Ecotopia: The Notebooks and Reports of William Weston is the title of a seminal book by Ernest Callenbach, published in 1975. The society described in the book is one of the first ecological utopias and was influential on the counterculture, and the green movement in the 1970s and after. Image File history File links This image is a book cover. ... Ernest Callenbach (born April 3, 1929) is an American writer. ... For other uses, see Country (disambiguation). ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Utopian fiction is the creation of an ideal world as the setting for a novel. ... A publisher is a person or entity which engages in the act of publishing. ... Ernest Callenbach (born April 3, 1929) is an American writer. ... Bantam Books is a major U.S. publishing house owned by Random House and is part of the Bantam Dell Publishing Group. ... See also: 1974 in literature, other events of 1975, 1976 in literature, list of years in literature. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ... ISBN-13 represented as EAN-13 bar code (in this case ISBN 978-3-16-148410-0) The International Standard Book Number, ISBN, is a unique[1] commercial book identifier barcode. ... Callenbachs book does not come without flaws, but it was a fun read, with many practical ideas about constructing an ecologically friendly world. ... A seminal work [semen = seed (from the Latin seminalis)] is a work from which other works come--it is an engendering work which is so important in its ideas or technique that other people take these up and create new works too. ... Ernest Callenbach (born April 3, 1929) is an American writer. ... Year 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Left panel (The Earthly Paradise, Garden of Eden), from Hieronymus Boschs The Garden of Earthly Delights. ... In sociology, counterculture is a term used to describe the values and norms of behavior of a cultural group, or subculture, that run counter to those of the social mainstream of the day, the cultural equivalent of political opposition. ... “Greens” redirects here. ... The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979, also called The Seventies. ...

The impressive, environmentally benign energy, homebuilding, and transportation technology Callenbach described in Ecotopia was based on research findings published in such journals as Scientific American. The author's story was woven using the fiber of technologies, lifestyles, folkways, and attitudes that were being reflected (from real-life experience) in the pages of, say, the Whole Earth Catalog and its successor CoEvolution Quarterly, as well as being depicted in newspaper stories, novels and films. Callenbach's main ideas for Ecotopian values and practices were based on actual experimentation taking place in the American West. As an example, Callenbach's fictional Crick School was based upon Pinel School, an alternative school outside Martinez, CA once attended by his son. Scientific American is a popular-science magazine, published (first weekly and later monthly) since August 28, 1845, making it the oldest continuously published magazine in the United States. ... The Whole Earth Catalog was a sizeable catalog published twice a year from 1968 to 1972, and occasionally thereafter, until 1998. ... CoEvolution Quarterly (later re-named Whole Earth Review) was one of the publishing ventures of the same visionary biologist (with interests in cultures and in art) who launched the Whole Earth Catalog and an early Internet community, still functioning, called the WELL. Stewart Brand is the name of this editor...

The author’s Ecotopian concept does not reject high technology, but rather members of his fictional society show a conscious selectivity about technology, so that human health and sanity might be preserved, as also social and ecological health might be. For instance, Callenbach’s story anticipated the development and liberal usage of videoconferencing. It has been suggested that H.331 be merged into this article or section. ...

The term "ecotopian fiction", as a sub-genre of science fiction and utopian fiction, refers to this book. Ecotopian fiction is a subgenre of Utopian fiction where the author posits either a utopian or dystopian world revolving around environmental conservation or destruction. ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... Utopian fiction is the creation of an ideal world as the setting for a novel. ...

Plot summary

The book is set in a 1999 future (25 years in the future, seen from 1974) and consists of the diary entries and reports of William Weston, a reporter who is the first American proper to investigate Ecotopia, a newly formed country that broke from the USA in 1980. This country consists more or less of the territory of the former states of Oregon and Washington, plus northern California. This article is about the year. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Year 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1980 Gregorian calendar). ... Official language(s) (none)[1] Capital Salem Largest city Portland Area  Ranked 9th  - Total 98,466 sq mi (255,026 km²)  - Width 260 miles (420 km)  - Length 360 miles (580 km)  - % water 2. ... Official language(s) English Capital Olympia Largest city Seattle Area  Ranked 18th  - Total 71,342 sq mi (184,827 km²)  - Width 240 miles (385 km)  - Length 360 miles (580 km)  - % water 6. ... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Largest metro area Greater Los Angeles Area  Ranked 3rd  - Total 158,302 sq mi (410,000 km²)  - Width 250 miles (400 km)  - Length 770 miles (1,240 km)  - % water 4. ...

Together with Weston, who at the beginning is curious about, but not particularly sympathetic to, Ecotopia, we learn about the ecotopian train system, life style, war sports, politics (the president is a woman, Vera Allwen), gender relations, sexual freedom, energy production, agriculture, education, and so on. Ecotopian citizens are characterized as free-thinking, creative and energetic, but also socially responsible and often inclined to work in team configurations. In the end, Weston becomes an Ecotopian himself.

The importance of this book is not so much to be found in its literary form, as in the lively imagination of an alternative and ecologically sound lifestyle on a greater scale, presented more or less realistically. It expressed on paper the dream of an alternative future held by many in the movements of the 1970s and later. The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979, also called The Seventies. ...

Worth mentioning is Callenbach's speculation on the roles of TV in his envisioned society. In some ways anticipating "reality TV" — which emerged into recognition, and was given a label as a genre, 20 or more years later — the story mentions that the daily life of the legislature and some of that of the judicial courts is televised in Ecotopia, and debates (including technical debates concerning ecological problems) met a need and desire among viewers. Reality television is a genre of television programming in which the fortunes of real life people (as opposed to fictional characters played by actors) are followed. ...

Another concept worth noting from the novel is "print on demand" publishing. In the novel, customers could choose a book from a jukebox-like device, and then the book would be printed and bound by the machine. Today, there are services like Lulu.com that print, bind and ship books for customers who order on-line. Print on demand or publish on demand (POD) is a printing technology in which a unit is not created until after an order is received. ... A Zodiac jukebox A jukebox is a partially automated music-playing device, usually a coin-operated machine, that can play specially selected songs from self-contained media. ... Lulu. ...

In 1981 Callenbach published Ecotopia Emerging, a multi-strand "prequel" suggesting how the sustainable nation of Ecotopia could have come into existence. Callenbachs book does not come without flaws, but it was a fun read, with many practical ideas about constructing an ecologically friendly world. ...

In 1990, Audio Renaissance released a partial dramatization of Ecotopia on audiocassettes in the form of recordings of a radio network broadcast, The reports and diaries of William Weston were read by the book's author, Ernest Callenbach. Weston's reports were read by veteran news reporter Edwin Newman. Edwin Newman (born January 25, 1919) is a journalist and writer. ...

Quotes

References to Ecotopia

In his 1981 book Nine Nations of North America, author Joel Garreau named one of his nations Ecotopia after Callenbach's book. Garreau's Ecotopia consists of Northern California, Western Oregon, Western Washington, coastal British Columbia, and southeastern Alaska and is one of the nine economic-cultural nations into which Garreau believed North America should be divided to correctly understand the true regional dynamics of the continent. This Ecotopia, like Callenbach's, is characterized culturally by its environmental sensibilities and focus on 'quality of life', and economically by its focus on renewable resources such as hydropower and forestry. Year 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link displays the 1981 Gregorian calendar). ... The Nine Nations of North America was a book written in 1981 by Joel Garreau. ... Joel Garreau (born 1948) is a journalist and author. ... Northern California, sometimes referred to as NorCal, is the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. ... Western Oregon is a geographical term that is generally taken to apply to the portion of the state of Oregon that is west of the Cascade Range. ... Western Washington is a region of the United States defined as that part of Washington west of the Cascade Mountains. ... Motto: Splendor Sine Occasu (Latin: Splendour without diminishment) Capital Victoria Largest city Vancouver Official languages English Government - Lieutenant-Governor Iona Campagnolo - Premier Gordon Campbell (BC Liberal) Federal representation in Canadian Parliament - House seats 36 - Senate seats 6 Confederation July 20, 1871 (6th province) Area  Ranked 4th - Total 944,735 km... Official language(s) English[1] Spoken language(s) English 85. ... For other uses, see Nation (disambiguation). ... Undershot water wheels on the Orontes River in Hama, Syria Saint Anthony Falls Hydropower is the capture of the energy of moving water for some useful purpose. ... A decidous beech forest in Slovenia. ...

Outside of the written word, Callenbach's "Ecotopia" novels have also inspired real change in its influence on the Cascadia movement. One popular proposed flag for Cascadia. ...

Further reading

• R. Frye, "The Economics of Ecotopia", in: Alternative Futures 3 (1980), pp. 71-81.
• K.T. Goldbach, "Utopian Music: Music History of the Future in Novels by Bellamy, Callenbach and Huxley", in: Utopia Matters. Theory, Politics, Literature and the Arts, ed. F. Viera, M. Freitas, Porto 2005, pp. 237-243.
• H. Tschachtler, "Despotic Reason in Arcadia. Ernest Callenbach's Ecological Utopias", Science-Fiction Studies 11 (1984), pp. 304-317.

See also

• Ecotopia gathering - an annual summer camp for activists in Europe

Ecotopia is an annual summer gathering for activists in Europe. ...

External links

• Pinel School
• Ecotopia Foundation
• Profile of an ecologically utopian town in California
• Ecotopia Environmental and Ethical Shopping