Albert Bates (born January 1, 1947) is an influential figure in the intentional community and ecovillage movements. A lawyer, author and teacher, he has been director of the Institute for Appropriate Technology since 1984 and of the Ecovillage Training Center at The Farm in Summertown, Tennessee since 1994. is the 1st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1947 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... An intentional community is a planned residential community designed to promote a much higher degree of social interaction than other communities. ... Ecovillages are intended to be socially, economically and ecologically sustainable intentional communities. ... For the fish called lawyer, see Burbot. ... For other uses, see Author (disambiguation). ... For university teachers, see professor. ... The Ecovillage Training Center is a total immersion school for sustainability. ... The Farm may mean: The Farm, a residence in Canada The Farm, a community in Tennessee The Farm, a music band The Farm slang term for Area 51 The Farm, a Channel 5 reality television show based on RTEs Celebrity Farm. ... Official language(s) English Capital Nashville Largest city Memphis Largest metro area Nashville Metropolitan Area Area  Ranked 36th  - Total 42,169 sq mi (109,247 km²)  - Width 120 miles (195 km)  - Length 440 miles (710 km)  - % water 2. ...

Bates has been a resident of The Farm since 1972. A former attorney, he argued environmental and civil rights cases before the U.S. Supreme Court and drafted a number of legislative Acts during a 26-year legal career. The holder of a number of design patents, Bates invented the concentrating photovoltaic arrays and solar-powered automobile displayed at the 1982 World's Fair. He served on the steering committee of Plenty International for 18 years, focussing on relief and development work with indigenous peoples, human rights and the environment. An emergency medical technician (EMT), he was a founding member of The Farm Ambulance Service. He was also a licensed Amateur Radio operator. For the psychology topic, see Environmental psychology. ... Civil rights or positive rights are those legal rights retained by citizens and protected by the government. ... The Supreme Court Building, Washington, D.C. The Supreme Court Building, Washington, D.C., (large image) The Supreme Court of the United States, located in Washington, D.C., is the highest court (see supreme court) in the United States; that is, it has ultimate judicial authority within the United States... A solar cell, a form of photovoltaic cell, is a device that uses the photoelectric effect to generate electricity from light, thus generating solar power (energy). ... Solar power describes a number of methods of harnessing energy from the light of the sun. ... The 1982 Worlds Fair logo. ... Plenty International Summertown, TN In 1974 The Farm (Tennessee), an intentional community, started an outreach program called Plenty. ... The term indigenous people has no universal, standard or fixed definition, but can be used about any ethnic group who inhabit the geographic region with which they have the earliest historical connection. ... Human rights are rights which some hold to be inalienable and belonging to all humans. ... The Star of Life, a global symbol for medical service EMTs loading an injured skier into an ambulance An Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) is an emergency responder trained to provide emergency medical services to the critically ill and injured. ...

Bates has played a major role in the ecovillage movement as one of the organizers of the Global Ecovillage Network (GEN), and served as GEN's chairman of the board (from 2002 to 2003) and president (from 2003 to 2004). He was also the principal organizer of the Ecovillage Network of the Americas and served as its president (from 1996 to 2003). In 1994 he founded the Ecovillage Training Center, a "whole systems immersion experience of ecovillage living."^[1] He has taught courses in sustainable design, natural building, permaculture and technologies of the future to students from more than 50 nations. The Global Ecovillage Network is a global association of people and communities (ecovillages) dedicated to living sustainable plus lives by restoring the land and adding more to the environment than is taken. ... Natural building involves a range of building systems and materials that place major emphasis on sustainability. ... Permaculture Mandala summarising the ethics and principles of permaculture design. ...

In 1980, Bates shared in the first Right Livelihood Award (also known as the Alternative Nobel Prize) as part of the executive board of Plenty International. Jakob von Uexkull, founder of the Right Livelihood Award The Right Livelihood Award, established in 1980 by Jakob von Uexkull, is presented annually in the building of the Swedish Parliament, usually on December 9, to honour those working on practical and exemplary solutions to the most urgent challenges facing the...

Published works

Bates is author of many books on law, energy, history and environment, including:

• Climate in Crisis (1990),
• Voices from The Farm (1998) with Rupert Fike
• The Y2K Survival Guide and Cookbook (1999)

His latest book is The Post-petroleum Survival Guide and Cookbook: Recipes for Changing Times (2006).[1]. In it Bates examines the transition from a society based on abundant cheap petroleum to one of "compelled conservation." The book looks at the ways of preparing for this transition. He regards the coming change as an opportunity to "redeem our essential interconnectedness with nature and with each other."

Notes

External links

• The Curse of the Were-Rabbit as a Post-Apocalyptic Utopia Transition Culture, Feb, 2006. Accessed: 2006-06-11.
• Dreaming A Sustainable Environment The Bridging Tree, Summer 2002. Accessed: 2006-06-11.
• Technological Innovations in a Rural Intentional Community The Bulletin of Science, Technology and Society, 1987. Accessed: 2006-06-11.
• When Architectural Design Fosters Community Goals: The Oneida Mansion House Communities Magazine, Summer 1997. Accessed: 2006-06-11.
• The Karma of Kerma: Nuclear Power and Natural Rights Journal of Environmental Law and Litigation, Univ. of Oregon School of Law Vol 9, Page 3 February, 1988. Online version accessed: 2006-06-11.
• The Gospel of Chief Seattle: Written for Television Natural Rights, Spring 1990. Online version accessed: 2006-06-11.
• Showtime in Waco Communities Magazine, Summer 1995. Online version accessed: 2006-06-11.
• Contemplating Megadeaths: Cultural Memory and Cataclysmic Events The Permaculture Activist, Summer 2003. Online version accessed: 2006-06-11.