainable Building The Garden The Restaurant and Bookshop Tourism Education Schools and Colleges The Graduate School of the Environment Digital CAT Notes References 5 Zero Carbon Britain Introduction From the Margins to the Mainstream An Alternative Energy Strategy for the United Kingdom Zero Carbon Britain: An Alternative Energy Strategy The ZCB Report Developing the ZCB Project Making It Happen Notes References Conclusion References Appendix: People Index