Recycle This An Open Letter from Ecology Action

NATIONAL Earth Week came to Harvard without much to distinguish it from any other week of the year. Perhaps the Washington marches have distracted those of us who share a concern for our damaged environment. Whatever the reason, many of us still wish to expand our ecology "consciousness" and to that end several valuable, even essential, tools are being sold at the Freshman Union concession stand.

First on any ecology reading list is the Environmental Handbook (95c), a collection of extremely good essays on every conceivable aspect of the crisis. Next, we offer The User's Guide to the Protection of the Environment ($1.25), an encyclopedic investigation of the real consequences of everyday living. It deals comprehensively with brand-name products, nutrition, gardening, soaps, and garbage. Unfortunately it spends only twelve words discussing alternative life-styles as possible solutions to some of our ecological and psychic afflictions. So, important a reference work as it is, no library would be balanced without a Whole Earth Catalog -which is completely uncommitted to traditional styles and patterns of living. The catalog is designed to promote personal "power." Power to educate oneself, shape one's environment, and share one's experiences. You can buy the old but still fabulously valuable Fall 1969 catalog, which sold for $4, for 25c from us in the Union. The latest (Fall 1970) catalog is now also being sold for $3, and contains over 150 huge pages of information on shelter and land use, industry and crafts, communications, play, "nomadics" and learning.

Finally, we are offering a limited number of Gary Snyder's Earth Household ($1.95). This book has become a sort of Bible for many ecofreaks although it never mentions pollution and was mostly written between 1953 and 1960. As Snyder characterizes himself, "I hold the most archaic values on earth. They go back to the late Paleolithic; the fertility of the soil, the magic of animals, the power-vision of solitude, the terrifying initiation and rebirth; the love and ecstasy of the dance, the common work of the tribe." "Whatever is or ever was in any other culture can be reconstructed from the unconscious through meditation ... the coming revolution will close the circle and link us in many ways with the most creative aspects of our archaic past." You will be surprised with what you find in this small book.

It's true that all of these works (total cost of $7.40 or $4.40 without the current Whole Earth ) are available locally. By selling them in the Union we hope to impress upon you how important we feel they are to know and own. You are invited to consider the purchase of one or another of them while they last.