David Morris (writer)
David Morris is an American author. He is a founder and Distinguished Fellow of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR).
Background
David Morris was raised in Jamaica, Queens, New York. He received a B.S. in Industrial and Labor Relations from Cornell University in 1966, an M.A. in Political Science/Latin American Studies from the University of Florida in 1967 and a PhD in Public Policy from Union Graduate School in 1976. After working with the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, D.C., David Morris went to Chile to study the efforts of the newly elected President, Salvador Allende after which he wrote his first book, We Must Make Haste Slowly on contemporary development in Chile prior to the U.S. sponsored coup of 1973 in which Allende died.
Institute for Local Self-Reliance
In 1974, David Morris joined with two other urban innovators, waste management specialist Neil Seldman and urban agriculture activist Gil Friend to found the Institute for Local Self-Reliance Located in the Adams Morgan neighborhood of D.C,[1] the founders’ experiments included growing sprouts and worms in the basement and tomatoes in the rooftop greenhouse, installing the neighborhood's, and perhaps the city's, first solar hot water system and compost toilet.
Morris's additional experience with earlier neighborhood innovators provided the background for Neighborhood Power: The New Localism, Dr. Morris's 1975 book, written with Karl Hess.
ILSR became a resource for local, state and national efforts in alternative energy[2] waste management, agriculture[3] and other areas that demonstrated the ability of localities to capture their local wealth for local production and consumption[4]
Morris was called upon for advice and technical assistance by federal, state and local elected officials and agencies and leaders in community development. For example, under contract with Saint Paul, MN's Mayor George Latimer Morris developed the principles for and began to implement the creation of what Saint Paul's Deputy Mayor, Dick Broeker called a ″Homegrown Economy″. The U.S. Department of Energy contracted with ILSR to track energy-related dollar flows through the Washington, D.C. economy. The report, Planning for Energy Self-Reliance: A Case Study of the District of Columbia, concluded that almost 90 cents on the dollar spent for energy left the city and estimated the economic impact of conservation and rooftop solar. Morris also served as an advisor or consultant to the energy departments of Presidents Ford, Carter, Clinton and George W. Bush. At ILSR, Morris directed the New Rules and Defending the Public Good Projects.
Publications
Books
- 1973, We Must Make Haste Slowly: The Process of Revolution in Chile, Random House/Vintage
- 1975, Neighborhood Power: The New Localism (with Karl Hess), Beacon Press
- 1982, Self-Reliant Cities, Sierra Club Books[5]
- 1983, Be Your Own Power Company, Rodale Press
- 1992 The Carbohydrate Economy: Making Chemicals and Industrial Materials from Plant Matter, ILSR
- 1994, The Mondragon Cooperative Corporation, ILSR
- 2001, Seeing the Light, Regaining Control of our Electrical System, ILSR Press[6]
Articles (Selected)
- 1979, "Entrepreneurial Cities", Western City Magazine, October l979
- 1981, "Humanly Scaled Energy", Fire of Life: The Smithsonian Book of the Sun, Smithsonian
- 1988, "Healthy cities: self-reliant cities", Health Promotion, Oxford University Press
- 1990, "Rootlessness undermines our economy as well as the quality of our lives", Utne Reader, May/June l990
- 1991, "Economic Shell Game", MinnPost, June l99l
- 1992, "Save the Public Library", Media Culture Review, January 1992
- 1994, "Communities: Building Authority, Responsibility and Capacity", State of the Union, Westview Press
Reports (Selected)
- 1975, “The Dawning of Solar Cells”, ILSR Press
- 1979, "Decentralized Photovoltaics", (with John Furber), The Congressional Office of Technology Assessment
- 1980, “Planning for Energy Self-Reliance, a case study for the District of Columbia", ILSR Press
- 1994, "The Carbohydrate Economy: Making Chemicals and Industrial Materials from Plant Matter" (with Irshad Ahmed)
- 1994, "Replacing Biochemicals for Petrochemicals: A Pollution Prevention Strategy for the Great Lakes Region" (with Irshad Ahmed)
- 1995, "Restructuring Minnesota's Tax System: Taxing Pollution Rather than Work and Investment"
- 1991, "Getting the Most From Our Materials: Making New Jersey State of the Art", (with Brenda Platt. et al.)
References
- "Gil Friend and David Morris of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance". Mother Earth News. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
- Zeman, Nicholas."Pushing for Undying Support". Ethanol Producer Magazine, September 1, 2006.
- Feder, Barnaby J. (1995). "BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY; Crops Holding Promise Beyond Food". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
- Schwartz, Judith D. (11 June 2009). "Buying Local: How It Boosts the Economy". Time.com. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
- "SELF-RELIANT CITIES: Energy and the Transformation of Urban America. by David Morris". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
- "Power Trips Of the Past". The Washington Post. 29 July 2001. Archived from the original on 10 April 2018. Retrieved 25 January 2018.