Ecotopia : the Notebooks and Reports of William Weston
Langue : anglais
Edité par Bantam, 1975
Série : Livre 1 sur 1 - Ecotopia
- Livre broché
- Neuf
Vendeur : BennettBooksLtd, Los Angeles, CA, Etats-UnisBennettBooksLtd
Vendeur AbeBooks depuis 17 avril 2008
Etat: Neuf
EUR 76,10
Quantité disponible : 1 disponible
Ajouter au panierA propos de cet article
In shrink wrap. Looks like an interesting title.
N° de réf. du vendeur Q-0553104896
- Titre
- Ecotopia : the Notebooks and Reports of William Weston
- Auteur
- Callenbach, Ernest
- Éditeur
- Bantam
- Année de publication
- 1975
- État de l'article
- New
- Reliure
- Mass Market Paperback
- Langue
- anglais
- ISBN à 10 chiffres
- 0553104896
- ISBN à 13 chiffres
- 9780553104899
- Poids de l'article
- 5 onces
- Dimensions
- 6x4x0
- Série
- Livre 1 sur 1: Ecotopia
« Synopsis » peut appartenir à une autre édition de cet ouvrage.
Extrait
Was his tentativeness only his habitual caution, or a signal that if anything went wrong the visit (and the visitor) were politically expendable?
Still, an important opening in our foreign policy–lots of weighty arguments for it. Heal the fratricidal breach that rent the nation–so the continent can stand united against rising tides of starvation and revolution. Hawks who want to retake “lost last of the west” by force seem to be growing stronger–need neutralizing. Ecotopian ideas are seeping over the border more dangerously–can’t be ignored any longer, might be detoxified by exposure. Etc.
Maybe we can find a hearing for proposal to reopen diplomatic relations; perhaps trade proposals too. With reunification a gleam in the eye. Even just a publicizable chat with Vera Allwen could be useful–the President, with his customary flexibility, could use it to fend off both hawks and subversives. Besides, as I told Francine–who scoffed, naturally, even after three brandies–I want to see Ecotopia because it’s there. Can things really be as weird there as they sound? I wonder.
Have been mulling over the no-nos. Must stay clear of the secession itself: too much bitterness could still be aroused. But fascinating stories there, probably–how the secessionists filched uranium fuel from power plants for the nuclear mines they claimed to have set in New York and Washington. How their political organization, led by those damned women, managed to paralyze and then supplant the regular political structure, and got control of the armories and the Guard. How they bluffed their way to a stand-off–helped, of course, by the severity of the national economic crisis that struck so conveniently for them. Lots of history there to be told someday–but now is not the time. . . .
Getting harder to say goodbye to the kids when I take off on a long trip. Not that it’s really such a big deal, since I sometimes miss a couple of weekends even when I’m around. But my being away so much seems to be beginning to bother them. Pat may be putting them up to it; I’ll have to talk to her about that. Where else would Fay get the idea of asking to come along? Jesus–into darkest Ecotopia with typewriter and eight-year-old daughter. . . .
No more Francine for six weeks. It’s always refreshing to get away for a while, and she’ll be there when I get back, all charged up by some adventure or other. Actually sort of exciting to think of being totally out of touch with her, with the editorial office, in fact with the whole country. No phone service, wire service indirect: uncanny isolation the Ecotopians have insisted on for 20 years! And in Peking, Bantustan, Brazil there always had to be an American interpreter, who couldn’t help dangling ties from home. This time there’ll be nobody to share little American reactions with.
And it is potentially rather dangerous. These Ecotopians are certainly hotheads, and I could easily get into serious trouble. Government’s control over population seems to be primitive compared to ours. Americans are heartily hated. In a jam the Ecotopian police might be no help at all–in fact they apparently aren’t even armed.
Well, ought to draft the first column. Mid-air perhaps not the worst place to begin.
WILLIAM WESTON ON
HIS JOURNEY TO ECOTOPIA
On board TWA flight 38, New York to Reno, May 3. As I begin this assignment, my jet heads west to Reno–last American city before the forbidding Sierra Nevada mountains that guard the closed borders of Ecotopia.
The passage of tiem has softened the shock of Ecotopia’s separation from the United States. And Ecotopia’s example, it is now clear, was not as novel as it seemed at the time. Biafra had attempted secession from Nigeria but failed. Bangladesh had successfully broken free of Pakistan. Belgium had in effect dissolved into three countries. Even the Soviet Union has had its separatist “minority” disturbances. Ecotopia’s secession was partly modeled on that of Quebec from Canada. Such “devolution” has become a worldwide tendency. The sole important counterdevelopment we can point to is the union of the Scandinavian countries–which perhaps only proves the rule, since the Scandinavians were virtually one people culturally in any event.
Nonetheless, many Americans still remember the terrible shortages of fruit, lettuce, wine, cotton, paper, lumber, and other western products which followed the breakaway of what had been Washington, Oregon, and Northern California. These problems exacerbated the general U.S. economic depression of the period, speeded up our chronic inflation, and caused widespread dissatisfaction with government policies. Moreover, Ecotopia still poses a nagging challenge to the underlying national philosophy of America: ever-continuing progress, the fruits of industrialization for all, a rising Gross National Product.
During the past two decades, we as a people have mostly tried to ignore what has been happening in Ecotopia–in the hope it will prove to be mere foolishness and go away. It is clear by now, however, that Ecotopia is not going to collapse as many American analysts at first predicted. The time has come when we must get a clearer understanding of Ecotopia.
If its social experimentation turns out to be absurd and irresponsible, it will then no longer tempt impressionable young Americans. If its strange customs indeed prove as barbaric as rumors suggest, Ecotopia will have to pay the cost in outraged world opinion. If Ecotopian claims are false, American policy-makers can profit from knowledge of that fact. For instance, we need to access the allegation that Ecotopia has no more deaths from air and chemical pollution. Our own death rate has declined from a peak of 75,000 annually to 30,000–still a tragic toll, but suggesting that measures of the severity adopted in Ecotopia are hardly necessary. In short, we should meet the Ecotopian challenge on the basis of sound knowledge rather than ignorance and third-hand reports.
My assignment during the next six weeks, therefore, is to explore Ecotopian life from top to bottom–to search out the realities behind the rumors, to describe in concrete detail how Ecotopian society actually operates, to document its problems and, where that is called for, to acknowledge its achievements. By direct knowledge of the situation in which our former fellow-citizens now find themselves, we may even begin to rebuild the ties that once bound them to the Union they so hastily rejected.
(May 3) Reno a sad shadow of its former goodtimes self. With the lucrative California gambling trade cut off by secession, the city quickly decayed. The fancy casino hotels are now mere flophouses–their owners long ago fled to Las Vegas. I walked the streets near the airline terminal, asking people what they thought of Ecotopia out here. Most replies noncommittal, though I thought I could sometimes detect a tinge of bitterness. “Live and let live,” said one grizzled old man, “if you can call what they do over there living.” A young man who claimed to be a cowboy smiled at my question. “Waaal,” he said, “I know guys who say they’ve gone over there to get girls. It isn’t really dangerous if you know the mountain passes. They’re friendly all right, so long as you aren’t up to anything. Know what, though? The girls all have guns! That’s what they say. That could shake you up, couldn’t it?”
Had a hard time finding a taxi driver willing to take me over the border. Finally persuaded one who looked as if he had just done 20 years in the pen. Had to promise not only double fare but 25 percent tip besides. For which I got a bonus of dirty looks and a string of reassuring remarks: “What ya wanta go in there for anyhow, ya some kind of a nut? Buncha goddamn cannibals in there! Ya’ll never get out alive–I just hope I will.”
« A propos de ce titre » peut appartenir à une autre édition de cet ouvrage.
BennettBooksLtd
Los Angeles, CA, Etats-Unis
Vendeur AbeBooks depuis 17 avril 2008
Frais d'expédition à l'intérieur de ce pays : Etats-Unis
| Article | 7 à 30 jours ouvrés | 3 à 14 jours ouvrés |
|---|---|---|
| Premier article | EUR 6,20 | EUR 8,87 |
Modes de paiement
Profil professionnel du vendeur
BennettBooksLtd
CA, Etats-Unis
Conditions de vente
We guarantee the condition of every book as it's described on the Abebooks web sites. If you're dissatisfied with your purchase (Incorrect Book/Not as Described/Damaged) or if the order hasn't arrived, you're eligible for a refund within 30 days of the estimated delivery date. If you've changed your mind about a book that you've ordered, please use the Ask bookseller a question link to contact us and we'll respond within 2 business days.
Droit de rétractation
Si vous êtes un consommateur, vous pouvez exercer votre droit de rétractation sur le contrat conformément à ce qui suit. Le mot « consommateur » désigne toute personne physique agissant à des fins qui n'entrent pas dans le cadre de son activité commerciale, artisanale ou professionnelle.
Informations concernant le droit de rétractation
Droit statutaire de rétractation
Vous avez le droit d'exercer votre droit de rétractation sur ce contrat dans les 14 jours sans donner de raison.
Le délai de rétractation expirera au bout de 14 jours à compter du jour où vous-même, ou un tiers autre que le transporteur et désigné par vous, prendrez physiquement possession de la dernière marchandise, du dernier lot ou de la dernière pièce.
Pour exercer votre droit de rétractation, remplissez électroniquement et envoyez une déclaration claire sur notre site Web, sous « Vos achats » dans « Votre compte ». Nous vous communiquerons sans délai un accusé de réception de cette rétractation sur un support durable (par exemple, par e-mail).
Pour respecter le délai de rétractation, il vous suffit d'envoyer votre message concernant l'exercice de votre droit de rétractation avant l'expiration du délai de rétractation.
Effets de la rétractation
Si vous exercez votre droit de rétractation sur ce contrat, nous vous rembourserons tous les paiements que vous avez effectués, y compris les frais de livraison (à l'exception des frais supplémentaires résultant du choix d'un mode de livraison autre que le type de livraison standard le moins cher que nous proposons).
Nous pouvons déduire du remboursement la perte de valeur de toute marchandise livrée, si la perte est le résultat d'une manipulation inutile de votre part.
Nous effectuerons le remboursement dans les meilleurs délais, et au plus tard 14 jours après le jour où nous aurons été informés de votre décision d'exercer votre droit de rétractation sur ce contrat.
Nous effectuerons le remboursement en utilisant le même moyen de paiement que celui que vous avez utilisé pour la transaction initiale, sauf si vous en avez expressément convenu autrement ; en tout état de cause, aucuns frais ne vous seront facturés à la suite d'un tel remboursement.
Nous pouvons suspendre le remboursement jusqu'à ce que nous ayons reçu les marchandises ou que vous ayez fourni la preuve que vous avez renvoyé les marchandises, en fonction de la première éventualité.
Vous devez renvoyer les marchandises ou les remettre à BennettBooksLtd, Escondido, California, U.S.A., sans retard injustifié et, en tout état de cause, au plus tard 14 jours à compter du jour où vous nous avez communiqué votre décision de rétractation du présent contrat. Le délai est respecté si vous renvoyez les marchandises avant l'expiration du délai de 14 jours. Vous devrez prendre en charge les frais directs du renvoi des marchandises. Vous n'êtes responsable que de toute diminution de valeur des marchandises résultant d'une manipulation autre que celle nécessaire pour établir la nature, les caractéristiques et le fonctionnement des marchandises.
Exceptions au droit de rétractation
Le droit de rétractation ne s'applique pas à ce qui suit :
- Distribution de journaux, de revues ou de magazines, à l'exception des contrats d'abonnement ; et
- Fourniture d'un contenu numérique qui n'est pas fourni sur un support matériel (par exemple, sur un CD ou un DVD) si vous avez accepté, lors de votre commande, que nous puissions commencer à le livrer et que vous ne puissiez pas exercer votre droit de rétractation une fois la livraison commencée.
Conditions d'expédition
Orders ship within 2 business days. Shipping costs are based on books weighing 2.2 LB, or 1 KG. If your book order is heavy or oversized, we may contact you to let you know extra shipping is required.