Alternative Energy Coalition Records

The collection is open for research.

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On Washington's Birthday in 1974, a local organic farmer and member of the Montague Farm commune, Sam Lovejoy, committed an act of civil disobedience. In the early morning hours he used hand tools to fell a weather-monitoring tower erected by Northeast Utilities, the corporation that was planning to build a massive nuclear power plant in town. Leaving the wreckage behind, Lovejoy flagged down a passing patrol car and turned himself in to face the consequences, hoping to spur a public debate about the use of nuclear energy. In that he succeeded. During the weeks that followed, Lovejoy's trial garnered national attention and catalyzed the formation of antinuclear organizations such as the Alternative Energy Coalition (AEC).

Founded in Montague, the AEC offered support for Lovejoy during the trial as well as for the larger aim of building broad-based opposition to nuclear power in the wake of Richard Nixon's "Project Independence," which included a plan to build 1,000 nuclear power plants by the year 2000. From the outset, the AEC used a range of tactics to achieve their goals, from political engagement, to petitions, public awareness campaigns, and direct action. The activist Harvey Wasserman, a co-organizer of the AEC, and several of his associates created a political party to influence local elections, supporting Lovejoy as he ran for representative to town meeting, and Anna Gyorgy (another AEC founder), Marc Sills, Nina Simon, and Janice Frey for other spots under the antinuclear "No Party" ticket.

By the early spring, the AEC began collecting signatures to place a dual referendum on the ballot for the state senatorial district, the first instructing the senator to oppose the proposed plant at Montague, the second instructing him or her to "sponsor and support a resolution aimed at closing and dismantling" the region's two active nuclear power plants at Rowe, Massachusetts, and Vernon, Vermont. They were successful, gathering over 3,800 supporters.

In 1976, the AEC chose to affiliate with several antinuclear organizations to form the Clamshell Alliance, a New England-based coalition of antinuclear activists. Through acts of non-violent civil disobedience, most notably the 1976 and 1977 occupations of the Seabrook Nuclear Power plant in New Hampshire, the Clamshell galvanized the antinuclear movement and became one of the major factors in radically slowing the growth of the nuclear industry in the United States. The AEC continued as a separate organization with chapters in both Hampshire and Franklin Counties, until disbanding in about 1981. By that time, dozens of other groups were active in opposition to nuclear power, aligned with the AEC's principles of non-violent direct action.

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The Alternative Energy Coalition Records document the organizational life of the Massachusetts-based antinuclear activist group from approximately 1974 to 1981, centered on the Hampshire County Branch. Reflecting the AEC's dual commitment to promoting the use of renewable energy resources and opposing nuclear power, the records provide an indication both of the high degree of decentralization characteristic of the early antinuclear movement and the impressive coordination maintained between like-minded organizations.

In addition to administrative records of the Hampshire County chapter of the AEC, the collection contains fliers, newsletters, leaflets, and other promotional materials, information on alternative energy, correspondence with allied organizations, and some realia used in protesting nuclear power. Of particular interest is a thick sheaf of notes, memoranda, and minutes of meetings from the organization and early years of the Clamshell Alliance, including minutes of the Coordinating Committee and a variety of materials relating to the occupations at the Seabrook (N.H.) Nuclear Power Plant between 1977 and 1979.

The collection is organized into three series:

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Series 1. Organizational Materials 1973-1981 66 folders (3 linear feet)

Series 1 contains documents produced by the AEC for its own use and day-to-day operations, including flyers, meeting announcements, project proposals, handbooks, training session materials, meeting minutes, and member contact information. The organization also created extensive planning materials, including reconnaissance maps of New England nuclear sites for non-violent protest actions and outgoing petitions to the President against nuclear power. This series contains some artifacts, including black armbands worn by AEC members during site occupations as well as handmade hitch-hiking placards. Of special note in this series are three office logbooks that AEC members annotated and used to communicate with one another during direct action engagements, and a pad of paper used by AEC and affiliated members to document--in real time--the actions of the October 6, 1979 Seabrook occupation. (This pad is in the folder entitled, "Clamshell - Seabrook Occupation, October 6th, 1979.")

Series 2. Research 1960-1980 132 folders (7.5 linear feet)

Series 2 contains materials collected by the AEC on a wide range of alternative energy sources. Enclosed are magazine articles, newspaper clippings, and pamphlets elaborating on nuclear issues, including nuclear weapons use and the environmental impacts of nuclear energy. The AEC was committed to gathering information about non-nuclear energy sources like solar, wind, electric power, and fossil fuels. In addition, the AEC maintained a small library of books, brochures, fact sheets, catalogues, and product listings exploring practical energy conservation methods, this last intended for use of private citizens. Brochures in this series investigate topics ranging from improved house construction to composting toilets, from hot water heaters to energy-efficient fireplaces. The AEC also received weekly reports from the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (from 1976-1979) and the Department of Energy (from 1978-1979). A few representative reports are preserved in this series. The AEC also collected legislative materials denoting Massachusetts alternative energy policies.

Series 3. Affiliated Groups 1977-1980 109 folders (3 linear feet)

Series 3 contains material relating to the AEC's extensive connections to other environmental and antinuclear activist groups, both local and national. The AEC collected newsletters, news articles, and correspondence from groups with similar objectives. The AEC's strongest link was to the Clamshell Alliance; this organization's mission, membership, planning, and operations overlapped with those of the AEC after Clamshell's founding in 1976. As such, most material in this series is devoted to the Clamshell Alliance. Other selected affiliated organizations include the Abalone Alliance (California), Crabshell Alliance, Palmetto Alliance, Potomac Alliance, Tennessee Valley Energy Alliance, Vermont Yankee Decommissioning Alliance, and the Rocky Flats Truth Force. The AEC also kept documents relating to other ideologically aligned social issues, such as the Red Power, Women's Rights, Mohawk Sovereignty, and Peace Movements.

Series 1. Organizational Materials 1973-1981 66 folders

Artifacts: Logbooks (1976-1979) and songbook,"Songs of Seabrook" 1979

Artifacts: Four (4) Black Arm Bands 1979

Artifacts: Hitchhiking Signs 1979

May 6th Coalition March on Washington 1979

June 24th Occupation (1978) 1978

July 21st-22nd, 1979: Legal Seabrook 1979

October 7th Occupation Tactics and Site Access 1979

November 11, 1978, Car Caravan and Demonstration 1978

AEC: 1 June 1979 Recycling Memo 1979

AEC: Finances 1978-1979

AEC: Mailing Lists 1979

AEC: Meeting Minutes 1976-1977

AEC: Meeting Minutes 1979-1980

AEC: "Nuclear Power and Alternative Energy Info Book," Office Copy 1973-1977

AEC: People Lists 1979

AEC: Press Releases and Newspaper Articles 1979-1981

Alternative Energy Fair 1979

Canvassing Information 1979

Conferences, Speakers, Public meetings 1978

Correspondence 1977-1981

Congress File (Temporary) 1979

Danbury Federal Prison Bibliographies, etc. 1979

Evaluations: No Nukes 1979

Facilitating 1979

Finances 1977

Hampshire County AEC News Release 1977-1978

Hampshire Country Petition Forms 1979

Inventory 1979

Journals and Newsletters 1979

Leaflets - External 1979

Mailing Lists 1979

Maps: Misc. 1979

Media Contacts 1978-1979

Montague Intervention 1977-1979

Montague LPV Task Force 1977

Neutron Bomb Petitions 1979

Newsletters: AEC and Other 1978-1980

Non-Violent Training Committee (Western Mass) 1978-1979

Nuke Moratorium Petitions 1979

Occupation/Restoration Task Force 1977-1978

Office Business 1977-1979

People's Alliance 1977

Plymouth 1978

Poems, Songs 1979

People's Alliance 1979

Public Education Task Force (NUKES) 1979

Railway Express Agency and Co. (Building Lease) - 1948/1958 1979

RATE Hikes 1979-1980

Seabrook 1978: A Handbook 1978

Seabrook Nuke Plant 1978

Seabrook Occupation: Chronological Press Folio 1978

Seabrook Petitions 1978

Subscription Requests to Periodicals, etc. 1978-1979

Sun Day 1978

Survival Summer - Info 1979

Three Mile Island - President Carter Petitions 1979

Trident Teach-In Materials (AEC) 1977-1978

Unity Committee, April 26, 1980 1980

Valley Advocate (Newspaper) 1979

Vermont Yankee Nuclear Plant 1979-1980

VYDA - March 30th 1980 - News Clippings 1980

VYDA - Proposals and Meeting Info 1979

Xerox Masters - Originals for Leaflets 1979

Western Mass Trainers 1979

Yankee Power Plant Petitions 1979

Year of the Child - Info 1979

Series 2. Research 1960-1980 132 folders

Alternative Energy 1967-1979

Alternative Energy Clippings 1976-1977

Alternative Energy Stores and Suppliers 1979

Antinuclear Groups Nationwide List 1979

Black Fox Plant (Okla.) 1979

Breeder Reactors 1973

Catalogs and Resources 1979-1980

Coal 1976

Composting Toilets 1976-1977

Conservation (General Info) 1973-1977

Consumer Publication 1976

County Voice 1979

Criminal Code Reform Act - H.R. 689, S. 1437 1978

Construction Work in Progress Public Service Co. (N.H.) 1978-1981

Department of Energy and Nuclear Regulatory Commission 1976-1980

Department of Energy / Federal Groups 1979

Diablo Canyon 1977

Economics / Nuclear 1977-1979

Effects of Nuclear Power 1973-1978

Effects of Nuclear Power - Environmental 1978-1979

Electric Energy 1979

Energy 1979

Energy Analyses 1979

Energy Efficient Architecture 1974-1977

Energy (General Info) 1977

Energy House 1975

Energy Task Force Alternative Currents / A.T.A.C 1979

Environmental Action / Energy Research and development Administration 1976

Environmental Hazards 1976-1978

Environmental Policy Center 1978

Environmental Protection Agency 1975-1977

Fireplaces and Hardware 1979

Gas 1976-1977

G.E. Boycott 1979

Graphics

Guardian - Newsletters 1979-1980

Health and Occupational Safety 1976-1977

Hudson River 1977-1979

Hydro Electricity Dam Inventory W. Mass 1979

Hydropower 1978-1979

Insulation 1976-1977

International 1976-1977

J. P. Stevens (Corporation) 1977

Jamesport Generating Station 1976-1979

Labor Law Reform 1977-1978

Legislation 1977-1979

Legislation - Mass. 1979

Legislature - Congress 1976-1978

Literature - Antinuclear Organizations 1978-1979

Literature - Periodicals 1978

Maine Yankee 1979

The Manhattan Project - Wall Street Action, Oct. 29th 1979

Master Plan for Energy 1978

National Center for Appropriate Technology 1979-1980

Newspapers 1978-1979

Non-Energy Articles 1978

Nonviolence 1976-1977

Northampton Daycare 1979

Nuclear Accidents 1976

Nuclear Accidents - Evacuation 1975-1979

Nuclear - Breeder Reactor (LMFBR Program) 1974-1978

Nuclear - Clinch River 1976-1977

Nuclear Energy - Pro Articles, Trident Launch 1979

NIRS- Nuclear Information Resource Serv. 1979-1980

Nuclear Material, Misc. 1971-1979

Nuclear Power I 1972-1976

Nuclear Power II 1974-1979

Nuclear Power III 1973-1979

Nuclear Regulatory Commission 1976-1981

Nuclear Safety 1978-1979

Nuclear Waste I 1975-1978

Nuclear Waste II 1974-1976

Nuclear Waste Disposal 1976-1977

Nuclear Waste Management 1960-1979

Oil 1976-1977

People and Energy 1979

Politics and Education, Middleton (Conn.) 1978-1979

Pollution 1975-1977

Power Plant Licensing 1975

Power Plant Safety 1978

Price-Anderson Act 1977

Promoting Enduring Peace 1979

Radiation - Low-Level Effects 1979

Radioactive Waste: New England 1976-1978

Reference Boiling Water Reactor Decommissioning 1980

Reading List 1978

Research - Bibliographies 1979

Research - Journals, Newsletters, Newsclippings 1976-1980

Research - Reports 1979

Rural Education Center 1980

SALT and Government Propaganda 1978-1979

Scenic Hudson - Clearwater Sunday 1978

Science Articles - oil, coal, etc. 1978-1979

Shoreham - Long Island (N.Y.) 1980

Sierra Atlantic 1978-1979

Sierra Club Literature 1978

Silkwood, Karen 1977

Soft Technology 1979

Solar 1970-1978

Solar Bulletins 1977-1980

Solar Controls 1979

Solar Collector Brochures (Air) 1977

Solar Collector Brochures (Liquid) 1977

Solar Energy - Application in Homes 1976-1978

Solar Energy Clippings and Articles 1972-1979

Solar Energy - Mass. 1976

Solar Greenhouses 1977

Solar Heating Brochures 1977

Solar Heating - Domestic Hot Water Systems 1977

Solar Energy Institutes of America 1977-1980

Solar - Legislation,Government 1976-1978

Solar Lobby 1979

Solar - Photovoltaics 1979

Solar Satellites 1979

Street Papers 1978

Sun Power 1974

Solar Pumps

Solar Resources 1977-1978

Solar Supplies and Info Centers 1976-1977

Thermal Curtains and Insulation 1977-1978

Three Mile Island 1980

Three Mile Island Accident 1977-1981

Utilities 1976-1977

Waste Storage 1976-1979

Water Conservation 1978-1979 1979

Weapons 1978-1981

Wind 1974-1976

Wind - Newspaper Clippings 1976-1979

Wood - General 1975-1978

Wood Stove Brochures 1977

Women 1979

Yankee Atomic 1980

Series 3. Affiliated Groups 1977-1980 109 folders (3 linear feet)

Abalone Alliance 1977-1980

Affinity Groups 1978

Alliance for Survival 1978

AFSC - American Friends Service Committee Incorporated 1979

Anti-Draft Material Ad-Hoc Committee 1979

Arizona Mobilization for Survival 1979

Berkshire AEC 1977

Berkshire Alliance for Safe Energy 1979

Black Hills Alliance 1979

Che Lumumba School 1979

Citizen's Energy Project of Washington DC 1979

Citizens for Safe Energy Dorset (Vt.) 1979-1980

Citizens for Safe Power Transmission (Red Hook, NY) 1978

Citizen's Party (Citizens Committee) 1979

Clamshell: 1978-1979 Fall River Reactor Blockade 1979

Clamshell: Additional Resources 1979

Clamshell: Affinity Groups membership 1979

Clamshell: Internal Committees 1978

Clamshell: Clamshell Alliance Newsletters 1977-1979

Clamshell: Clamshell Alliance News Releases 1976-1977

Clamshell: Blockade Handbook 1978

Clamshell: Boston Chapter 1977-1980

Clamshell: Brainstorms 1977

Clamshell: "Clams for Democracy" 1979

Clamshell: Conferences, Western Mass. 1978

Clamshell: Clamshell Congress 1979-1980

Clamshell: Clamshell Congress Proposals 1978-1979

Clamshell: Contacts 1974-1979

Clamshell: Coordinating Committee 1977

Clamshell: Coordinating Committee, Part 1 1978

Clamshell: Coordinating Committee, Part 2 1978

Clamshell: Coordinating Committee 1979

Clamshell: Coordinating Committee Reports 1979

Clamshell: Legal Info 1977-1979

Clamshell: Non-Violent Training Sessions 1978

Clamshell: Occupation I and II 1976

Clamshell: Organizational Materials I 1977

Clamshell: Organizational Materials II 1979-1980

Clamshell: Rally, October 23

Clamshell: Resources: Reading Lists, films, magazines 1979

Clamshell: Seabrook Action 1978

Clamshell: Seabrook Action, May 24 1980

Clamshell: Seabrook Occupation, May 30 1977

Clamshell: Seabrook Occupation, Memos 1977

Clamshell: Seabrook Occupation, Oct. 6 1979

Clamshell: Seabrook Occupation Oct. 6th Newspaper Clippings 1979

Clamshell: Training Information 1976-1978

Clamshell: Training for Trainers 1977

Clean Energy Petition PIDC Correspondence 1978

Coalition for Direct Action at Seabrook 1979-1980

Coalition for a New Foreign and Military Policy 1979-1980

Community for Creative Nonviolence 1979

Concerned Citizens of Rhode Island: Clippings to be Filed 1978

Concerned Citizens for Safe Energy (Stuyvesant, N.Y.) 1979

Connecticut Citizen Action Group 1977

Crabshell Alliance 1978

Critical Mass (Citizens' Movement for Safe and Efficient Energy) 1976-1978

Dorothy Day Community 1980

Eastern Federation of Nuclear Opponents and Safe Energy Proponents 1978

Energy News of Hampshire AEC 1978

Food for Thought 1979

Franklin County AEC 1977-1979

Franklin County Energy Project 1979

Green Mountain Post Films 1978

Greenpeace 1979

Hampshire County AEC 1977-1979

Haymarket News 1979-1980

John Brown Anti-Klan Committee 1980

International Nuclear Protest Groups 1978-1979

Labor Party Literature 1977

Long River Project 1980

Lower Pioneer Valley Regional Planning Committee 1980

Mass. Alliance for a Safe Energy Future 1979

Mass PIRG 1974-1980

Michigan PIRGIN 1979

Mobilization for Survival 1978-1979

Mobilization in Pioneer Valley 1979

Mohawk Nation 1979

Municipal Power Advocacy Coalition 1979

MUSE - Musicians United for Safe Energy 1979

Natural Guard 1979

NECNP - New England Coalition on Nuclear Pollution 1975-1977

Nuclear Power Resources (New York PIRG, etc.) 1977-1978

NYS Alliance to Save Energy 1973-1978

Pacific Alliance

Palmetto Alliance 1978-1979

Pennsylvania

Pioneer Valley War Tax Resistance 1979

PIRG New Jersey 1975-1976

Potomac Alliance 1979

RADS - Radiation Alert Development Signpost, New Hampshire Local 1980

Rath Proposal 1979

Regional Environmental Council - Worcester, Mass. 1977-1978

Rocky Flats Truth Force 1979

SANE - Citizens' Organization for a Sane World (D.C.) 1979-1980

SCANN - Student Coalition Against Nukes Nationwide 1979

Shad Material (NYC Shad Alliance) 1978-1979

SNDF - Stuyvesant Nuclear Discussion Forum 1978

Solar Rollers 1978

Solar Strollers 1979

Tennessee Valley Energy Alliance 1979

Texas 1979

Traprock 1979

Trojan Decommissioning Alliance 1977

UMass Energy 1978-1979

Union of Concerned Scientists 1978

Vermont Yankee Decommissioning Alliance 1979-1980

Women and Life on Earth 1979

Workers Alliance 1977-1978