ABSTRACT
The Energy Task Force windmill entailed raising a modest amount of money, but the Task Force's most important resource was the tenants who toiled to bring the project to life. Nevertheless, and despite all the arguments over whether big is really better, or small truly beautiful, large cities will continue to have large garbage and energy problems, and neighborhoods will continue to meet many of their own needs. The federal government has consistently favored large technologies over small technologies—even in those instances where small technologies would have been more economical. The federal government's bias is explainable on several grounds. Conversely, "small is beautiful" advocates typically belong neither to circles of influence in major corporations nor dominate local or federal government. A community might decide, for instance, to build a neighborhood-scale solar electric system, even though doing so might not only mean relinquishing money to build the system but also giving up the throw-the-switch convenience the grid represents.
